Abstract:According the theme of story, American Classical Film Noir can be divided into three types: criminal adventure story, war veteran story and tough detective story. Correspondingly, they present three different types of male images:the lawbreakers; the post-war returnees and the urban chasers. In the first two types of characters, the crisis of male image is obvious, since the masculinity is completely lost, the male-centered power structure is destroyed,anxiety and fear, confusion and disillusionment are all rolled into one. In the latter kind of characters, the efforts and hopes of trying to reconstruct masculinity are reflected.In the nightmarish world, the American classic film noir presents these three types of male images. In this way, it constantly highlights the meaning of social ideology and seeks possible ways of social criticism.