Naremore, James. "American Film Noir: The History of an Idea." Film Quarterly, 49.2 (1995) 12-28.

This article by James Naremore gives an extensive history of the genre of film noir, a term coined by the French to describe Hollywood crime dramas that emphasize moral ambiguity and sexual motivation.  Naremore comments upon the fact that noir is almost entirely a creation of postmodern culture - "a belated reading of classic Hollywood that was popularized by the cinéastes of the French New Wave." The writings of the existentialist film critic Andre Bazin (among others) on film noir are discussed, as is his influence on the up-and-coming critics for Cahiers that became the prominent New Wave film directors.

Just when the chronological history of film noir comes to an end, Godard's Breathless and Truffaut's The Piano Player appear on the scene - representing an art cinema based on the transformation of the film noir. As Naremore describes it, Breathless was a "fusion of Bazinian neorealism and surrealist disjunctions." Breathless is "littered" with references to American westerns, most notably Humphrey Bogart, the infamous star of the crime drama whom Michel Poiccard seemingly aspires to be.

 

        James Naremore's article American Film Noir provides a thorough history of the genre, tracing its roots back to articles by French film critics in the 1940s and placing film noir in the context of the international culture resulting from World War II. Naremore also discusses the difficulty of defining film noir, concluding that it is instead easier to give examples of the genre rather than construct a static definition. He then goes on to categorize the genre by analyzing films that exemplify noir along with early critics' interpretations of these films, and comparing noir to other contemporaneous genres. Elements of film noir that are mentioned throughout Naremore's piece include evil, violence, and misogyny; crime-based plots; tough-guy male protagonists; femme fatales; first-person narratives; and flashbacks.
        With these characteristics laid out, it is easy to see how Alfred Hitchcock's Notorious both fits into and strays from the noir genre with which it is often associated. The plot is crime-based to a certain extent, but it is arguably more centered around relationships and the pain that results from the conflict between love and duty. The crime in the film is largely non-violent, and the only violence associated with criminality is implied instead of shown - we know that both Emile and Alex are killed by the other men of the cohort, but there is no depiction of their deaths. There is no blood, no bullets. Instead, the only instance of violence we see is of a more domestic sort, when Devlin knocks out a drunken Alicia in her car after their joyride. Through Alicia's relationships, we certainly see a bit of misogyny and certainly some masochism, but not so grotesquely that wider audiences are alienated. Additionally, Alicia is not the typical femme fatale - she is instead the protagonist, and while quite sexual, she is very human and demanding of sympathy instead of cold and calculating. Likewise, Devlin is refined and restrained, not the rough-around-the-edges male typical of film noir. Here we see how Hitchcock's decision-making in regards to characters and plot place Notorious near the noir genre that was emerging during the 40s, but not so far in as to make the film characteristically noir.

Alfred Hitchcock's Notorious is best understood by examining it against the rest of Hitchcock's body of work. The ways in which the film is at once expected and full of surprises result of its historical context and from decisions made by Hitchcock and his team. It is full of classic Hitchcock suspense, yet this suspense (and the film's success in general) is achieved through means that are not all necessarily typical of Hitchcock. Additionally, the film fits loosely into many genres, but perfectly into none.

Robson, Eddie. Film Noir. London: Virgin Books, 2005. 17-30.

 

This book exists as a guide to film noir movies, giving a brief synopsis and overview for most of the notable films of the movement.  In its description of The Maltese Falcon, the book begins by stating the specifications of the movie: including its length, producers, and director.  This is followed by a list of the cast and a summary of the movie.  The chapter then covers the life work of the author and director of the movie, followed by a description of the movie’s development, casting, and production.

The chapter becomes much more interesting and pertinent in the next few sections.  Robson addresses the reception the movie received when it was first released.  This section is made especially interesting because it is one of the few film noir movies that was received well by its contemporary audience.  The next section, “Aspects of Noir”, is equally pertinent, because The Maltese Falcon is often considered the first film noir, but that title is still largely contested.  In this section, Robson attempts to pinpoint exactly what makes The Maltese Falcon a film noir movie.  He acknowledges that the lighting in the movie does not conform to the high-contrast style that most film noir movies adopt.  Robson instead attributes the film noir aspect of the movie to come mainly from Humphrey Bogart’s acting and John Huston’s script.  He continues to expand on this idea for the remainder of the Aspects of Noir section, before finishing with a discussion of the movies afterlife.

Robson’s interpretation of what makes The Maltese Falcon a film noir is the most interesting part of this essay, as it tries to pin down exactly what about The Maltese Falcon actually makes it one of the first noir films.  He is willing to admit that the movie does not hold many of the conventions of the movement, which makes one question why it is considered a noir movie at all.  Fortunately, he is able to give a concise and impressive answer to this question, making the essay all the more useful.

