Film Noir was a style of dark, bleak American crime films that emerged in the 1940s following World War II. The films reflected the tensions of the postwar period and often featured themes of paranoia, moral corruption, and despair. While not technically a genre, Film Noir films shared a dark visual style characterized by shadowy lighting, disorienting camera work, and urban settings. They typically told nonlinear stories centered around an antihero drawn into a criminal plot by a manipulative femme fatale figure.

1. History of Film Noir
Liberty Cooper

2. Beginning of Film Noir
• Film Noir was invented by French film critics who noticed the trend
in how ‘dark’, downbeat and black the American crime and detective
films were when released in the French theatres following the war.
For example, The Maltese Falcon(1941), Double Indemnity(1944),
Murder, My Sweet(1944), The Woman In The Window(1944) and
Laura(1944)
• Many films that were released in this time reflected the ‘chilly’ Cold
War period where there were tensions and insecurities
• Main themes that were found in these films were paranoia,
bleakness, mistrust, despair and loss
• The rarely happy endings of Film Noirs also reflected the criminal,
violent and greedy perspectives of anti-heroes. These were a
metaphoric symptom of society’s evils with moral conflict,
purposelessness and a sense of injustice

3. Not a genre
• Film Noir is not a genre but rather a style and mood or point of view
• Film makers who released their film in this time period were not
aware that their film would be labelled a ‘Noir’ as it was only due to
the time period they were released in that made them be referred to
as this. It was all down to the emotion and state in that time which
was bleak and strenuous so any film released in this time was
usually known as a ‘Noir’
• The primary moods within classic film noir were melancholy, moral
corruption, alienation, guilt and desperation

4. Where ideas come from
• The classic Film Noir’s were developed during and after World War
II and evoked in the early 1940’s
• From this, many films include post-war anxiety and suspicion
• The last Film Noir was released in the 1960’s, the last one being
Touch Of Evil(1958)
• Women were given a new found independence and better earnings
during the war so that would possibly influence the story lines where
the femme fatale have power over the men through they sexuality

5. Story line
• The story line was very often based around a male character that is
delusional and easily falls for the femme fatale due to her outgoing
female characteristics and sexual manipulation which often follows
on to a murder
• Usually by the end she is betrayed and destroyed as well
• The characters which included detectives, gangsters, heroes (anti-
heroes) and crooks, were often moral-ambiguous low-lifes. They are
seen as quite distinctive because they will be obsessive, delusional,
insecure and struggling to survive and usually overall losing to what
they want
• The storyline is usually nonlinear, twisted, complex and hard to
understand
• The music is usually jazz with flashbacks and first person voice-over
narration

6. Moods
• Film Noir is usually shot in black and white which portrays the
gloomy lifestyle and stress which highlights how dark and brutal
some peoples lives are
• The whole mood of the films are usually highlighting suspicion and
the idea that anything can go wrong at any point
• All of this usually leads the protagonist to make mistakes because of
their inner weakness

7. Lighting and camera work
• There is an emphasis on expressionist lighting,
disorientating camera work, juxtaposition of elements,
shadows, unusual camera angles (usually diagonal) and
excessive smoking and drinking
• Inside the importance was usually based on low key
lighting, windows, blinds and dark, gloomy,
claustrophobic rooms.
• Exterior scenes were usually urban settings, dark
alleyways with low key lighting and lampposts that give
off lots of light

8. Femme Fatale
• The Femme Fatale in Film Noir’s usually have elements
of being attractive, sexual towards the male protagonist,
manipulative, mysterious, bitter-sweet and unreliable
• The male protagonist usually falls for the femme fatale
because of her insistence and becomes trapped in her
web and has to decide whether to follow her dangerous
plan