Director: Andre De Toth
Producer: Samuel Bischoff
Screenwriter: Karl Kamb, Andre De Toth, and William Bowers
Cinematographer: Harry J. Wild
Studio: United Artists 1948
Main Acting: Dick Powell and Lizabeth Scott
It’s past midnight and I was getting ready to post George Cukor’s Gaslight as my number 43 on the film noir countdown. As I write below, I have serious reservations about including this movie on the list. At this late hour, I decided to place Pitfall here as a last minute replacement. I regret not being able to write in detail about De Toth’s wonderful 1948 picture starring Dick Powell. Similar to I Walk Alone, Pitfall deserves a legit DVD/Blu Ray release and is a great noir that screams out for more recognition. I will allow my initial pick to be read as I explicitly describe why I feel strongly to have it removed from consideration. After some deliberation, Gaslight is simply not film noir in my eyes. To be honest, Pitfall is probably the overall better film anyway.
Dave Hicks included Pitfall in his own noir countdown almost a year ago. He had the De Toth film coming in at #13. The movie deals with John Forbes (played by Dick Powell), an insurance agent trying to find some excitement in his boring middle class life. He sparks a romance with model Mona Stevens (played by Lizabeth Scott) who happens to be the girlfriend of a imprisoned criminal that Forbes has been assigned the task of repossessing various expensive items from. Forbes ends up lying on his reports, falsifying what Mona has in her ownership (primarily a speedboat) and gets involved in a relationship that sends his envious private investigator colleague MacDonald (Raymond Burr) into a jealous frenzy. The couple is increasingly stalked and threatened by MacDonald. Forbes must now wade his way through various entanglements that could cost him not only his marriage but even his life.
Gaslight
Seeing the lineup trotted out for Noir City 9 (this past January 21st through January 31st), I was struck by one particular film included in the program. A movie I have always enjoyed and considered a minor classic, but never assumed as film noir by any stretch of the imagination. That picture is George Cukor’s 1944 mystery thriller, Gaslight, starring Ingrid Bergman and Charles Boyer. Interesting backstory: This was actually a remake of an English movie directed by Thorold Dickinson four years earlier. MGM had had their own Cukor version in the works, so they allegedly tried to eliminate the competition and block its American release by (unsuccessfully) trying to destroy the negative of the English film. In the end, MGM didn’t need to resort to underhanded espionage because Cukor and his team created a memorable film in its own right.
What strikes me about the 1944 Gaslight is that it feels more like a Hitchcockian woman’s picture such as Rebecca than anything resembling Double Indemnity. Yet as I was conducting my research, I was amazed by the sheer number of people that felt it deserved a place in the noir pantheon. The realization dawned on me that if we decide the genre is more about style, lighting, and mise en scene above themes than Gaslight must certainly be included. I personally wonder if it really deserves a spot over something like Mankiewicz’s’ House Of Stangers or De Toth’s Pitfall, which are clear examples of the genre, while Cukor’s remake is borderline at best. Yet my main purpose of this countdown is to highlight my favorite films that exude some essence of noir. With this caveat established, Gaslight is a shoo-in when it comes to half of my equation. I place it here as another personal pick I am not entirely comfortable with.
Gaslight opens with Bergman’s Paula in shock over the ghastly murder of her opera-singing Aunt Alice. Shattered by this recent event, Paula’s psyche is especially fragile. In an attempt to move on, she goes to Italy to train for her own operatic aspirations. However Paula can’t muster up her deceased aunt’s passion and ambition. Instead she falls for her teacher’s piano player, Gregory. Quickly, they decide to marry and move back to London where the oddly smitten groom convinces his wife to relocate back into the home where her traumatic past still lingers. Once settled, Alice starts to lose her grip on reality, absentmindedly misplacing valuable possessions, which drives the overly concerned Gregory to untold levels of bemusement. Isolated and kept apart from visitors, Alice must find the mental fortitude to realize that her bouts of forgetfulness and slide into insanity might actually be the sole manipulations of her seemingly sweet yet sinister husband. She gains the help of concerned Scotland Yard inspector Brian Cameron (Joseph Cotten), who finds a link to a long-unsolved case that may finally be explained.
