For those not already familiar:
The term "film noir" is French, literally meaning "black film." Coined by French film critic Nino Frank in 1946, it describes a cinematic genre where stories of revenge, double-dealing and faithless love are illustrated with the graphic high-contrast black and white cinematography that has become its trademark. Many consider it a Hollywood creation, but that's not necessarily true. You could make a strong argument that film noir really began in Germany with the German Expressionists of the early 20th century, not to mention that some of the very best noirs have come from other countries, most notably (quelle surprise!), the French...
There are those who love to laugh at the campy B-movies that occasionally fall into the larger film noir category, but real noir-ists are thrill-seekers: they want it (mainly) black and white with snappy and smart dialogue, strong action and unyielding tension. They relish watching the stories of lost lives of no hope that are now bent on revenge; or the husbands who plot the perfect murder of their cheating wives; and the master criminals who let nothing stand in their way as they prepare to execute the perfect crime...
But most never do because, in noir-land, bad luck and fate take the last hand. The people of film noir don't get nobly upraised-they get what's coming to them. And so will you as you weave your way through some of the best films ever made...
Just to kick off the discussion here's five of my favorites from America in the 1940's. In no particular order:
The Maltese Falcon (1941)- Written and directed by John Huston from the book by Dashiell Hammett, Humphrey Bogart, in one of his signature roles, stars as detective Sam Spade. This is unquestionably one of the greatest movies in all of film noir, sporting a superb cast, an excellent script and inspired direction...
He Walked By Night (1948)-Written by Crane Wilbur and directed by Alfred Werker (with uncredited work by Anthony Mann), Richard Basehart gives an absolutely chilling performance as demented psychopath Roy Martin. Co-starring Whit Bissell, Scott Brady and Roy Roberts, He Walked By Night is a classic, tension-filled noir. The great John Alton was the director of photography, and this movie contains some of film noir's best and most iconic images. Based on a true story from the Los Angeles Police files and narrated by the great Reed Hadley...
The Naked City (1948)- Not merely a film noir classic, this story of lies and murder in New York is one of the most famous movies of that decade. Filmed entirely on location and using non-professional extras, The Naked City is the definition of gritty noir, and director Jules Dassin stated that he was inspired by the documentary approach of the Italian neorealist film movement. Starring Barry Fitzgerald, Don Taylor, Howard Duff and Ted de Corsia...
Out Of The Past (1947)-This is one of my personal favorites. Robert Mitchum is at his best as a former private eye trying to outrun his past, and Jane Greer makes her screen debut as one of the baddest bad girls of all time. Kirk Douglas, who plays Whit the gambler (and almost steals the picture) is also excellent. This is probably director Jacque Tourneur's best film...
Double Indemnity (1944)- Fred MacMurray told Billy Wilder that he was afraid he wasn't right for the callous, murdering, bad-guy part. Writer-director Wilder didn't listen, and aren't we glad? This is a classic that's shown on cable regularly-if you haven't seen it you've been living in a cave- and Barbara Stanwyck as the scheming femme fatale and Edward G. Robinson as the can't-fool-me insurance investigator are brilliant in this hard-bitten, sharply written, everybody loses, motion picture. The immortal Raymond Chandler co-wrote the script with Wilder...
Write me and tell me which noirs you think are great...
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