Directors of Noir

Jules Dassin

Director of Brute Force (1947), The Naked City (1948), Thieves Highway (1949), Night and the City(1950), Rififi (1955). These films were groundbreaking in the post war era, and were huge with the noir movement. His film Rififi (1955) later inspired films such as, Ocean's Eleven and Mission Impossible.

Edward Dmytryk

Director of Cornered (1945), Crossfire (1947), Murder My Sweet (1944), The Sniper (1952). Nominated for best director for his film, Crossfire.

Sir Alfred Hitchcock

Director of Notorious (1946), Shadow of a doubt (1943), Strangers on s Train (1951), The Wrong Man (1956). Alfred Hitchcock monumentally influenced cinema around the world. He was considered a true auteur. These are a few of his films that were categorized under noir, although most of his films have noir characteristics.

John Huston

Director of High Sierra (1941)(writer), The Maltese Falcon (1941), The Key Largo (1948), The Asphault Jungle (1950), The African Queen (1951), Red Badge of Courage (1951), Moulin Rouge (1952), Moby Dick (1956) etc. Famous director of noir. The Maltese Falcon was a huge success and was a completely different style than what most people had seen.

Fritz Lang

Director of M (1931), Metropolis (1927), Clash by Night (1952), Fury (1936), Human Desire (1954), Ministry of Fear (1945), Scarlet Street (1945), Woman in the Window (1945), You only live once (1937), Beyond a Reasonabl Doubt (1956), The Big Heat (1953), The Blue Gardenia (1953). Considered the king of film noir filmmaking. "Lang delights in dangling his unlucky protagonists over moral and legal edges, but leaves the truely guilty to fashion their own ruin" (Film Noir Directors). He also directed M which was a huge precursor to the noir era. He should also be noted on directing Metropolis which was a massive breakthrough in film during the silent era.

Otto Preminger

Director of Angel Face (1953), Fallen Angel (1946), Laura (1944), The Thirteenth Letter (1951), Where the Sidewalk Ends (1950). Prominent film noir director. His films really pushed the boundaries of censorship.

Robert Siodmak

Director of The Killers (1946), Criss Cross (1949). Directed a few of the most impactful and influential noir films in the 1940s.

Orson Welles
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orson_Welles
Director of Citizen Kane (1941), The Lady from Shanghai (1948), Mr Arkadin (1955), Touch of Evil (1958). Most well known for his film, Citizen Kanewhich most view as the best film ever created. He invented groundbreaking cinematic techniques and made created noir styled films.

Billy Wilder

Director of Double Indemnity (1944), Sunset Boulevard (1950). "He is regarded as one of the most brilliant and versatile filmmakers of Hollywood's golden age" (Wikipedia).