A pinnacle example of melodramatic woman-in-peril films, Gaslight is extremely effective at establishing a level of tension and frustration. I always find myself becoming increasingly queasy halfway through the movie when it’s more than apparent that Gregory is a scheming bastard. We know quickly that Boyer’s character is deliberately forcing his wife into a state of panic and confusion, and his increased attacks on her also affect us deeply. As the movie goes on, Cukor exacerbates his female protagonist’s suffering. We, the viewers, become an unwilling participant in this emotional torture and are powerless throughout the proceedings. We must sit helplessly as the naively unaware Paula grows increasing paranoid and more and more desperate. The boiling point slowly mounts to an unbearable crescendo. The fact that Charles Boyer portrays a homme fatale is not unique to most women’s pictures, but is unusual in the borderline misogynistic world of film noir. It’s an interesting change of pace that may indicate why Gaslight is not universally considered part of the genre. Femme fatale is an essential piece of noir lexicon; homme fatale, other than some key examples (like The Prowler), is not. A doomed male protagonist is par for the course; suffering sensitive female is not. The sense that the final act will lead to a tragic ending is standard. The sense that the tortured girl will find peace, love, and live happy ever after is not.
Cinematographer Joseph Ruttenberg does an excellent job visually. The scene where Gregory leaves the house after having an erotically charged discussion with Angela Lansbury’s music-hall-loving maid Nancy is evocatively photographed. As is the moment where the policeman banging his stick across the gate slowly appears like an apparition from the darkness. I have always been a sucker for fog-bound Victorian-era settings like this. While I’m not a fan of most glossy MGM productions, throw in some top hats, crank up the fog machine, and set the time period to, say, 1880 and I’m there. Gaslight is not the only movie in this countdown that will be featuring this fascinating period of London, that yet-to-come picture in question undoubtedly has a much stronger grip on the tenants of film noir. Still, even with my reservations of placing this film on a “noir” countdown, I can’t find much fault with the actual movie itself—aside from the devious and destructive motives of Gaslight’s studio heads. But, then again, maybe it was that sneaky behind-the-scenes conspiracy that helped imbue such convincing villainy on the screen.
A pitfall of attempting rankings ;)
I agree Maurizio that Gaslight is not really a noir. It has noir elements, but it is more a gothic melodrama on steroids.
Pitfall is a solid noir, though I am unsure I would place it in a top 50 ranking. It is a good movie but not great. What I walked away with was a deeper understanding of what a mature marriage is about and the risks of disloyalty and deceit. More a cautionary tale than a jaded noir take on middle-class certainties: deceit leads to murder and innocent lives destroyed; what happens when ordinary people at home can pull a gun from a drawer.
The whole time I finished my list I was debating within myself if Gaslight should be included. I finally changed my mind at the last minute. Pitfall is lumped in with the first 15-16 films on this countdown along with another 12-15 that didn’t make it as all being on the same **** level for me. Some pictures I left out are just as worthy as the ones I included. The list hits top gear for me at about 34…
A good film and E. Scott is just terrific here. Detoth made some other good films, (House of Wax, Day of the Outlaw and Crime Wave, the last of which may or may not show up on your list??????
Certainly deserves a DVD release!
At Allan’s urging I’ve tried to find his RAMROD to the point that now I really want to see that one too.
I have never seen Ramrod either.
Pitfall is very good. I am happy I changed my mind and dropped Gaslight. The De Toth film is much more noir and also less recognized.
Terrific review, Maurizio. I haven’t seen it. Checking on the availability at amazon, only VHS tapes are there. I’ll have to talk to Sam about it. The House of Wax of course is one of my favorites.
I agree with the change as far as Gaslight -great film though it is- is not really a noir.
Yeah about 12 hours later I feel I made the right choice. Thanks for the compliment Frank. Pitfall is really hard to acquire. Netflix doesn’t even have it available for streaming like I Walk Alone.
