Blue Steel

Rookie NYPD officer Megan Turner shoots a supermarket robber on her first day, but commodities trader Eugene Hunt picks up the robber's .44 Magnum and begins killings with it. He carves Turner's name onto spent cartridge cases and becomes fixated on her, turning the police case into a personal hunt. [AFI Catalog](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/58437-BLUE-STEEL)

Jamie Lee Curtis plays Megan Turner and Ron Silver plays Eugene Hunt, with Kathryn Bigelow directing the 1990 thriller. The film was released in the United States on March 16, 1990. [AFI Catalog](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/58437-BLUE-STEEL)

The robber's gun disappears after the supermarket shooting, and witnesses cannot clearly confirm that he was armed. Without the weapon, the department suspects Turner killed an unarmed man, while a later cartridge case marked with her name helps reopen the investigation. [AFI Catalog](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/58437-BLUE-STEEL)

The threat is not just a police investigation: Hunt's stolen gun, obsession with Turner and random killings connect weapon culture with sexual power and institutional doubt. Bigelow keeps the story in New York and makes a rookie woman's credibility part of the suspense. [Los Angeles Times](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-03-16-ca-120-story.html)