Guide to Film Noir

Film Noir, meaning literally, “Black film,” saw its heyday during World War II and the immediate post war years. Moody, dark and violent, film noir is characterised by its embittered and audacious characters and dark settings.

The stories usually centre on a male protagonist who finds himself in a dangerous situation and spends the entire film trying to get out of it. In the process he meets a mysterious and beautiful woman with blood red lips and hair to die for and during the course of his journey he is torn between making love to her and locking her in a closet for all Eternity.

Origins

Movies of the thirties are exemplified by the three titanics of the era: Wizard of Oz, Wuthering Heights and Gone With the Wind - all released in 1939. Long-winded, overly romantic and with characters so wet they positively drip – especially the women, movies of the thirties were meant to distract audiences and uplift them far above their dreary lives.

This was the decade of the Great Depression in America and going to the movie theatre was a cheap and cheerful treat. Along with John Ford epics, the studios were pumping out musicals starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers and saccharine infused fare featuring the likes of Shirley Temple as a way of bringing a little sunshine and luxury to the huddled masses.

As the drudgery of the Depression segued into the new freedom and increasing prosperity of the War years, filmmakers turned to the streets and the complex issues of alienation and death for inspiration. Film scholars often liken the male protagonist of film noir to the American soldier returning from the War to find life as usual irreparably altered – his once docile girl now a mouthy and luxuriously coiffed woman with a mind and life of her own and the institutions he once relied on: church, family and employer tragically irrelevant.

Working under strict censorship guidelines, filmmakers could not blatantly address any issues that would jeopardise national security. Film noir was an outlet where the violence of the day could be safely explored.

The Books

Film noir classic, Sunset Boulevard (1950), is the story of a failed novelist who attempts to make a name for himself writing for the pictures. Instead of finding success, he falls into the clutches of a has-been actress and winds up floating face down in a swimming pool outside her mansion. The movie is an ironic tribute to the contribution writers made to the genre.

Crime novelists such as Graham Greene, James Cain and Raymond Chandler were the creative life blood to film noir. A flick through a Cain reader will introduce you to many popular film titles including, Double Indemnity, Mildred Pierce, and The Postman Always Rings Twice. Film noir was the perfect visual channel for “hard-boiled” fiction. The films brought fame, new opportunities in the movie industry and a long publishing legacy to its authors.

The Films

Film noir may appear low budget in our world of CGI and glossy finishes. Yet these movies, which primarily appeared during the 40s and 50s, though more recent films like Chinatown (1974) and LA Confidential (1997) are sometimes classified as film noir, are not to be missed for their clever dialogue, fabulous women, complicated plots and stylish settings.

To start you off, check out these films: Gilda (1946),Detour (1945),The Big Sleep (1946), The Maltese Falcon (1941) and Kiss Me Deadly (1955).

Your granny’s hairdo and open-toe sandles may never look the same again.