I actually just saw GASLIGHT on the big screen, no more then a month ago. It was thrilling.
Add PITFALL to I WALK ALONE as films I didn’t know weren’t readily available on DVD. I’ve never had difficulty finding it, but now that I look for a DVD it, as you say isn’t available. De Toth seems to need a reappraisal in general, as he feel on hard times: how do you go from being married to Veronica Lake (THIS GUN FOR HIRE is in my top 5 noirs ever) to doing a b-slasher in the 80’s (BLOODY MOVIE)?
Wow Jamie This Gun For Hire wouldn’t make my top 100. I’m not a big fan of the Ladd/Lake combo films. I think they are all weak and below average. This Gun For Hire never seems to gel and becomes ridiculous in spots. The end with the gas masks feels campy without the intent. Laird Cregar who is great in other films chews the scenery and doesn’t work for me in this one. The movie feels like an uncomfortable pastiche of several genres and falls flat in each. It doesn’t help that while Lake is beautiful she can’t act (neither can Ladd in my opinion). Not a fan of that one….
This Gun for Hire is not great – it is a breakthrough movie – made in 1942 remember – and while not a Top 50 candidate would be in the Top 60. It is to a degree dated and with a weak supporting cast, but director Frank Tuttle uses expressionist-influenced lighting to excellent effect, and the script makes a reasonable effort to explain the origins of Raven’s pychosis.
This proto-noir clearly influenced French director, Jean-Pierre Melville, in his 1967 homage to film noir, Le Samourai, with Alain Delon, who shares not only Alan Ladd’s first name but an uncanny resemblance, in a similar story of a hit-man on the run. Le Samourai has a pet canary, while Ladd’s Raven has a pet cat. Even the dramatic rail bridge chase is copied by Mellville.
It is an important film in the development of noir, but that is the only exceptional thing I can say about it. Top 60 for me is movies I enjoy watching over and over. It fails in that department and would miss out on even an expanded list. The Blue Dahlia is better….
I personally adore THIS GUN FOR HIRE, it’s one of the most European of the American noirs; more philosophical then most, and about a loner. I adore it.
Yes, it basically provided a template for Melville’s LE SAMOURAI (another reason I probably love it so much), along with ASPHALT JUNGLE (Melville shoots his line-up sequence very similarly).
A man that cares for stray cats more then human’s and rejects the beautiful Veronica Lake… what’s not to love?
Oh and I’d kill to also see Tony’s top 50 or 100 before Maurizio’s countdown is finished… I think our opinions on the genre run a little closer.
I don’t see how your opinions are similar to Tony, Jamie. He is cold on Preminger, who you happen to love. Old Otto has made up 25% of the countdown so far lol.
Coincidentally Jamie, I was toying with publishing my own list. Maybe later, after Maurizio reveals all :)
Maurizio, I suppose their is a philosophical issue here: whether a ranking is of personal favorites or a less biased attempt to trace influences and major developments. I think Allan has put this case quite eloquently before. I may not warm to Preminger, but all his noirs would rank in my Top 50.
Oh it isn’t a slight to you Maurizio, just from reading your reviews thus far an your thoughts on Neo-Noir and then frequenting Tony’s site over the years I feel about Noir a little closer to Tony I feel (though as you point out no two opinions are always 100%). Just as your opinion in Horror was closer to Troy’s when we did that I didn’t take offense.
It’s really about personal philosophy probably.
perhaps when Maurizio is finished, you both should do a top 50/100 what you think are critically best/most important (like on Objective terms), then a straight up Top 50/100 that is just the stuff you personally adore.
I always view art on personal/subjective terms, I’m not super impressed with critical lists. It’s why I put Sergio Martino’s TORSO and POSSESSION over THE SHINING in my Horror list, and why I’d put TENSION and THE GANGSTER in my top 25 Noir (again thanks for bringing this to my attention Tony), places they really have no right taking up.
