Peering Through the Glass, Darkly: What is Film Noir?
Mar 10 '06
The Bottom Line Film noir is a classic movie style that features some of the darker human emotions and activities.
Peering Through the Glass, Darkly: What is Film Noir?
Film noir is a type or genre of film formed from darker story elements than were commonly used either before or since. Probably the most distinguishing characteristic is the fatalism; life is hard and unforgiving. Many times a mistake made long ago dogs the protagonist, only to pounce on him at the worst possible moment.
The heyday of film noir (literally “black movie” – thank the French) ran from roughly 1941 through 1959, although there have been various movies both before and since that can be seen to be part of the progression that encompasses the universe of film noir. I would suggest that Howard Hawks’ sensational 1932 gangster picture Scarface is one that could be called a progenitor of film noir, while later films like Chinatown, Miller's Crossing, and LA Confidential have served as revivals or tributes to the genre.
The stylish French have always been great trend spotters and had noticed the American detective stories of the 1930s, by writers like Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler, and James M. Cain, which featured amoral detectives, questionable motives, dangerous women, brutal killings, and get rich quick schemes. They labeled this literature “serie noir” or “black literature” and saw the films that followed this recipe to be a logical extension of the style, hence film noir.
The American directors like Howard Hawks, John Huston, Billy Wilder, and Anthony Mann were just using good business sense to get the best bang for a buck. Economical black and white stock, interior sets, potboiler scripts, and day for night shooting was one of the cheapest ways to make a movie in those economically-challenged times. The fortuitous combination of these same elements produced the overall impression of darkness, both physical and psychological, that captivated the French, once the films began to reach them following cessation of hostilities in WWII.
Although it is impossible to give a definition of film noir that everyone will agree with, a list of possible elements includes, alienation, flawed protagonist, guilt, darkness, voiceover narration, urban setting, expressionistic lighting, weird subjective camera angles, criminal intent, mercenary attitude, and of course, the celebrated femme fatale - a woman who uses her sexual appeal for gain. The books usually have out and out sex scenes while the movies, due to the “production code” were unable to be quite so graphic, although various creative ways were discovered to imply that sex was consummated.
Alienation – a character hates everybody but loves animals, for example. Richard Basehart in He Walked by Night
Flawed protagonist – running from past mistakes, like Robert Mitchum in Out of the Past
Voiceover narration – Ray Milland in The Big Clock
Urban Setting – San Francisco seems to be the ultimate noir location, as in The Maltese Falcon
The camera and lighting, weird angles and so on are a common element to most of the best films noir, with John Alton one of the best cinematographers, see Raw Deal
Criminal Intent and mercenary attitude almost goes without saying, everybody seems willing to switch sides, as it seems convenient. Look at Claire Trevor in Born to Kill.
Femme fatale – although there are many, three of the best are Barbara Stanwyck, Jane Greer, and Claire Trevor.
It’s fun to watch films and identify the various elements as they appear. It also helps to jog your memory and makes a movie more coherent to you. I find I remember movies much better since I began analyzing and classifying them.
I know there is no “one-size-fits-all” definition for film noir, but I hope this little essay has been helpful to you and that you’ll leave comments as you think necessary.
Thanks for stopping by!
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