When American movies began to reappear in French cinemas as the end of World War II approached, audiences noticed a remarkable change. The new crop of crime films, produced during the War years, was almost gleefully cynical, populated by introverted characters adrift in a world with no apparent moral center who fall victim to perverse twists of fate or their own inherent flaws. These Freudian crime dramas were embraced by existentialist and surrealist movements in France and, in 1946, French critic Nino Frank called them "noir", after the popular "Série Noir" of crime fiction. Thus, the term "film noir", which would eventually reverberate far and wide through popular culture, entered the academic discourse. In 1955 French critics Etienne Chaumeton and Raymond Borde published 'A Panorama of American Film Noir (1941-1953)', the seminal work of film noir theory on which all subsequent discussions are to some degree based. Ironically, there wasn't much discussion of film noir in the United States until writer/director Paul Schrader published his essay "Notes on Film Noir" in 1972, which attempted to describe film noir, identify its influences, and was, itself, a tremendous influence on how Americans perceive film noir.

So what is film noir? Dozens of books and countless essays have been written that try to answer that very question. A simple definition might be that film noirs are Freudian crime films of the 1940s and 1950s that, at the peak of the movement, tended to be photographed in a style characterized by high-contrast (chiaroscuro), low-key lighting. The undisputed film noirs certainly fit that description. But many other films conform to that definition to varying degrees. Which films should or should not be considered film noir is an subject of interminable debate. Apparent film noirs made after 1960, sometimes referred to as neo-noir, modern noir, or post-modern noir, are not part of the classic noir cycle and are beyond the scope of this Guide.

Another hotly debated issue in the study of film noir is whether "film noir" is a genre, a style, a genre/style hybrid, or, perhaps, a constantly mutating cultural discourse. Film noir is not defined by conventions of time, place, or narrative, so some say it is not a genre, although it exists within the crime film genre. Film noir is dependent, instead, on conventions of theme and visual style, so some consider film noir a style. Styles can be present to varying degrees and are frequently identified ex post facto, so that might be a helpful way to look at it. For the record, in case anyone cares, I am firmly in the "style" camp.

What created the film noir movement? That debate isn't as violent as the others, although I'm not sure why not. Many classic film noirs are based on crime novels of the hard-boiled school. The works of Dashiell Hammett, James M. Cain, Raymond Chandler, and Cornell Woolrich are common sources. So hard-boiled fiction is an obvious influence. Post-war disillusionment is often cited as a source of the films' cynicism, although the themes are carry-overs from the 1930s. Another approach is to note that film noir is a sort of synthesis of 3 genres from the 1930s: Warner Brothers studio's gangster films, Universal's horror films, and Fox and MGM's detective films. German Expressionism is usually cited as the primary influence on film noir's visual style, but French poetic realism and Italian neo-realism are mentioned as well. My thinking on the issue is more deterministic: Improved film technology, the economics of the "B" movie, and the Production Code determined how films were made in the classic noir era. But see the films, read some books, and come to your own conclusions.

The Essential Films

If you have made it through my little dissertation, you will want to watch some movies. Choosing a middle-of-the-road, not too exclusive, not excessively inclusive method of counting, there are around 250 film noirs of the classic period. So which ones should you see? I have compiled a list of films that should be a good place to start. Included are the films that Paul Schrader called the "best and characteristically noir films" in his essential 1972 essay, films that noir theorist Alain Silver put on a Top 10 list for "Variety" magazine in 1993 as well as those he selected as "crucial films" more recently, films that Silver and James Ursini chose to represent the 10 thematic prototypes of film noir, and some recommended by professor Philip Gaines in his film noir course. I have added a few films that are so famous and frequently discussed that I don't think you'll want to miss them. Note that these are not necessarily the best films that are film noir, but the films that best exemplify the film noir style -although there are certainly great films among them. Classic Film Noir is often divided into 4 approximate and overlapping eras -which are, as you might have guessed, debatable. Some of these films are available only on VHS. Some are, unfortunately, not available at all outside of screening rooms. By the time you read this, DVDs may be available, so be sure to check.

1941-1946: The War era. Includes early development of film noir and features many private detective and loner protagonists.

'The Maltese Falcon' (1941)
'Double Indemnity' (1944)
'Detour (B&W)' (1945)
'Woman in the Window / Movie' (1945)
'The Big Sleep' (1946)
'The Postman Always Rings Twice' (1946)

1946-1949: The Post-war era. More realism, including "documentary-style" noirs.

'Gilda' (1946)
'Out of the Past' (1947)
Ride the Pink Horse (1947)
'T-Men' (1947)
The Unsuspected (1947)
The Reckless Moment (1949)
They Live by Night (1949)
'Criss Cross' (1949)

1949-1953: No-holds-barred noir. Many of the most interesting film noirs belong to this era, when even the protagonists seem to have lost their mooring.

'Caught' (1949)
'Gun Crazy' (1949)
'White Heat' (1949)
'D.O.A.' (1950)
'In a Lonely Place' (1950)
'Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye' (1950)
'Night and the City - Criterion Collection' (1950)
'The Asphalt Jungle' (1950)
The Big Night (1951)
'The Big Heat' (1953)

1953-1958: Decay. The final years of the classic film noir period. "Kiss Me Deadly" is often seen as a metaphor for the demise of the film noir style. It could hardly have been intended that way, but it does suit the role perfectly. "Touch of Evil", often cited as "film noir's epitaph", was recut by Universal studio in such a way as to make the film nonsensical. Some of Orson Welles' intended editing was restored in 1998, so be sure to see the newer version.

'Kiss Me Deadly' (1955)
'Touch of Evil (Restored to Orson Welles' Vision)' (1958)

Film Noir History &Theory

Reading about movies isn't as much fun as watching them, but there are a variety of interesting books on the subject of film noir. I cannot discuss them here, because I have run up against Halfvalue's word limit. For a list of some of the most popular and essential film noir books, with descriptions, please see my Listmania list entitled "Film Noir History & Theory". Happy viewing!

(This Guide was published 18 January 2006.)