We realise that it is quite unconventional for a Film Noir to have a woman killer who is revealed in the opening. There are quite a few cases of women killers e.g. The Lady from Shanghai- but due to the crime narrative convention of film Noir, it was not likely that the murderer would be revealed in the opening scene as in our film.
However, although we intend to show Esmeé shooting Jack Manning in the opening shot, the audience does not find out who she is until much later in the film. She is not identified as Esmeé, and Angela Watson (the black maid) is named Esmeé throughout the majority of the film, until the twist at the end, when it is revealed the true identity of Esmeé.
Despite this, I saw it as necessary to gather some evidence of past Film Noirs where the killer is revealed at the start, or the killer is a woman who is revealed from the start:
The Letter, 1940
On a moonlit night in the opening scene, Leslie Crosbie (Bette Davis), the wife of a British rubber plantation manager in Malaya, shoots and kills a man whom her male servant recognizes as Geoff Hammond (David Newell). She tells the servant to send for her husband Robert (Herbert Marshall), who is working at one of the plantations. Her husband returns, having summoned his attorney and a British police inspector. Leslie tells them that Geoff Hammond "tried to make love to me" and she killed him to save her honour.
A married 19-year-old (played by Eleanor Parker) named Marie Allen is sent to prison, after a botched armed robbery attempt with her equally young husband, Tom (who is killed). While receiving her prison physical, she finds out that she is two months pregnant. Despite the hardships she is put through under Matron Evelyn Harper, she gives birth to a healthy baby and wants to "temporarily" grant full custody to her mother. The intent is to get the baby back after she is released. However, her mother informs Marie that her callous step-father has decided that under no circumstances will he allow the baby into his house, and she uses the excuses that she's "too old" and "hasn't a penny in [her] name" as reasons why she can't leave him and help Marie. The prison is forced to permanently give the child up for adoption. Marie never sees her baby again. After her exposure to hardened criminals and truly sadistic guards, by the end of the film she leaves prison a hardened woman with debts to the criminals who helped get her released from jail.
A San Francisco delivery man, Eddie Miller, struggles with his hatred of women. He's especially bothered by seeing women with their lovers. Miller knows he's sick, and out of despair, he self-inflicts burns on his right hand by holding it over a stove. The doctor treating the wound in an emergency room suspects he might need psychological help, but then gets too busy to follow through.
Miller begins a killing spree as a sniper by shooting women from far distances. In an attempt to get caught, he writes an anonymous letter to the police begging them to stop him. As the killings continue, a psychologist has the keys (early criminal profiling techniques) to finding the killer. The film is unusual in that its ending is completely non-violent, despite its genre and expectations raised throughout.
The film tells the story of the life and execution of Barbara Graham (Hayward) a prostitute, drug addict, and convicted perjurer. Graham is the product of a broken home, and works luring men into fixed card games.At one point, she attempts to go straight but marries the "wrong man," and has a child. When her life falls apart, she returns to her former professions and gets involved in a murder. She claims her innocence, but is convicted and executed.
Black screen; a gunshot sounds in the dark. The shot fades in on a young woman standing with a gun in her hand. The scene fades out and cuts to a series of shots of Hunter at his desk, whisky, draft pages, etc. Cuts to Hunter at his typewriter, there is a knock at the door in the background of the shot, Hunter waits a few minutes, puts out his cigarette at then answers it. Two Detectives are at the door. They go in, and question Hunter on the book he is writing on the case of Esmeé Amé-Libre. Hunter refuses to comply with their wishes and so they leave. End of scene.
We have developed a basic plot and synopsis of the opening scene, detailed character profiles to follow:
Set: New York City, 1952
The film is set in 1952, three years after Esmeé Amé-Libre, a French born American 27 year old notoriously shot the Mayor Jack Manning of New York City- the most famous and beloved Mayor New York ever had.
Esmeé was Jack’s mistress, and so never in the public eye. The court case was held in private, and the Police managed to cover up the case through the widespread anger and grief at Manning’s murder.