My list is personal. What I like most is also the best in my opinion. I don’t care how influential a movie is, if I don’t respond to it subjectively than it won’t get in. I guess this is also why something like Stranger On The Third Floor won’t be found on this countdown. It may be the first noir ever but it isn’t top 50 for me. I guess these are just criteria’s that can differ from person to person. Mine will bypass influential or historically important for films that I think are the greatest.
I hope everyone puts together a noir list at the end. I am curious to see all the different opinions.
I have never cared for objective lists for two reasons…. 1- they are still subjective and 2- without a personal stake by the writer they feel boring.
I said “less biased” not “objective” ;)
I haven’t seen PITFALL, but I do like De Toth (especially the ballsy satire of PLAY DIRTY, what a bleak, ironic stunner that one is!) so I’ll be seeking that one out.
I can see the argument against GASLIGHT as a noir. In tone and mood, it seems to fit more comfortably in with something like Val Lewton’s foggy, chamber-bound period pieces (like BEDLAM or MADEMOISELLE FIFI) than a real noir. A very fine film, though, despite its unsatisfying ending.
Yeah Ed it can surly be compared to Bedlam or something like The Picture Of Dorian Grey. Really for me Rebecca is the most apt comparison. Pitfall is worth watching the next time TCM airs it.
I’ve heard PITFALL compared to Sirk’s SLEEP, MY LOVE… which seems somewhat applicable.
SLEEP, MY LOVE is great as Sirk’s soap opera milieu doesn’t at first seem to gel with the Noir genre, but it’s a wild, interesting, trashy film.
I agree with you that ‘Gaslight’ isn’t a noir and far too many films get tarred with the brush. For me, true noir has to have a mixture of the style and the substance; touch upon the underbelly of life and an element of corruption. Anyway, the first ‘Gaslight’ (1940) is a magnificent classic; earthy, engrossing and finally electrifying – the second one a fairly glossy but stylish piece.
Yeah a slew of films get painted with the noir brush now that it is a viable genre in terms of DVD/Blu Ray sales. You see all sorts of movies get packaged with the label that don’t really fit. Maybe someone can get the memo out to the people holding the rights for Pitfall and I Walk Alone lol. Gaslight (44) is very glossy…. can Cukor have it any other way.
Maurizio, I like the idea of stream of consciousness in the thought process of changing around your selections. In this case the alteration is valid as GASLIGHT for all it’s expressionistic trappings isn’t really a definition noir, though as others here have noted it’s an exquisite film on a number of counts. PITFALL is a solid film, probably’s de Roth’s finest, though I’ve always had a soft spot for HOUSE OF WAX. Ruttenberg’s ravishing work is intoxicating, and it cries out, it begs for a legitimate DVD release that has thus far eluded it. In response to Frank, I have a DVDR copy of it somewhere in this house. I will conduct a search presently. The film is available on VHS on amazon.
Wonderful review Maurizio, clearly one of your very best!
Thanks Sam part of why I didn’t just delete the Gaslight review was that a lot of work went into it lol. It was one of the pieces I kept changing and struggling with. I didn’t want to click the trash button and have it disappear. While my Pitfall section was written in ten minutes without any editing, the Cukor one caused much dissatisfaction (especially on how to approach the noir aspects). I also figured it was a film everyone has seen so they may enjoy reading it.
Crime Wave (1954) is de Toth’s best noir and one of the great 50s noirs. He takes the police procedural back to where the 40s noirs left off. A very tight story of 74 minutes played out on the streets of LA, has a feel so authentic, you think it happened yesterday and for real.
Ramrod (1947) is an ok noirish Western. Only a very poor TV broadcast print and a substandard VHS rip are available.
TCM has the rights to Pitfall. It currently ranks #539 as a DVD release candidate, and is not currently scheduled for broadcast. I recorded my copy from an HD broadcast on late-nite TV in Sydney.
PS: The trailer for Pitfall:
I just passed through this one, as I hadn’t seen Pitfall. But, I had indeed seen “Gaslight”, and I agree that it’s not much of a noir as it’s a horror movie (the slow burning “madness” in the female character is akin to the stalking of a monster from the 30’s or just the psychological problems of a woman in a horror figure from the 40’s).
