2. When was “noir” first used?
• Film noir is believed to have started from the early 1940’s
stretching to the later 1950s.
• This era of film noir is associated with a low key , black and
white visual style.
• French critic ‘Nino Frank ‘ was the first person to use the term
‘film noir.’
• Stages of film noir most features where American
productions, however, from the 1960’s onwards, film noir has
been made throughout the world
3. Characteristics used by film noir
• Noir films are typically dark, suspense –filled, thrilling mystery films
• Since all these films are black and white, using dark colors to create a
contrast on screen was very common
• Using low- angle shots, tilted angle shots to create tension and using
Dutch camera angles
• Flashbacks or flash forwards are used
• Storyline: Always has a murder, crime investigation conducted by a
private detective.
• ‘Femme fatale’ a dangerous woman who knows what she wants and just
how to get it
• Noirs mostly take place in an urban setting, usually like cities such as
New York
• Film noir is mostly set at night and there will always be rain
4. Film Noir – The Glass Key 1942
• Plot summery: A politician called Paul Madvig, during a re-
election period in 1942, decides to clean up his past. A
reformist politician, Ralph Henry, son is murdered and Paul is
the first to find the body. A newspaper makes suspicions that
Paul is the murder but is this true?