Esmeé gave no explanation as to why she did killed Mayor Manning- or rather the Police never allowed an explanation as to why she did it. The real reason for her lack of explanation is because she escaped the Police on arrest, and has been on the run ever since.
The woman put on trial was in fact Manning’s black maid Angela Watson found at the scene by the police.The evidence was pushed through by the corrupt heads of the NYPD (Detective John Reilly and Detective Dwight Donovan), without proper investigation, the maid was wrongly sentenced to death- the case closed.
Our story begins when Detective John Reilly comes to question Hunter Phoenix, an English writer from London, on his new book, which is a detailed investigation into the case. Of course, at this point, no one but the NYPD knows the truth of the real Esmeé’s escape, and the wrongly executed maid Angela Watson.
The film follows Hunter as he delves deeper into the case, spurred on by Reilly’s visit at the beginning of the film, and helped along by the conflicted but almost omniscient Jessica Reilly.
We have developed an early set of characters and synopsis- will put the synopsis up when it is slightly more developed. Characters so far:
Hunter Phoenix
English writer, living in New York, who is writing a book on the case of Esmeé Amé-Libré. He is similar to Film Noir heroes of the 40s and 50s in his hard-boiled, guarded personality and cynical, satirical, sarcastic outlook on life. He wears traditionally ‘English’ clothes.
Esmeé Amé-Libre
Esmeé is a French born American, who is infamous for the murder of Jack Manning, the beloved Mayor of New York in 1949. She is a beautiful 27 year old blonde. She was physically and mentally abused by Jack Manning, driving her to drastic action in his murder.
Detective John Reilly
John Reilly is a middle aged experience Detective for the NYPD. Average build, average height, with brown hair. He was the Detective dealing with the case of Esmeé, and is known for getting fast results. He is liked and respected within his department.
Detective Dwight Donovan
Detective Dwight Donovan is also a middle age detective for the NYPD. Donovan is generally regarded as one of the top investigators in the US, having been transferred to the NYPD from Detroit for the case of Esmeé.
Angela Watson
Angela Watson is the black maid who was employed by Jack Manning at the time of his murder. She was in the house when Esmeé shot Jack Manning, and so was framed by Detective John Reilly.
Today the group and I began to form ideas for our two minute opening, based on the research of similar products and target audiences that we have already conducted. We pretty quickly came up with a narrative based on a writer who has written (or is writing a book) on the case of a famous criminal. Although writers are not hugely conventional as heroes in Film Noir, there are some films which feature a writer as the focal character- e.g. Sunset Boulevard. We also decided that the famous criminal should be a woman, who has killed a man in power (e.g. President, Police Chief, Politician, Mayor, Actor.) Perhaps there has been some level of police corruption etc... Shall update the blog with a more comprehensive synopsis at a later date.
From my research into target audiences, I have developed an understanding of audience expectations on watching Film Noir and the target audience for past and modern Film Noirs.
As with nearly every genre of art-form, conventions and audience expectations often overlap and interlink. This holds true for Film Noir, despite the contention over its actuality as a genre. To a contemporary audience of the golden age of Film Noir, the expectations would be that of Hollywood stars, glamour, murder, detectives and intricate crime thriller plots, often inspired by literature of the time. To a modern Noir audience, some of these expectations would not be as such. This mainly shift in expectation is down to the outdated nature of Film Noir to a modern audience. In its heyday, Noir was commonplace Hollywood-style filmmaking, with filmmakers referring to their productions as ‘westerns’, ‘musicals’ and ‘crime dramas’[1] as opposed to the blanket ‘Film Noir’ term employed today.
To a modern audience, expectations would primarily be fairly small, with aspects of Film Noir now fairly bastardised in the view of modern cinema. However, some aspects of Noir have remained, and perhaps filter more into the subconscious of a modern audience- conventions such as the ‘Femme Fatales’ character have metamorphosed from such classic Noir characters of Rita Hayworth[2] and Gene Tierney[3] to modernised Femme Fatales of Sarah Connor[4] and Satine[5]. Other traditions of Noir, such as the intricate and complex crime/gangster narratives have also morphed and developed into the genre of thriller, which grew out of Film Noir in the latter part of the 20th Century. Thrillers are filled with action, suspense, tension and plot twists[6]- greatly reminiscent of the Noir period. Modern expectations of Film Noir, therefore, would be closely linked with those of thriller.