But still, even if you mention that it’s clear that the husband is the culprit, that’s what made me not like it that much. Predictability killed it for me.
Just realised I can’t leave this thread without mentioning de Toth’s 1944 southern noir thriller of cruelty and entrapment Dark Waters (or ‘de Toth meets Gaslight’). This little known bayou gothic challenges Siodmak’s The Spiral Staircase for atmosphere. Merle Oberon heads a solid cast which includes Thomas Mitchell and Elisha Cook Jr. as bad guys, and Franchot Tone as a small-town doctor who saves the day. Oberon’s luminous innocence seduces you from the outset.
Hi! Maurizo Roca…
Remember that this comment is just my opinion and is in no way form Or fashion… Is in disagreement with yours choices in this countdown and our fellow commenter, opinions about the film Gaslight…However, with that being said…I think that Cukor’s 1944 film Gaslight do fit into the sub-“genre” category …referred to as “Gothic Noir” …I’am always aware Of the fact, that film noir have several sub-genre or Off-Genre…Which I became aware Of after reading commenter’s comments on a Film noir message board that I use to frequent…and most definitely, after reading author Spencer Selby’s book Dark City: The Film Noir
[Post-script: Selby, (along with four other Film noir authors…consider Cukor’s Gaslight a film noir.
Complete Film Noir Consensus List]
As a matter Of fact, According to the auctioneer Of this script Gaslight original script for the George Cukor film noir classic (MGM, 1944)
“Gaslight is “revered” among fans of the American film noir genre…[Even thought I refer to Noir as a “Style” I think that author Eddie Muller, and The Film Noir Foundation was correct to include Cukor’s film as part Of their line-up at Noir City in January.]
I’am in agreement with the auctioneer especially, after reading this passage from author Helen Hanson’s book Hollywood Heroines: Woman in Film Noir and the Female Gothic Film.
…According to author Helen Hanson…” D’Ann Campbell and Andrea Walsh also suggest that divorce rates are partly attributable to women’s shifting expectations Of marriage [57] Walsh writes:
[58] pg. 47…
[ Tony D’Ambra said, “It has noir elements, ]
I agree…According to author Helen Hanson, Cukor’s Gaslight have all the elements of a film noir “firmly” in place…Such as: “Chiaroscuro lighting, design, mobile camera, high contrast sound mixing and dramatic scoring), these elements have been seen as characteristic of noir, as icono-graphically and sonographically special or innovative…”)…
[Cont…]
[ but it is more a Gothic melodrama on steroids…”]
Ha! Ha! And this could be the reason why…
“…After reading Campbell and Walsh’s paper…
“It is within this context that Tania Modleski and Diane Waldman place the female Gothic noir cycle, suggesting that it expresses anxieties Of shifting gender roles, and the social upheaval Of World War II, from a female perspective:…” [59] pg.47
Tony said,”While This Gun for Hire is not great – it is a breakthrough movie – made in 1942 remember –
By the way, I agree with Tony’s comment here too…If I’am not mistaken…What I think that Tony, is implying is that films (or the 1942 film ”This Gun For Hire”) is or was
a sign Of the times…In 1942…WWII was in full swing and This Gun For Hire was reflecting what was happening in the world at that time…“fear” Of Germany, Japan, and Italy’s rule…[Cont…]
DeeDee, I don’t buy the conventional view of film noir originating in post-WW2 trauma or male fear of the emancipation of women in the war economy. I believe the origins of film noir lie largely elsewhere. Film noir was a manifestation of a fear, alienation, and loneliness at the core of American life in the modern metropolis apparent well before the first shot was fired in WWII. This is not to say that the experience of WWII did not influence or inform the themes and development of the noir cycle in the post-war period. The origins of film noir and why it flowered where and when it did are complex, and we can’t be definitive, but it is fairly evident that noir emerged before the US entered the War, and had it’s origins principally in the new wave of émigré European directors and cinematographers, who fashioned a new kind of cinema from the gangster flick of the 30’s and the pre-War hard-boiled novels of Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler, James M. Cain, and Cornel Woolrich.
