Film Noir

I will have to remember that about The Bishop's Wife, thank you! Really, I like to think I know a lot about this subject, but there's really so much more that I don't. I appreciate the heads up! There's one movie I own with Gene Tierney in it and I forget the title of it, at the moment. Ghost or The Ghost, or something ... I forget. This story of how a beautiful, lonely single mother fell in love with a ghost played by Rex Harrison. Someone actually gave me this as a present, knowing my love of Natalie Wood. It's a curious movie, I haven't seen it in a long time, but it really depressed the living hell out of me, so I kind of it forget I have it, sometimes. Very well acted, though. Very strange little movie ... I'm not sure where it was based on, or it they just went off their own bat, but it's really kind of sad.

The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947)

Haha ... I knew I came to the right place to find that out - Thank You!

i don't think film noir has anything to do with being funny, it's the mystic and intrigue that makes you like this genre.
i would like to mention the third man as a perfect film noir, and sunset boulevard as an amazing hollywood satire.

I was inspired by that to post some pics of Gene over at the
Female Beauty We Appreciate Thread
http://www.movieforums.com/community...76#post1398976

A great thread, but it needs more pics of classic actresses!

I know I am late to the topic but I do recommend caution when people begin to limit genres to specific ages. The forties might have been the great age of discovery when it comes to film-noir (in fact I don't believe there is any doubt), but the fifties had their share of films which moved the genre in a more expressive way. Sometimes it was incredibly successful e.g. The Night of the Hunter, The Killing, Touch of Evil.

I am obsessed with film-noir. When I was very young I used to collect old radio shows on audio cassette and listened to Sam Spade solve the same crime time and time again. I could see the action in my mind as I heard the voices of the slow talking thug threaten Richard Diamond and then get a punch in the face for his trouble or Johnny Dollar kissing the grateful widow who he protected from a sleazy loan-shark.


When I began to watch movies, it was the old black and white movies that I loved. Here my heroes were and they were exactly as I pictured them. Humphrey Bogart, Edward G. Robinson, Jimmy Stewart and Cary Grant were the actors I loved to watch which was not very healthy for a kid in the nineties.

Haha ... Awesome! And, hey ... you know what? You're right! Why should Classic Beauty be ignored? It doesn't make a lot of sense to me, it's not like women only started becoming attractive at the turn of the Century. And Gene really is a fine choice.

Unfortunately, however, I will not be able to add to that thread, as I'm unable to post links of any sort until I find a sponsor, or take The Oath, or get initiated some way, or something, as I'm still very new to these boards. On the other hand, there is so much Female Beauty in Hollywood that it's almost an impossible task to choose just one - at least for me. When it comes to Beautiful Women ... I like them all.

... Sorry, I almost forgot!
Geek4Film, it's great to hear that Film Noir means so much to you, because you're definitely not alone, there. I'm pretty firm in my view that Film Noir of the forties is best, but I'm a fan of certain 50's films in the genre, like Kansas City Confidential, which has an amazing supporting cast like Donna Drake who was very hot, in her day and Robert Preston.

Chiming in with film noir definitions, particular archetypes of film noir are the hardboiled detective and the femme fatale. They are predominantly set in urban cities and society as portrayed in the film noir is full of vice and greed. The flawed detective is not a saint but has some principles- almost like the last man standing in a world of sin.


Films tend to be more cynical now so it's hard to define which ones stand out as noir, whereas the distinction was more obvious in the forties.

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You cannot have it both ways. A dancer who relies upon the doubtful comforts of human love can never be a great dancer. Never. (The Red Shoes, 1948)

Welcome to the board Geek4Film....I love both 40s and 50s Film noir and all 3 of those films you named. That's a fine list of actors there! When I first got into classic films I watched every Bogart film I could find.

I believe you have to be a member for 7 days before you can post links or pics.

I think you need 25 posts to post links.

I love Noir and neo Noir. I have been trying to knock out a bunch of film noir movies from the list in the list section. I knocked out a bunch recently, but work is picking up and I have to struggle to find time to watch movies and balance what needs to be done.

