The who, what, when, where, why of film noir

Film noir began in the 1930s and remained as a strong cinematic medium until the early 1960s. Film noir literally means "black film" in French and features themes which are more negative than positive, with an overall dark and shadowy outlook--being filmed in black and white. This film genre takes in detective and crime noir as well as many gangster films of the 1930's. Noir also moves into more modern films combining with other genres. These would include western noir (High Noon), romance noir (LAURA), crime noir (THE BIG HEAT), and even modern detective noir (L.A. CONFIDENTIAL and CHINATOWN).

The first recognized noir movies were STRANGER ON THE THIRD FLOOR from 1940 and THE MALTESE FALCON (1941), although films made use of many noir facets well before. Both of these films featured what was at the time a new cinematic technique that made use of dark or dim lighting effects, dreary settings, filtered lights and generally dark themes and characterizations. Noir scenes are made from interesting camera angles and with dramatic close-ups and shadowed lighting. Frequently the stories use of smoke-filled rooms, views of light filtered through venetian blinds, seedy downtown areas with neon lights, dark wet streets to heighten the noir effect. Brightly-lit scenes are not used in noir films since the desired effect is that of dreary hopelessness.

The content of noir films keeps pace with the settings. Most noir stories feature main characters who find themselves embroiled in hopeless situations, fighting against a force that threatens to overtake them, the force being their inablility to resist temptation. Most often this main character is male, although there are some noir movies in which the main character is female.

In any case, the protagonist always has a major character flaw which leads to ruin. It might be that the character is a small-time criminal, adulterer, thief, of a weak-will, etc. The character also may appear to be honest at the outset of the film. In these cases, as the story unfolds, the protagonist becomes tainted by some dishonest deed and is sent to his doom. In most cases, the protagonist, if male, is brought to ruin by another staple of the noir movie--the femme fatale.

The femme fatale is most often depicted as a beautiful woman, cruel and dishonest, who is willing to do anything necessary to reach her ends. She uses the protagonist as a tool to help her accomplish some unsavory deed and the protagonist is powerless to refuse her. The femme fatale is often distrustful and even contemptuous of the protagonist but still holds him within her grasp by using promises of their new life together after the deed is complete. The distrust that the femme fatale holds for her pawn is also what brings her to destruction as well. Often, the femme fatale is seen weaving her evil web around a victim who, at first is unwilling. However, the protagonist always falls prey to the wiles of the haunting beauty and promised charms of the woman. Famous noir femme fatales include Barbara Stanwyck (DOUBLE INDEMNITY), Rita Hayworth (GILDA) and Lana Turner (THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE). There are some films in which both the protagonist and the femme fatale are female such as mildred pierce, where Joan Crawford is the protagonist and Ann Blyth, playing her daughter, is the cruel and manipulative “junior” femme fatale. There may also be cases where the noir characters are used even more creatively, as in GASLIGHT where Ingrid Bergman is the protagonist to an evil tormenter-husband played by Charles Boyer.

The femme fatale is not always the only woman in the life of the main character. There is often a balance of the evil femme fatale with another pure and virtuous woman who only wishes the best for the protagonist. In this battle, it is the evil that always triumphs in noir. The protagonist is powerless to make the choice of the woman who is best for him.

Another facet of noir films is the flashback. In nearly all noir films, generous use is made of this vehicle. Often the flashbacks are voice-overs, narrated by the protagonist recounting, somewhat sarcastically, the reasons and details of his downfall. One example is Fred MacMurray in DOUBLE INDEMNITY, and another, rather odd one is William Holden in SUNSET BOULEVARD where he narrates the entire story in flashbacks as he floats face down, dead, in a pool.

The plot of a noir movie is circuitous and holds many surprises and unanswered questions for the viewer. Sometimes the resolution of the plot is left hanging, casting an even darker aura over the film, such as the ending of "Scarlet Street", another great film noire in which the audience is left to wonder what eventually happens to the main character. Still, there is much action in noir films, even with the plot unwinding slowly and building to a riveting climax.

Noir heroes are flawed humans and always shown to have character imperfections. Many of those heroes are detectives, taking the cases of mysterious women who draw them into a tangled maze of evil by making use of their hypnotic sensuality. Detective noirs are among some of the most popular films of this genre. Films like the Sam Spade mysteries began the whole detective and crime noir sub-genre and cemented actors such as Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall in the minds of noir buffs.