In terms of target audience, I have already given a conclusion to my views on the past audience of the Noir period, and a modern audience. Film Noir boomed in the 40s and 50s, with Hollywood churning out Raymond Chandler plots and Humphrey Bogart characters by the dozen. Noir audiences were primarily American, but the consumption and making of Film Noir did extent to an international scale[7]. The audiences were of a huge scale both in the USA and internationally, it is regarded as the classic era of American cinema[8].
The modern audience is hugely diminished, unless you were to refer to Noir as its modern offspring Thriller. Modern Noir inspired films, such as Memento and Sin City have gained widespread success, but with almost unknowing reference to Film Noir in the eyes of the public. Sources give differing views on the target audience of modern Film Noir- there has been suggestion that an older audience would be a primary audience, with a nostalgic view on the style of film that they grew up with. An alternative viewpoint is that a younger audience would enjoy a new take on the thriller genre of which has grown so popular internationally in recent years. [9] As I have stated earlier, it is my belief that a modern Film Noir would be best targeted at males, aged 16-35, and this is the demographic of which we shall aim our Noir at.
From my research into similar products through internet research and analysis of past Film Noirs, I have developed an understanding of the key elements that go into making a Film Noir.
Firstly, the majority of Film Noirs are shot in black and white, even though colour picture film dates back to as early as 1895[1]. Much of Film Noir is shot as so to create a dark, depressive, moody feel of film, deriving from European expressionism, often shot with low-key lighting, and excessive use of shadows. [2] This tone of film was expressive of the dark side of human nature[3]. E.g. Sunset Boulevard, The Third Man, Double Indemnity
Secondly, the plots and storylines of classic Film Noir often involve complex and intricate crime drama narratives. Tim Dirks writes: “Storylines were often elliptical, non-linear and twisting. Narratives were frequently complex, maze-like and convoluted, and typically told with foreboding background music, flashbacks (or a series of flashbacks), witty, razor-sharp and acerbic dialogue, and/or reflective and confessional, first-person voice-over narration.”[4] E.g. Sin City, The Night of the Hunter, Memento, I Am a Fugitive from a Chain-gang
Thirdly, there are a few pretty well defined character archetypes for Film Noir- the main three being: Hero, Doting Female and Femme Fatale. The Hero, as I outlined earlier, is usually a hard-boiled detective, cop, private eye, gangster, socio-path, writer, murderer or spy. The doting female is usually infatuated with the hero in some sense, perhaps as a love interest, or simply as one interested in his cause. The femme fatales are generally mysterious, duplicitous, double-crossing, gorgeous, unloving, predatory, tough-sweet, unreliable, irresponsible, manipulative and desperate women. E.g. The Big Sleep, The Lady from Shanghai, Drunken Angel.
These, I believe are the main elements of a Film Noir- covering plot and narrative, tone and cinematography, and archetypal characters, and I intend to carry these three aspects into my own project.
As I knew previously, it seems unanimous with all views that the primary target gender is males. However, this article raises questions over whether the target demographic should be young males or older males. I am inclined to think that the demographic is shifting towards younger males- the Noir period boomed in the 40s and 50s. If the target audience for modern Film Noir was to be (as outlined in the article) those who grew up with Film Noir, that puts the target audience age at about 70-85. This is not a prime target audience for modern cinema, for obvious reasons. I therefore believe that the target audience is shifting for modern Film Noir, to males aged 16-35. This is based on the target demographic for such modern Noir influenced films as ‘Sin City’ (2005), ‘Memento’ (2000) and ‘The Man Who Wasn’t There’ (2001), which is males aged 16-35. This, then, shall be the target audience for our production: Males, aged 16-35.
