History Main / HardboiledDetective

* Tex Murphy from the ''VideoGame/Tex Murphy''/''Mean Streets'' series of noir/thriller video games is an AffectionateParody of the genre.

* TexMurphy from the ''VideoGame/Tex Murphy''/''Mean Streets'' series of noir/thriller video games is an AffectionateParody of the genre.

* TexMurphy from the ''Tex Murphy''/''Mean Streets'' series of noir/thriller video games is an AffectionateParody of the genre.

* Eddie Valiant, the protagonist of ''WhoFramedRogerRabbit'', which used appropriately parodic FilmNoir atmospheric touches.

* Louis Simo from ''{{Hollywoodland}}'' is a deconstruction loosely based on a real detective, Milo Speriglio.

* Deckard (HarrisonFord) from ''BladeRunner'' is more of a deconstruction, being a [[SlidingScaleOfAntiheroes Type I Antihero]] with [[DefectiveDetective some serious psychological conflicts]].

* Harry Dresden from ''TheDresdenFiles'' is part this, part SherlockHolmes (showing surprising deductive skills on occasion, to nigh SherlockScan levels), part [[LordOfTheRings Gandalf]].

* Kinsey Milhone from Sue Grafton's "alphabet mysteries" is another example of a female hard-boiled detective.

* ''SpenserForHire'' was a rarity; a HardboiledDetective with an even harder-boiled partner.

* In a StorybookEpisode of ''{{Fringe}}'', Walter casts Olivia as this.

* In ''CalvinAndHobbes'', Calvin's imaginary alter-ego, Tracer Bullet, is a pure parody of the hardboiled detective.

* Richmond from ''SuikodenII'' is an homage to the classic noir version.

* Scott Shelby from the game ''HeavyRain'' is an aging, asthmatic retired-cop-turned-PI who's on the edge of hardboiled. (Softboiled?)'

* [[PhoenixWrightAceAttorney Tyrell Badd's]] appearance and demeanor are intended to evoke the hardboiled detective image. He has a bullethole-riddled trenchcoat, PermaStubble, a gruff and cynical attitude, and his color scheme is DeliberatelyMonochrome. However, he works for the actual police [[spoiler: when he's not moonlighting as a PhantomThief.]]

* ''TheFairlyOddParents'' in ''Where's Wanda''; Timmy wishes to become such a detective after the disappearance of Wanda, and ends up spoofing Sam Spade and Rick Blaine.

* Parodied in the PBSKids' show, ''Series/BetweenTheLions'', which had a recurring skit featuring "Sam Spud, [[IncrediblyLamePun parboiled potato]] detective".

* On ''APrairieHomeCompanion'', the character of Guy Noir is an example.

Originating in the early part of the twentieth century, hardboiled detective stories quickly became a major subgenre of MysteryFiction. Later, they became strongly associated with FilmNoir. RaymondChandler is considered the master of the genre, but it was HumphreyBogart's depiction of detective Sam Spade in the 1941 film, ''TheMalteseFalcon'' (based on a novel by DashiellHammett), that became the TropeCodifier.

* ''TheMalteseFalcon'' features HumphreyBogart as Sam Spade, one of the most iconic hardboiled detectives of all time, seeking revenge for the death of his partner and hunting for a [[MacGuffin missing statuette]].

* DashiellHammett has several, most notably, Sam Spade in ''TheMalteseFalcon'', as well as the recurring, nameless character called "The Continental Op".

* Hoyle from the surreal and cerebral Noir/SF crossover ''{{Yesterday Was a Lie}}'' is a distaff version, with fedora, trenchcoat and all, trying to find a missing scientist.

* ''GarrettPI'' is the HardboiledDetective [[RecycledInSpace recycled in]] a StandardFantasySetting.

* HPLovecraft in ''CastADeadlySpell'' is an OccultDetective who is also a perfect example of a Chandlerian detective.

* Harry Dresden from ''TheDresdenFiles'' is part this, part SherlockHolmes, part [[LordOfTheRings Gandalf]].

->''I needed a drink, I needed a lot of life insurance, I needed a vacation, I needed a home in the country. What I had was a coat, a hat and a gun.''
-->-- '''Philip Marlowe''', ''Farewell My Lovely'' by RaymondChandler

* SpenserForHire was a rarity; a HardboiledDetective with an even harder-boiled partner.
* Michael Garibaldi of ''{{Babylon 5}}'' has flashes of this from time to time. Picked up, bizarrely enough, by G'Kar of all people.
* In ''StarTrekTheNextGeneration'', Dixon Hill is a hardboiled detective holodeck character that Captain Picard is fond of playing.
* Parodied in the PBS kids' show, ''BetweenTheLions'', which had a recurring skit featuring "Sam Spud, [[IncrediblyLamePun parboiled potato]] detective".