When I spoke about This Gun for Hire (based on Grahame Greene’s pre-war novel), I was referring to the display of explicit violence, low-angled off-kilter shots to express the warped violent personality of the protagonist, the use of location shooting, and the night-for-night lensing of the climax in a railway yard and an industrial site. Both Stranger on the Third Floor and The Maltese Falcon as precursors were studio-bound.
Maurizo Roca said,”Seeing the lineup trotted out for Noir City 9 (this past January 21st through January 31st), I was struck by one particular film included in the program. A movie I have always enjoyed and considered a minor classic, but never assumed as film noir by any stretch of the imagination. That picture is George Cukor’s 1944 mystery thriller, Gaslight, starring Ingrid Bergman and Charles Boyer.”
On personal note…I don’t consider Cukor’s Gaslight a “minor” classic…However, your look at both films “Gaslight” and “Pitfall” is different in a positive manner and very interesting too…giving your reader something to think about and discuss when it comes to what films falls into that very difficult…style Of film making referred to as… Film noir.
As a matter Of fact,
Both authors Eddie Muller, and Foster Hirsch, reach the conclusion that Cukor’s 1944 film Gaslight is a film noir…and both men explain why they consider some “period” films to be filmnoir or at least fit in the category of film noir.
This article is from (The Noir City Sentinel copyrighted@ 01/07/08)…
“Where are the suits, the sidearms…the deadly femme fatales? When Is Noir Not Noir?
Considering these iconic noir tableaux : a frantic Richard Widmark running down shadow-streaked alleyways; a dying Edmond O’ Brien stalking his murderer through the famous Bradbury building; Charles McGraw decked out in 16th century French soldier’s uniform, brandishing a cutlass.
Huh?
If that last one threw you for a loop, be forewarned: The Film Noir Foundation will be screening several films during its annual Noir City Festival–Hangover Square, Reign Of Terror, The Suspect, Moonrise, Face Behind The Mask and now Gaslight– that don’t fit comfortably into the classic mid-20th century urban noir milieu.
Is it possible for a movie set in 16th-century France or post-Victorian era England to still be considered film noir?
Absolutely, according to Noir City 9 producer–host and FNF President Eddie Muller:
“Crime stories are timeless, as old as the Bible. True noir tells these tales from perpetrator’s perspective…”
[My Note:Which is what authors Silver, and Ursini, referred to actor Charles Boyer’s (Bower) character as in the film “Gaslight” in their book…The Noir Style…pg.134]
…”So why discount a story as non–noir just because it;s set in England or the Los Angeles Of the future?”
This perspective on noir is not out of focus, according to esteemed film historian and author Foster Hirsch, who remarks that, “The definition of noir is extremely fluid.”
[My Note:author Spencer Selby, also referred to the fluidity of film noir…in his book Dark City]
According to Hirsch, certain films, while lacking the familiar noir attributes, are nonetheless “noir-stained.”
According to Muller, the essential ingredients of noir are the characters. “Although they feel “Gothic,” I find Hangover Square, Reign Of Terror, The Suspect, Moonrise, Face Behind The Mask and now Gaslight– as noir as anything written by Jim Thompson. (The author of the “The Killer Inside me”…)
“It’s what’s in the heads of the characters that counts, not the clothes they wear.”
So is film noir, like beauty, frequently in the eye of the beholder?
I have to say yes, Eddie Muller…that film noir is in the eye of the one whom is doing the beholding.
[Cont…]
Great comments Dee Dee. I will say that I am not against period films being considered noir. In fact two will be making this countdown. I am just not sold on Gaslight being one. Epic posts by you that really elevated this thread. The noir definition is different for everyone. If you consider the Cukor film part of the genre than I cannot argue. I just felt uncomfortable defining it as such. I hope to see your top 50 at some point!!!
