1. Film Noir
‘black/dark film’
Bogart in The Maltese Falcon (1941)

2. The term “Film Noir” came from French critics in 1946.
Post WWII, American films were again available to view in Europe.
Critics noted that Hollywood B-films had changed dramatically from the 1930s.
The Maltese Falcon (1941)
Gone were pre-war films of characters and plots that were upbeat, plucky, or with happy endings. They had been supplanted by pessimism and disappointment.

3. Film Noir Origins and Influences
German Expressionist films of the 1920s.
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
Nosferatu
Dr. Marbus, the Gambler
American gangster films of the 1930s.
Scarface
The Public Enemy
Little Caesar
“Hard-boiled” detective fiction.
“Red Harvest” and “The Maltese Falcon” by D. Hammett.
“The Big Sleep” and “The Lady in the Lake” R. Chandler.
“The Postman Always Rings Twice” and “Mildred Pierce” by James. M. Cain.

4. Era: Classic film noir begins in the 1940s and runs to the mid-1950s.
The Maltese Falcon
1941
Touch of Evil
1958

5. Style/Cinematography/Mis en Scene
What is Film Noir?
It is NOT a genre.
It IS a way to classify films by a collection of common characteristics and elements:
Style/Cinematography/Mis en Scene
Themes/Tones/Moods
Settings/Locations
Characters

6. Stylistic Elements Plots = crime, murder, betrayal.
Tight, risqué dialogue.
Narration/voice-over.
Complex chronology and manipulation of time. (Non-linear narrative.)

7. Cinematography Low, disorienting angles. Black and white (few greys).
High-contrast, low-key lighting. “Chiaroscuro”
Most scenes lit for night.
Light and shadow “splinter the screen” into odd shapes.
Low, disorienting angles.

8. Themes Loss and nostalgia (the past).
Anxiety in daily life (the present).
Fear of the future.
Corruption, despair.
Paranoia, betrayal,
A sense of being trapped.
Reflections, mirrors, doppelgangers.

9. Settings/Locations Predominantly urban.
Dingy office and apartment buildings.
Old mansions.
Streets and alleys.
Bars, nightclubs, diners.
Industrial settings: factories, trainyards.
Water: Steam, docks, bathrooms, beaches, canals, sewers.

10. Characters Few characters with a firm moral base. All are flawed.
Upper and lower class – no middle.
Cynical protagonists.
Femme fatales.
Criminals, gangsters.
Corrupt police.
Threatened/menaced women.

11. Protagonist: The Anti-hero
“A stranger in a hostile world.”
Always male and a cynical loner.
Morally grey. Willing to break laws.
Detectives, investigators, writers.
Often drugged, knocked unconscious, suffers memory loss.
Attempts to “make order out of chaos”…but will fail as will his morals.

12. The Femme Fatale Femme Fatale = “killer/deadly woman”
Beautiful, seductive, treacherous.
Leads protagonist into danger or uses them for selfish gain.
Often deceives relatives.
Double-crossing, manipulative.
Destructive personality dooms herself and protagonist.

13. Secondary Characters
The “other woman”. Often younger and the most innocent of all Noir characters. Contrasts with femme fatale.
Doomed husband of femme fatale.
Heavies (muscle).
Crafty parasite.
Murderer.
Underworld boss.
Corrupt official.

14. Classic Noir Dialogue
"I came to Casablanca for the waters." "But we're in the middle of the desert." "I was misinformed." Casablanca (1942)
“I was thinking about that dame upstairs, and the way she had looked at me, and I wanted to see her again, close, without that silly staircase between us.” Double Indemnity (1944)
"With my brains and your looks, we could go places." The Postman always rings twice (1946)
"When you're slapped, you'll take it and like it." The Maltese Falcon (1941)
"I can afford a blemish on my character, but not on my clothes." Laura(1944)
Joe: You’re Norma Desmond. You used to be in silent pictures. You used to be big. Norma: I AM big. It’s the pictures that got small. Sunset Boulevard(1950)

16. References
Farr, John. “Tough Talk: 14 Unforgettable Film Noir Lines.” Best Movies by Farr, 2 Dec. 2015,
“Film Noir.” Film Noir, 5 May 2018, 13medsfilmnoir.weebly.com/.
Parkinson, David. 100 Ideas That Changed Film. Laurence King, 2012.
Silver, Alain, et al. Film Noir Reader. Limelight Editions, 2002.
Thompson, Kristin, and David Bordwell. Film History: an Introduction. McGraw, 2003.

17. Further Investigation
Defining Film Noir: The Case for Black and White
The Dark and Distinctive Elements of Film Noir. theculturetrip.com/north-america/usa/california/articles/the-dark-and-distinctive-elements-of-film-noir/
Film Noir: The Case for Black and White
The Basics of Lighting for Film Noir.