* ''TheAnimatrix'': "The Detective's Story" stars a hardboiled detective.

The hardboiled detective is generally a KnightInSourArmor or even an AntiHero who lives in a world of BlackAndGreyMorality. He's a PrivateDetective or AmateurSleuth -- usually the former. His services are required because PoliceAreUseless, so he'll never be a cop, though he may be a retired one. Expect him to keep a [[INeedAFreakingDrink bottle of scotch]] in his desk, which is probably located in an office in the [[TheCityNarrows low rent district]]. Recent depictions typically include the trademark [[BadassLongcoat trenchcoat]] and fedora made popular by HumphreyBogart.

* ''KamenRiderDouble'' uses this concept as its main motif. Protagonist Shotaro Hidari very much wants to be hard-boiled but is too emotional, leading his friends to dub him "half-boiled"; eventually he realizes that [[TheHeart this is a strength]]. His [[MentorOccupationalHazard late mentor]] Sokichi "Boss" Narumi, on the other hand, had [[EnsembleDarkhorse much more]] [[MemeticBadass success]] modeling himself on the Chandler-esque ideal of manliness. Chandler is name-dropped in TheMovie, and Sokichi named the young man who would become Shotaro's partner after PhilipMarlowe.

* Shotaro Hidari/one half of ''KamenRiderDouble'' deliberately invokes this; he's a detective whose ArcWords are a GratuitousEnglish "Hard Boiled!". Even the motorcycle is called the Hardboiler.
** Although because he is also TheHeart, many characters often refer to him as "Half-Boiled". He hated being called that at first, but eventually accepted the truth of it and warmed up to it.

* {{Hellboy}} is an otherworldly version of the noir classic model, a heavy-drinking, chain-smoking, cynical demon with BadassLongcoat who sticks his nose where it doesn't belong, takes a beating, etc. etc. In some of his stories, he's been referred to as "The World's Greatest Paranormal Investigator".

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* Rorschach from ''{{Watchmen}}'' has some elements that seem like a shout-out to the trope, including the trenchcoat and fedora and the PrivateEyeMonologue (which is actually excerpts from his journal).

* ''{{Hellboy}}'' is an otherworldly version of the noir classic model, a heavy-drinking, chain-smoking, cynical demon with BadassLongcoat who sticks his nose where it doesn't belong, takes a beating, etc. etc. In some of his stories, he's been referred to as "The World's Greatest Paranormal Investigator".

* Tyrell Badd's appearance and demeanor are intended to evoke the hardboiled detective image. He has a bullethole-riddled trenchcoat, PermaStubble, a gruff and cynical attitude, and his color scheme is DeliberatelyMonochrome. However, he works for the actual police [[spoiler: when he's not moonlighting as a PhantomThief.]]

* Sara Paretsky's VIWarshawski is written to be a distaff version of the (usually) male hardboiled detective.

* Parodied with hapless detective Rigby Reardon in the SteveMartin film, ''DeadMenDontWearPlaid'', which features lots of actual footage from classic FilmNoir to add to the atmosphere.

By the 1960s, the hardboiled detective had nearly become a DeadHorseTrope, but continuing interest in FilmNoir kept it from the brink of extinction. Today it is most often seen in parodies and [[FantasticNoir genre crossovers]] (the HardboiledDetective [[RecycledInSpace In SPACE!!]]), but can still be played straight in Noir revival or homage. The style and language of the hard-boiled detective tends to remain solidly anchored in the 1930s and '40s, though, no matter where he appears. Expect him to call his gun a "gat", to refer to women as "dames" and their legs as "gams".

* Shotaro Hidari/one half of ''KamenRiderDouble'' deliberately invokes this; he's a detective whose ArcWords are a GratuitousEnglish "Hard Boiled!". Even the motorcycle is called the Hardboilder.

* Shotaro Hidari/one half of ''KamenRiderDouble'' deliberately invokes this; he's a detective whose ArcWords are a GratuitousEnglish "Hard Boiled!".

* Shotaro Hidari/Kamen Rider Joker in the series ''KamenRiderDouble'' deliberately invokes this; he's a detective whose ArcWords are "Hard Boiled!".
** Although because he is also TheHeart, many characters often refer to him as "Half-Boiled".

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* Parodied in ''ProblemSleuth'', where the main characters think they are this, and occasionally do things like practice their hardboiled monologues or are drawn in {{Chiaroscuro}}. From the reader's perspective, they act more like unspeakably, unspeakably silly EasternRPG characters.