 

Knight, Deborah. “On Reason and Passion in The Maltese Falcon.” The Philosophy of Film Noir. Ed. Mark T. Conard. Lexington: The University Press of Kentucky, 2006. 207-221.

Deborah Knight uses her chapter in The Philosophy of Film Noir to look at the seemingly emotionless film noir detectives.  She states that she believes many of these detectives to be both passionate and reasonable, and uses the example of Sam Spade from The Maltese Falcon to prove her point.  Knight begins by giving her take on film noir detectives as a whole: what they need to accomplish, how they do so, and how they are separated from so called classic detectives, such as Sherlock Holmes.

After this description, Knight details the relationship between a film noir detective and his client.  Most of the focus in this section is on the relationship between Sam Spade and Brigid O’Shaughnessy.  She outlines most of the interactions between the two characters, and repeatedly brings up the subject of trust.  This leads directly into the next section of the essay, which is in fact titled “The Question of Trust”, and which reminds the reader that trust is a subject brought into question in most film noir movies.   The essay ends with a description of the last scene in the movie, and an explanation of how Sam Spade – the seemingly impassive detective – is able to use reason and passion to escape Brigid and the possible downfall she would lead him to.

The main problem with this essay is that it is written in a very convoluted manner (as one may be able to tell from my summery).  It repeated ly changes focus from the film noir movement to The Maltese Falcon, and these shifts in focus, rather than adding to the author's argument, often serve only to confuse the reader.  This essay does, however, give some important insight into Sam Spade's behavior, and it reminds the reader that the film noir detective is not as one dimensional as he may often appear.

Silver, Alain and James Ursini.  Film Noir. London: Taschen , 2004. 9-21.

Silver and Ursini use the first chapter of their book Film Noir to outline the characteristics of the film noir movement.  After briefly describing the apathy film noir films were originally met with, the authors explain why that contemporary reaction was completely undeserved.

The authors first point to the two themes that pervade the film noir movement: the haunted past and the fatalistic nightmare.  The book argues that both of these relate to a feeling that America felt as a whole, both through its newfound acceptance of existentialist thought as well as the bellicose and distrustful feelings resulting from World War II.  The authors also recognize the Femme Fatale as an important and unique character of film noir; showing her as an early female alternative to the male rebel.  In looking at other areas that set film noir apart, the authors point to the impressive use of the moving camera, the urban landscape, and the movement back towards German expressionist style lighting.  The authors also point to the poetic quality of the dialogue, ass well as the frequent voice over narration, as unique and innovative characteristics of the film noir movement.

This chapter is an enlightening read in relation to The Maltese Falcon, as the movie is usually considered one of the first (if not the first) films made in the film noir style.  The authors discuss the style in detail; explaining how each of the above mentioned characteristics of film noir movies are used, and how they set film noir apart as an important movement in film history.

Hibbs examines the philosophical and moral themes in Christopher Nolan's films Memento and Insomnia as they relate to the concepts of truth and truthfulness as well as to classic film noir. The author argues that Nolan is one of today's most talented and thoughtful screenwriters, preoccupied, not unlike other contemporary filmmakers, with the thematic and stylistic features of film noir. Hibbs notes that noir, more than any other American film genre, lends itself to exploring the philosophical connotation of personal identity, the allure and dangers of autonomy, and the role of truthfulness. In Memento, Nolan dramatizes the conflict between wish fulfillment and truthfulness, illustrating the cost of merging fantasy and reality. Hibbs further examines Nolan's films through the prism of the work of British analytic philosopher Bernard Williams and his exploration of the tension between the pursuit of truthfulness and the doubt that there is really any truth to be found. Nolan's Williams-like attention to the moral value of everyday truth is also examined in comparison to David Lynch's work, including Blue Velvet, Lost Highway and Mulholland Dr., which repudiates the nobility of the protagonist's quest for truth and illuminates the perpetual fluidity of personal identity. Lynch, like Nolan, leaves his audience with no reliable way of distinguishing truth from wish fulfillment and factual narration from fantasy. Hibbs argues that through its reverse chronology, duplicitous characters, unreliable narrator, and its refusal to reveal the truth in its entirety, Memento mirrors Lynch's noir style. Finally, the author points out that while philosophers like Williams question whether self-deception is possible and what its consequences could be, Nolan gives his protagonist this peculiar condition, which makes self-deception not only possible, but extremely dangerous. Rather than subverting truth to wishful self-construction, Memento illustrates the incompatibility and conflict between truthfulness and wish fulfillment.

