General History Archives

The Origin of the Term “Film Noir” Fallen Angel 1945 Black and white filmContemporary urban settingsNight scenesWater (rain and/or wet streets)Romantic narrationStories developed in a complex chronological The moral ambiguity of the plot and the characters andAn underlying sense of pessimism, fatality and alienation Film Noir: An Encyclopedic Reference to the American Style, (3rd edition, 1993) by Alain SilverDark City, (1998) by Eddie MullerFilm Noir Reader, (1996) edited by Alain Silver & James UrsiniFilm Noir Reader 2, (1999) edited by Alain Silver, et alThe Noir Style, (1999) by Alain Silver & James UrsiniFilm Noir Reader 3, (2002) edited by Alain Silver, et alFilm Noir Reader 4, (2004) edited by Alain Silver, et alDeath on the Cheap, (2000) by Arthur LyonsThe Dark side of the Screen, (2001) by Foster HirschFilm Noir, (2002) by Andrew SpicerA Panorama of American Film Noir (1941-1953), (2002) by Raymond Borde, et alStreet With No Name, (2002) by Andrew DickosEarly Film Noir: Greed, Lust and Murder Hollywood Style, (2003) by William HareFilm Noir Guide, (2003) by Michael KeaneyL.A. Noir: Nine Dark Visions of the City of Angels, (2004) by William HareSan Francisco Noir, (2005) by Nathaniel RichEncyclopedia of Film Noir, (2007) by Geoff Mayer & Brian McDonnell RECOMMENDED DVDs: The Maltese Falcon (1941), (3–disc Special Edition) – starring Humphrey Bogart& Mary AstorDouble Indemnity (1944), (Special Edition) – starring Fred MacMurray & BarbaraStanwyckLaura (1944) – starring Gene Tierney, Dana Andrews, & Clifton WebbMurder, My Sweet (aka: Farewell My Lovely ) (1944) – starring Dick PowellThe Woman in the Window (1944), starring Edward G. Robinson & Joan BennettTo Have and Have Not (1945) – starring Humphrey Bogart & Lauren BacallMildred Pierce (1945) – starring Joan Crawford & Jack CarsonScarlet Street, (1945) – starring Edward G. Robinson & Joan BennettThe Big Sleep (1946) – starring Humphrey Bogart & Lauren BacallGilda (1946) – starring Rita Hayworth & Glenn FordThe Killers (1946 & 1964 versions) – starring Burt Lancaster / John CassavertesThe Postman Always Rings Twice (1946) – starring Lana Turner & John GarfieldBorn To Kill, (1947) – starring Lawrence Tierney & Claire TrevorNightmare Alley, (1947) – starring Tyrone Power & Joan BlondellSorry, Wrong Number (1948) – starring Barbara Stanwyck & Burt LancasterThe Third Man (1949) – starring Joseph Cotten, Trevor Howard, & Orson WellesThe Asphalt Jungle (1950) – starring Sterling Hayden & Sam JaffeD.O.A. (1950) – starring Edmond O'Brien & Pamela BrittonSunset Boulevard (1950) – (Centennial Ed.) starring William Holden & Gloria SwansonAce in the Hole (1951) – starring Kirk Douglas & Jan SterlingThe Narrow Margin, (1952) – starring Charles McGraw & Marie WindsorThe Big Heat (1953) – starring Glenn Ford & Gloria GrahamePickup on South Street (1953) – starring Richard Widmark & Jean PetersTouch of Evil, (1958) – (2–disc 50th Anniversary Edition) starring Orson Welles and Charlton HestonDVD Box Sets:Film Noir Classic Collection (The Asphalt Jungle / Gun Crazy / Murder My Sweet / Out of the Past / The Set-Up)Film Noir Classic Collection, Vol. 2 (Born to Kill / Clash by Night / Crossfire / Dillinger (1945) / The Narrow Margin (1952))Columbia Pictures Film Noir Classics, Vol. 1 (The Sniper / The Big Heat / 5 Againstthe House / The Lineup / Murder by Contract)