The experience of war has profoundly shaped many crime films, particularly in the decades following World War II. Veterans return home carrying physical wounds, emotional trauma, or a sense of displacement that makes reintegration into civilian life difficult. Some become heroes struggling to rebuild their lives, while others are drawn toward crime through circumstance or desperation. This page examines films in which returning servicemen occupy a central place in the narrative.

The Blue Dahlia (1946)

Somewhere in the Night (1946)

The Clay Pigeon (1949)

High Wall (1947)

Act of Violence (1948)

The Crooked Way (1949)