DeeDee, I appreciate your efforts and applaud your well-argued case, but for me film noir is solely an artifact of modernity – a tension between traditional community and the alienation at the existential center of the anonymous metropolis.
I may be wrong as the quotes may not be fully representative, but Mr Muller’s arguments appear simplistic: a sort of dumbing down of noir to appeal to a wider audience. He concludes by comparing movies to the writings of Jim Thompson – this is a flawed comparison. Movies are movies and books are books. None of Thompson’s novels were made into films during the classic noir cycle.
Hi! again,
Maurizio Roca…
Maurizio Roca said,”Gaslight is simply not film noir in my eyes. To be honest, Pitfall is probably the overall better film anyway.
I agree because “Pitfall” has all the film noir elements firmly in place…It starts off looking at the (everyday happenings) or life of a nuclear 50s family…then take a ominous turn when a femme fatale, jealously, guns, deceit, adultery and murder, enter the picture along with that ending. [Even though Cukor’s 1944 film Gaslight have some Of these elements too!]
By the way, I recently, purchased a copy Of and watched the film “Pitfall” for the first-time too…What a nice summary/review (and screenshot too!) Of the 1948 film…“Pitfall”
which I think fit the No# 2 characteristic perfectly…
[Editor’s Note: I used these characteristic as a guider when I posted this article as part Of Marilyn Ferdinand, The Self-Styled Siren, Greg Ferrara and author Eddie Muller’s blogathon…
Screen Junkies… listed no film noir posters…Therefore, I just read the characteristic(s) and thought about each film that I though would fit the description perfectly…]
These 10 film noir characteristics illuminate the unique aspects of the style coined by French film critics after World War II. Film noir represents a darker side of American film that began to replace the cheerier side of Hollywood in the 1940s.
No#1…Film noir movies have fatalistic attitudes. A character will often feel like their life is pre-ordained and that free will is an illusion. This film noir characteristic was influenced by the international conflicts of the time and the powerlessness to avoid them many Americans felt…Could Detour Fit Into This Category?
No#2…Fatalism is expressed by one transgression that spirals out of control. The average citizen character makes a mistake that snowballs into much greater problems. Every attempt at correction just makes everything worse. This is often called a spider web of deceit in film noir. It can suggest hysteria and panic.Could “Pitfall” Fit Into This Category?
No#3…Voice-overs are common. This is due to the popularity of Freudian thought at the time. The voice-over narration film noir characteristic represents psychological reflection and introspection by a character.Could “Double Indemity” Fit Into This Category?
The femme fatale female archetype originates in film noir. These female characters represent independence, strength and desire, a response to the brief destruction of the demure housewife stereotype. They are often used to emphasize the fatalist attitude in that the male characters feel powerless to resist the women. Often the femme fatale will enter a love triangle with a married man. Could “Night Editor” Fit Into This Category?
Another female role is the menaced woman. In film noir, if the main character is female she will often be tormented psychologically or physically by a man, usually a love interest.
Could “Sudden Fear” Fit Into This Category?
Some film noirs are produced in a semi-documentary style. These movies are based on real events, usually crime or espionage. They are set in urban areas and deliberately have a realistic feel. Many are filmed in locations where the actual event took place in real life.Could “Call Northside 777″ Fit Into This Category?
Obvious Characteristic in several film noir… in the 40s and 50s
Male protagonists are often morally ambiguous. They are cynical, brooding and obsessive. They lead a seamy existence as private detectives, gangsters or government agents, among others. In film noir, the struggle these characters undergo often ends in failure. Could actor Robert Mitchum’s character from “Out Of The Past” Fit Into This Category?
The cinematography reinforces the darkness in the plot and theme. Long, sharp shadows are used in film noir as well as inky blackness. Tilted camera angles with a claustrophobic feel emphasize a nocturnal underworld. Sets have a gloomy feel.
Film noir often takes place indoors in spaces with low-key lighting. Blinds often obscure windows. Exterior scenes include streets and alleys, dark and wet. Flashing neon signs were popular to use in film noir. These type of sets were partially due to war time scarcity.
