10 best mystery movies of all time - number 1 is a 'masterpiece'

The mystery genre dominates the book charts and TV listings, but it is sometimes overlooked in the film industry. From classic detective stories, crime noir, police procedurals, psychological thrillers, and historical mysteries, there are many subgenres within the gripping field. IMDb has created a list of the 100 best mystery movies of all time, and here we have listed the top 10.

North by Northwest is a 1959 spy thriller film produced and directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint, and James Mason. The original screenplay was written by Ernest Lehman, who intended the film to be the basis for "the Hitchcock picture to end all Hitchcock pictures". The film's synopsis reads: "A New York City advertising executive goes on the run after being mistaken for a government agent by a group of foreign spies, and falls for a woman whose loyalties he begins to doubt."

The Third Man is a 1949 film noir directed by Carol Reed, written by Graham Greene, and starring Joseph Cotten, Alida Valli, Orson Welles, and Trevor Howard as Major Calloway. One of the major features of the film is the use of black-and-white German expressionist-influenced cinematography by Robert Krasker. This, combined with the use of ruined locations in Vienna, promotes feelings of exhaustion and cynicism at the start of the Cold War. The film's plot states: "Pulp novelist Holly Martins travels to shadowy, postwar Vienna, only to find himself investigating the mysterious death of an old friend, Harry Lime."

Oldboy is a 2003 South Korean action-thriller film directed and co-written by Park Chan-wook. It is a loose adaptation of the Japanese manga Old Boy by Garon Tsuchiya and Nobuaki Minegishi, and it stars Choi Min-sik and Kang Hye-jung. The film's synopsis is as follows: "After being kidnapped and imprisoned for fifteen years, Oh Dae-Su is released, only to find that he must track down his captor in five days."

Memento is a psychological thriller film written and directed by Christopher Nolan, based on the short story "Memento Mori" by his brother Jonathan Nolan, which was later published the following year. The film stars Guy Pearce, Carrie-Anne Moss, and Joe Pantoliano. The film's plot reads: "A former insurance investigator who now suffers from anterograde amnesia uses notes and tattoos to hunt down his wife's murderer."

Solaris is a 1972 Soviet science fiction film based on Stanisaw Lem's 1961 novel of the same title. It was co-written and directed by Andrei Tarkovsky, and stars Donatas Banionis and Natalya Bondarchuk. A summary of the plot states: "A psychologist is sent to a station orbiting a distant planet in order to discover what has caused the crew to go insane."

The Maltese Falcon is a 1941 film noir written and directed by John Huston in his directorial debut. It is based on the 1930 novel by Dashiell Hammett, and is a remake of the 1931 film. The film's plot reads: "San Francisco private detective Sam Spade takes on a case that involves him with three eccentric criminals, a gorgeous liar and their quest for a priceless statuette, with the stakes rising after his partner is murdered."

Laura is a 1944 film noir produced and directed by Otto Preminger. It stars Gene Tierney and Dana Andrews, along with Clifton Webb, Vincent Price, and Judith Anderson. The screenplay by Jay Dratler, Samuel Hoffenstein, and Betty Reinhardt is based on the 1943 novel Laura by Vera Caspary. The film's synopsis reads: "A police detective falls in love with the woman whose murder he is investigating."

Vertigo is a 1958 psychological thriller film directed and produced by Alfred Hitchcock. The story was based on the 1954 novel D'entre les morts (From Among the Dead) by Boileau-Narcejac, with a screenplay by Alec Coppel and Samuel A. Taylor. The film stars James Stewart andKim Novak. The film's plot reads: "A former San Francisco police detective juggles wrestling with his personal demons and becoming obsessed with the hauntingly beautiful woman he has been hired to trail, who may be deeply disturbed."

Citizen Kane is a 1941 drama film directed and produced by, and starring Orson Welles, who co-wrote it with Herman J. Mankiewicz. Welles's first feature film, it examines the life and legacy of Charles Foster Kane. The film's plot states: "Following the death of publishing tycoon Charles Foster Kane, reporters scramble to uncover the meaning of his final utterance: Rosebud."

Psycho is a 1960 horror film produced and directed by Alfred Hitchcock. The screenplay, written by Joseph Stefano, was based on the 1959 novel of the same name by Robert Bloch. Psycho stars Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh, Vera Miles, John Gavin and Martin Balsam. The film's plot is as follows: "A Phoenix secretary is on the run after stealing a huge amount of money from her employer. She spends the night at Bates Motel, whose owner seems to have a highly dominating mother." It has been described as Hitchcock's "masterpiece".