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I remember you were watching a lot of great noir films...then I haven't seen you mention them much. I wish I could get back to watching a bunch more...they're like comfort food. Why? I don't know, they just are.

"Comfort food," I like that ... haha!

I don't have any real comparisons like that, unfortunately. That so much of it is set in a bygone era and in black and white just gives it an other worldly air about it. It's almost hard to believe that it reflected so much of the world its actual audience lived in.

I mean ... even the scum in these movies wears a suit and tie, with their hair slicked down and to the side ... waiting at a mist-shrouded station, perhaps, for a coal-operated train to arrive. Later, we're obviously supposed to take notice of the female cabby driving him to a hotel, like it's noteworthy, somehow, even after she drives away, for good. When he arrives and walks in, he takes a lever-operated elevator up to his room with its candlestick phone, by the window with the blinds drawn halfway down. He looks out, and sees that the drugstore's line goes out the door and up the block ... and he's fresh out of smokes.

What the ...? This is representative, somehow, of what life was like? It doesn't seem real. And everyone looks so pasty, in black & white - what's that about? But the passion and the danger ring true. And the hope, strangely enough. Yes ... the Femme Fatal's handling hot money, because she's trying to break out of her meager existence. She just needs some sap of a gumshoe to raise her above suspicion ... The setting to all this stuff is weird enough to get our attention, but the passion and the Human drama are what keeps it.

Nicely written! "...black and white just gives it an other worldly air about it..."

Indeed it does. It would be hard to image a classic film noir in color as black & white is so closely associated with early noirs. I prefer black & white for noirs as the absences of color places the focus on the subjects and has almost a dream like quality.

"It's almost hard to believe that it reflected so much of the world its actual audience lived in. I mean ... even the scum in these movies wears a suit and tie, with their hair slicked down and to the side"

I know as funny as that sounds, it's true. I watched a film last night from 1946 a comedy, the actor (Red Skeleton) had lost his job and was living in the park on a bench. He had holes in his shoe and yet he still had on a suit and tie! People back then dressed nicely! That's what I love about old films they're a window into our past. We can see how people looked, the type of mannerisms they had, what the streets and homes looked like so long ago. History, that's one reason why I love the old classics.

Thank you, Citizen Rules! And yes ... people wonder if Time Travel's possible and the answer's a resounding yes! Play a movie and that's just what you're doing. The "cool" part about Film Noir's world is that so many people who lived then are still around, today in their late 80's, maybe, early 90's, certainly.

I remember being on the phone with an old lady once who was telling me about how during WWII, she worked at a uniform factory, where she ironed the clothes, with other ladies there. She was telling me how the irons they were using were actually gas-powered via a chord that went up to pipes, along the ceiling and the fumes made her nervous, working there. You'd think they'd just accept it, that this is where technology was at the time, but no ... the situation didn't escape her. I wanted to talk to her more, so badly, but you know how it is, when you gotta get back to work! Then get back home ... and put on some Film Noir.

Like tonight, I just watched 1953's The Hitch-Hiker, directed by Ida Lupino. With Edmond O'Brien, Frank Lovejoy, William Talman and José Torvay. Basically, 2 fishermen pick up a psychotic escaped convict who forces them, at gunpoint, to take him South of the Border! No, I'm not going to get all into a review of it, but it's good. It's a good movie. But besides that ... it's 70 minutes (!!!) long and that's all. Ida, honey ... I love you! That's how to release a movie. Let the story determine the length, not the marketing department. No padding, nothing extraneous ... no montages ... I wish modern movies should give that a try.

What is the difference between neo-noir and regular noir?

And would you classify anything past the 60s a noir film? Some people say that it was just the early days but other list more modern films

Everything about the definition is made up since most of the originals were never called film noir when they were made. The neo noir had something to imitate, but I don't like that term.

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Noir are generally seen as the the black and white pulpy crime movies from the 40's and 50's. Neo Noir are films that take Noir tropes and themes and update or play homage to the older movies.

I agree with Gunslinger.

I'll add that many fans of Film Noir classify 1940s-1950s as Classic Noir. They call noir type films before WWII, Proto Noir. After 1960 to present day they are refereed to as Neo-Noir. Opinions of course very.