More Film Noir

This will be my second course with Stanford Professor, Elliot Lavine. Fiction in cinema provides a great lense into the past. As a student of both German Expressionism and Film Noir, I am looking forward to the next ten weeks of viewing and discussion.

As stated by Professor Lavine:

Probably the one question that gets asked the most is, “just what the heck is film noir, anyway?”

Let’s consult the dictionary, shall we?

film noir

/ˌfilm ˈnwär/

noun

a style or genre of cinematographic film marked by a mood of pessimism, fatalism, and menace. The term was originally applied (by a group of French critics) to American thriller or detective films made in the period 1944–54 and to the work of directors such as Orson Welles, Fritz Lang, and Edgar G. Ulmer.
o a film marked by a mood of pessimism, fatalism, and menace.

plural noun: films noirs

The above is (literally) the standard dictionary definition of film noir. It’s succinct enough to suffice as a guideline for what you’re going to experience watching these films over the next ten weeks.

Film Noir, as a dominant and influential cinematic style, first exploded across American movie screens sometime in 1940. And almost immediately, Hollywood studios seized upon this exciting new direction for crime films — a dramatically startling combination of German Expressionist cinema of the 1920s and French poetic realism films of the 30s, blended into a harshly modern cocktail of chiaroscuro lighting, psychologically aberrant behavior, and the unmistakable feeling that Fate (or some other mysterious force) would inevitably play a role in the final outcome. Bathed in luxurious shadows and menacing nuances, these visually stimulating and sometimes disreputable excursions to the lower depths, have now become essential to any discussion of film from the 20th century.

From the musty shadow factories of Poverty Row to the opulent excesses of big-budget Hollywood studios, film noir in the 1940s captured the fatalistic mood of mid-century America better than anything else being released into movie theaters at that time. Gritty, honest portrayals of men and women at their worst, doing their best to cope with what a world of shadows has given them.

French writers and critics were the first to point out the visual splendor of these new American crime films and were the ones to coin the very term film noir — literally, black film. Ultimately their enthusiasm would spawn a library’s worth of literature and the momentum to eventually create an entire cinematic movement, still vibrant and universally appreciated today. The films selected for this ten-week course represent the cream of the 1940s crop of noir films, a stimulating blend of the familiar and the less-known.

What We Will Be Viewing

Week One
The Dawn of an Era

Our first two films come from the earliest phase of the American film noir style: STRANGER ON THE THIRD FLOOR (1940), an RKO B-picture is generally considered to be the very first American studio film noir. An audacious, 65-minute film that quickly established a brilliant visual style with many of the thematic tropes that would follow. Its historical significance cannot be under-estimated. Peter Lorre is in the cast and the director, Boris Ingster, was a European emigre. Our second film will be the 20th Century Fox feature I WAKE UP SCREAMING (1941), a stunning visual classic that introduces many more important images and ideas that would become staples of the style. Victor Mature, Betty Grable, Carole Landis, and Laird Cregar are the stars. Bruce Humberstone directed.

Week Two
Warner Bros Noir

Two important Warner Bros films appeared in 1941 and are quite different from one another. The first, John Huston’s THE MALTESE FALCON with Humphrey Bogart as Dashiell Hammett’s private eye Sam Spade. The tone, the cynicism and the ingenious casting of this film earns high marks not just as a “classic film,” but a bona fide example of this burgeoning new cinematic style of film noir. The other film is BLUES IN THE NIGHT, one of the most unusual films in the entire film noir canon. A hybrid actually: a film noir musical that manages to succeed in both departments. A wild, visually-spiced journey that never becomes what you fear it might. An overlooked gem. The stars are Priscilla Lane, Richard Whorf, Betty Field, Lloyd Nolan, et al. The director was Anatole Litvak.

Week Three
Immigration Noir

Two of film noir’s most interesting contributors are Fritz Land and Edgar G. Ulmer. One, Lang, achieved world-wide fame in his original Germany before immigrating to America in order to escape potential Nazi persecution. He would go on to have a huge career in this country, including the first half of this week’s class: SCARLET STREET (1945) is a film many scholars believe is Lang’s finest American film. Loaded with the type of imagery and ideas that caused it to be banned in several US cities. Its power is eternal, a genuine classic film that demands serious scrutiny. The stars are Edward G. Robinson, Joan Bennett, and Dan Duryea. The second film, DETOUR (1945) is one of the most notorious “poverty row” B pictures ever made, a furious portrait of Fate in its most feral state. Edgar G. Ulmer, who came here from Germany as well, made this amazing film for practically no money in about a week, and it’s has become a cult favorite world wide. The stars are Tom Neal and Ann Savage.

Week Four
Cornell Woolrich: The Literary Godfather of Film Noir

Cornell Woolrich wrote many short stories and novels in the 30s and 40s that were turned into a wide variety of classic and not-so-classic noir films. This week we’ll be looking at and discussing some of the best. First will be PHANTOM LADY (1944), directed by Robert Siodmak. It utilized a popular noir trope at the time, “the girl detective,” saving her falsely accused husband/lover of murder. This one offers up some amazing cinematography, courtesy of noir master Woody Bredell and a crazily and psychologically dark tale. Franchot Tone, Ella Raines, and Alan Curtis are the stars. The second film, BLACK ANGEL (1946) presents a similar story with very interesting differences. It’s one of film noir’s most melancholy classics, an emotionally vivid film. The stars are Dan Duryea, June Vincent, Peter Lorre, Broderick Crawford star.

