Published to coincide with a crimefest at the National Film Theatre in London, this heavily-illustrated reference book offers a guide to all forms of crime on film. It contains 500 entries on crime cinema classics and the cult films of the genre, including many from Europe and the Far East. The coverage includes prison drama, heist movies, films about juvenile delinquents, serial killers and bank robbers. There are also articles on the historical and social background to movie crime, which cover the FBI, the Mafia, drugs, the Japanese yukuza, prohibition, boxing, union rackets, poisoning and prostitution. The book aims to provide comprehensive and authoritative information on the entire development of the genre throughout its history.