Armstrong applauds Christopher Nolan's daring sense of experiment in Memento, and at the same time recognizes the rich tradition of film Memento aspires to. Nolan.s film, the author argues, is in some ways similar to definitive works like Citizen Kane, Double Indemnity, The Underneath, The Usual Suspects, Somewhere in the Night and Don.t Look Now, but also belongs to a distinctive line of genre cinema. Armstrong calls Memento .the logical end game of the amnesic strain of American film noir,. presenting the traditional anxieties of film noir.s male protagonist seeking self-actualization, while also exploring the American status quo. Armstrong points out the striking similarities between Memento and Joseph L. Mankiewicz.s 1946 film Somewhere in the Night, stressing that Leonard belongs to the same essential strain of the damaged, alone, and confused noir protagonist. Memento further reflects the noir genre tropes by echoing the historical resonances of the dangerous women of film noir. These alluring, intelligent and often manipulative female characters often propel the film through their own questionable agendas. In Memento, .pal-cum-lover. Natalie is more than reminiscent of the noir woman as she helps Leonard only to later reveal she needs him to murder someone for her in return. But Memento, Armstrong argues, uses the noir genre tropes in more deeply philosophical ways than just propelling the narrative and building suspense. The film explores the consequences of the relationship between an individual.s point of view or agenda and the objective neutral world that individual exists in. Armstrong also examines the more cinematically self-reflexive qualities of Nolan.s film as it toys with the distinction between the literal and the symbolic. The protagonist becomes the literally walking wounded, mutilating his own body by tattooing queries of his drive for vengeance. At the same time, the film also plays with the audience and its processing of the plot, .encouraging the cinephile habit of .scanning. . making notes about a film as it unfolds.. Finally, Armstrong argues that, unlike the noir protagonist, Leonard becomes the .anti-detective. as the more he investigates the crime, the more he implicates himself. The truth, then, amounts to nothing but one.s own point of view, complete with subjective knowledge and self-protecting fantasies.

This resource includes 10 different critical approaches to Nolan's 2000 film Memento, including scholarly articles, interviews, and cultural critique.

Here is the trailer for the Big Sleep.

            In “The Power of Blackness: Film Noir and Its Critics”, Charles Scruggs argues that Billy Wilder’s famous comment on film noir “I think the dark outlook is an American one” is true. Many film historians think that Wilder’s cynical and dark film noir’s, most notably Sunset Boulevard, are rooted in his angst against Central Europe in Word War I. However, Scruggs builds an interesting case against this claim. He begins the article by defining whether or not film noir is a genre and not just a visual style. He states qualities of film noir such as revolving around a crime (something extremely present in Sunset Boulevard as the film is framed by the murder of Joe Gillis) and dark plot lines. He does a good job summarize how films become defined as film-noir and then continues on to further discuss the effects of American history on the style.

            In Sunset Boulevard, widely considered one of the great film noirs, the main character, Joe Gillis, is a writer down on his luck having attached a few B-pictures to this name. His has a glum outlook on life which Scruggs claims can be traced back to American gothic tradition. Such authors as Edgar Allen Poe and Nathaniel Hawthorne, Scruggs argues, have laid the groundwork for the film noir style of dark themes with horrid plot twists.

            He contends that film noir was built out of the “rips and tears of social fabric” or rather the portions of the human psyche that began as good and end up bad. Both Norma Desmond and Joe Gillis personify this idea. Before meeting each other both were in essence good humans but as their complicated love affair worsened so did their characters. The climax of the film, Norma shooting Joe, shows the transformation of both characters into dark characters typical of a film noir.

This article focuses largely on one of the themes established in Adorno and Horkheimer’s chapter which will emerge throughout my discussion—that of identity within the context of subjectivity and the American Dream. The article highlights how some of Adorno and Horkheimer’s arguments ultimately apply to Los Angeles and Film Noir. Though I may not ultimately cite the article within this particular essay, it does help broaden my understanding of the manifestations of Adorno and Horkheimer’s argument within the context of the Film Noir mode. Additionally, it helps contextualize this essay within the greater perspective of my thesis on Los Angeles and Film Noir, to which this paper will serve as a preliminary step in research and argumentation.

"The publication of this new edition of Kaplan's anthology of essays, first issued in 1978 and updated in 1980 (CH, Apr'81), is a welcome event. The addition of six articles that augment and deepen the collection's examination of the noir genre from feminist and poststructural critical perspectives makes this volume an indispensable scholarly tool, the most important assemblage on film noir since Joan Copjec's Shades of Noir (1993). Although film scholarship has evolved exponentially in the 20 years since Kaplan's edition was initially released, the original eight essays remain landmark contributions--illuminating approaches to an understanding of the gender tensions shaping and complicating much of US culture in the postwar decades. Several of the new inclusions probe issues of representation and spectatorship beyond the heterosexual divide. Collectively, the added pieces address generational differences between classic and neo-noir cinema and demonstrate the versatility and persistent vitality of the noir mode. Kaplan's introduction to the new edition provides useful historical and critical context, and the supplementary bibliography is a starting point for anyone wanting to investigate the genre. A must for all academic libraries." (Choice, July 1999)