Story locations are urban. The characters will often be seen in murky streets, cheap, big city apartments or hotel rooms. Abandoned warehouses are also seen in this film noir characteristic.
@Sam Juliano
I’am quite sure that I sent you, a decent copy Of Pitfall and I know where to purchase a decent copies Of DeToth’s Ramrod too…I must admit that Tony, is lucky” to own a HD version Of the 1948 film Pitfall.
La Fin…Well, not quite…
Hi! Tony…
Tony said,”DeeDee, I don’t buy the conventional view of film noir originating in post-WW2 trauma or male fear of the emancipation of women in the war economy.I believe the origins of film noir lie largely elsewhere. Film noir was a manifestation of a fear, alienation, and loneliness at the core of American life in the modern metropolis apparent well before the first shot was fired in WWII. This is not to say that the experience of WWII did not influence or inform the themes and development of the noir cycle in the post-war period. The origins of film noir and why it flowered where and when it did are complex, and we can’t be definitive, but it is fairly evident that noir emerged before the US entered the War, and had it’s origins principally in the new wave of émigré European directors and cinematographers, who fashioned a new kind of cinema from the gangster flick of the 30’s and the pre-War hard-boiled novels of Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler, James M. Cain, and Cornel Woolrich…”
I agree with your comment here wholeheartedly, However, in my comment I was just trying to point out why I think that Cukor’s 1944 film Gaslight should be considered a film noir…and to those who don’t agree that Gaslight fit into the category Of a film noir …I guess that we (others who disagree) will have to agree to disagree…(Even though I respect their opinions)
Tony said,”When I spoke about This Gun for Hire (based on Grahame Greene’s pre-war novel), I was referring to the display of explicit violence, low-angled off-kilter shots to express the warped violent personality of the protagonist, the use of location shooting, and the night-for-night lensing of the climax in a railway yard and an industrial site. Both Stranger on the Third Floor and The Maltese Falcon as precursors were studio-bound….
Thanks, for your thorough explanation…Of what makes the 1942 film “This Gun For Hire” a break-through film noir…I was viewing your comment from what was occurring in the United States at the time…WWII and the ending Of the film.
Tony said,”I may be wrong as the quotes may not be fully representative, but Mr Muller’s arguments appear simplistic: a sort of dumbing down of noir to appeal to a wider audience. He concludes by comparing movies to the writings of Jim Thompson – this is a flawed comparison. Movies are movies and books are books. None of Thompson’s novels were made into films during the classic noir cycle.
Tony,
Personally, I don’t think that author Eddie Muller’s argument seems “simplistic” this is my opinion, but Of course…On the one hand, I can’t speak for him…and On the other hand, I think his use Of author Jim Thompson’s novels was to make an “extreme point” or was used as a very “extreme example” and he was not so much comparing Thompson’s work with the Victorian Era films…I think what he was trying to imply is that “film” noir is “psychological” (Well, not so much that film noir itself is psychological, but men and women “dark thoughts”(and maybe deeds) can transcend any period) and not to focus so much on the elements (Though the elements are very important too!) between…
“According to Muller, the essential ingredients of noir are the characters. “Although they feel “Gothic,” I find Hangover Square, Reign Of Terror, The Suspect, Moonrise, Face Behind The Mask and now Gaslight– as noir as anything written by Jim Thompson. (The author of the “The Killer Inside me”…)
…Victorian (Gothic) period pieces as film noir and film noir in the 40s and 50s and even in current films that there is/was a very slight difference “psychologically”…as he states: “It’s what’s in the heads of the characters that counts, not the clothes they wear.”
[Postscript: On a personal note…I view (mystery books and films (that are considered film noir) based on books as “almost being interchangeable”…Because they both have people doing “dark deeds” in them…Even though I know that there are differences.)]
DeeDee ;)
I just read everything here!!!!!!!!
The contributions by Dee Dee and Tony are staggering………..absolutely extraordinary!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I am speechless.