Week Five
RKO NOIR

This week the focus will be on the studio most often referenced as THE studio of film noir. The first film will be OUT OF THE PAST (1947), Jacques Tourneur’s legendary film noir starring Robert Mitchum, Jane Greer, Kirk Douglas. It checks every box on the film noir scoreboard and rewards viewers with a deeply emotional yet unmistakably hard-boiled experience, one that provides a highly unusual resolution. The second film, BORN TO KILL (1947) is from director Robert Wise. A film of unabashed cynicism, sizzling with dark sexual psychology. Lawrence Tierney, one of Hollywood’s most felonious real-life characters practically redefines the limits of psychopathic villainy. Claire Trevor and Elisha Cook, Jr star.

Week Six
20th CENTURY FOX NOIR

FOX was a studio most commonly known for its Technicolor swashbuckling adventures and musicals, but lurking in the darkened corners were some of the most famous noir films of the 40s. Up first is NIGHTMARE ALLEY (1947) starring Tyrone Power, Joan Blondell, Coleen Grey, Helen Walker. Certainly one of the darkest and most demented films in the entire noir canon, it wears its sardonic cynicism proudly on its sleeve in its telling of a carnival conman who falls fatefully into the trap of his own making. A key film in the cycle. Director was Edmond Goulding. Our second film will be LAURA (1944), Otto Preminger’s seminal romantic noir, a dark tale of a simmering romantic lust…emanating from beyond the grave? The stars are Dana Andrews, Gene Tierney, Clifton Webb, Vincent Price, and Judith Anderson.

Week Seven

The Visual Mastery of JOHN ALTON

Enthusiasts of film noir should immediately recognize the name John Alton. His name appears as cinematographer on some of the most visually striking examples of the film noir style, despite the fact that most of these films were considered B pictures at the time. This week we’ll be looking at some of his most intriguing work. First up is RAW DEAL (1948) a brutally tough film of violent retribution. Alton’s visual artistry is on full display in this film, one that bathes the audience in some of the most beautiful shadows ever recorded on film. The stars are Dennis O’Keefe, Claire Trevor, Marsha Hunt, Raymond Burr, John Ireland. The director is Anthony Mann. Next will be HOLLOW TRIUMPH (aka THE SCAR) (1948) Another masterful film, a sinister blend of hard-boiled crime and psychologically dark romance, it’s value to the film noir cycle is limitless. It stars Paul Henreid and Joan Bennett are the stars and Steve Sekely directed.

Week Eight

NOIR Exotica

This week features a pair of noir films that seem to go a little beyond what our expectations might be. They represent the work of two major directors, both of whom have achieved legendary status in films of virtually every genre and style. The first is Orson Welles, whose film THE LADY FROM SHANGHAI (1948) is first up this week. An improbably illogical film with a cast of uniquely eccentric characters, it’s always a treat to watch a magician create something out of nothing. Welles directed as well as starred alongside Rita Hayworth, Everett Sloane, Glenn Anders. This will be followed by Nicholas Ray’s film THEY LIVE BY NIGHT (1948). Ray is one of Holywood’s premiere cult directors and this was his first feature film. It’s an oft-told tale of young criminals on the run, but done in a way that separates it from the others. A major influence on the French New Wave directors ten years later. The stars are Farley Granger, Cathy O’Donnell, Howard DaSilva, Jay C. Flippen.

Week Nine
FILM NOIR and the Blacklist I

The Hollywood Blacklist of the late 1940s and early 50s was one of the bleakest periods in our history, when artists were forbidden to work and in some cases sent to prison for political views they held years before. Many writers, directors and actors were effected, ending the careers of gifted individuals. Our two films feature a variety of victims of this scourge. First is BRUTE FORCE (1947), an uncompromising prison drama that is nothing less than a vicious pushback against authoritarian practices (like the Red Scare witch hunt) and its director, Jules Dassin, was blacklisted as were a number of the actors. The star of the film, Burt Lancaster, was not blacklisted. The second film this week is CROSSFIRE (1947) a noir thriller that took on the unusual topic of antisemitism and wound up putting its
director Edward Dmytryk and producer Adrian Scott in hot water. They became members of the “Hollywood Ten,” those who would not testify against their colleagues and went to prison for the privilege. The stars of the film are Robert Young, Robert Mitchum, and Robert Ryan.

Week Ten
FILM NOIR and the Blacklist II

This final week will focus on one of the Hollywood Blacklist’s most tragic victims, actor John Garfield. He once belonged to a radical theater group, one that had ties to many left-leaning political organizations, some of whom were already facing serious charges. Garfield valiantly refused to cooperate with the government and was hounded relentlessly before succumbing to a fatal heart attack in 1952 at the age of 39. The two films we’ll tackle are BODY AND SOUL (1947) a searing indictment of greed and capitalism disguised as a boxing drama. It’s one of film noir’s most poignant dramas, loaded with symbolic meaning. The director, Robert Rossen, the screenwriter, Abraham Polonsky and numerous actors were all blacklisted. The other stars are Lili Palmer, Anne Revere, Lloyd Gough, Joe Pevney, Hazel Brooks, William Conrad. The second film, FORCE OF EVIL (1948) was written and directed by Abraham Polonsky, who would soon be blacklisted as well as many of the cast members. Once again the story concerns the greed of corporate America, here designed to symbolize the government. Along with Garfield, the cast includes Thomas Gomez, Beatrice Pearson.

Previous Course with Professor Lavine

Cinema of Resistance–1937-1964