Film Noir posters are fairly generic of Hollywood film posters of the time, although films in the late 50s have a distinctively more Pop Art inspired feel to them, as Pop Art was growing popular at this time. Posters usually include a picture of the main character(s), superimposed (in true pop art style) over a plain/block coloured background.
There may be some narrative give-aways in terms of perhaps what the characters are doing- as on the poster of ‘The Night of the Hunter’ (left), or the props, etc, in the poster. The posters may also feature a tagline, usually with a piece of the narration or dialogue quoted, or simply an insight into the narrative/themes of the film. Often Film Noirs featured big Hollywood names in the cast, and so these would almost always be emphasised on the poster, as on the poster for ‘The Third Man’ (right).
Early Film Noir posters were often intricate in detail, and of a high standard of quality. However, as mass advertising and mass consumption developed throughout the fifties, the quality of film posters began to decrease, and it was more a matter of having an eyecatching poster, in a pop art style that would draw in the interest of a large audience. This shift towards a mass audience also accounts for the emphasis put on Hollywood names on the posters and the presidence the names of the actors seem to hold over even the name of the picture.
Film Noir posters are often 'busy designs' in that there are many images, thrown together, with quite a lot of text to create a complex intricate design. This could be testiment, almost, to the film, in that Film Noir narratives are often complex, confused and intricate. However, in terms of Film Noir posters being reflective of the film, the pictures of the actors, and the busy designs seems to be (in most cases) as far as it goes. A lot of bright colours are often used, even if the film is a dark, expressive gangster Noir, and large, thick, bubble-like writing is often used, even if the film is dark and violent. It could be argued, therefore, that Film Noir posters are often more engineered to be eye-catching, as opposed to representative of the film as a whole.
If we were to create a poster for our Film Noir production, it would be very difficult to create a replica poster of these 1940s and 50s posters. In terms of font and style an emulation of such posters would be not too difficult, but in terms of the content- the painted depictions of the characters, for example, it would be difficult. We would have to modernise the poster, perhaps by using pictures over a block-coloured background.
In terms of target audience, owing to the fact that Film Noir is arguably not an actual film genre, it is difficult to separate a target audience. Film Noir is more a retrospective term used for the Hollywood style of film-making in the 1940s and 50s. Therefore, the target audience of the time was a mass American audience- Film Noirs had everything the two decades demanded: sex appeal from the Femme Fatales; a gritty, complex narrative storyline, usually a detective or gangster plot; murder; violence; crime; up-to-date fashion; glamour; interesting and innovative cinematography and sets, inspired by European impressionism and a likeable and mysterious main character, usually played by big Hollywood names. The fact is that in the modern day film market, there isn’t a great demand for Film Noir. It is a historic era of film, now, elements of which have been carried on throughout Hollywood and World cinema, but a style that is now dated. It seems movie buffs, students and artists look back on Film Noir with a sort of nostalgic wonder- the golden age of Hollywood.
Looking at audience expectations- again, these are somewhat limited by the lack of genre conventions and the aged nature of Film Noir. When looking at ImDb’s top 5 Film Noir films, we can ascertain some similar features in the openings of Film Noir, of which we can assume an audience would expect. For example, in all 5 there is a clear-cut and defined narrative hook- the opening of ‘Sunset Boulevard’ sees a murder scene, with the apparently omniscient narration giving some detail into the murder, and informing the audience that they are about to see how the murder came about. There is a definitive narrative hook, that draws in the audience and begins a mystery that, usually, our hero unravels.
Audiences of the time would have expected glamour, beautiful women, a villain, a hero, a mystery, a murder, violence- the classic detective story, with distinctive impressionist cinematic production. This was Hollywood in the 1940s + 1950s. A modern audience would expect the same things, but with a nostalgic eye- the glamorisation of alcohol and cigarettes in modern day is almost a distinctive feature of Film Noir, but in the age of Noir, such consumption would have gone practically unnoticed. Important and powerful women (Femme Fatales) were given cigarettes on screen for realism, as opposed to meeting conventions- in the early 20th Century, if you were middle-upper class, you smoked. Cigarettes and liquor were part of a wealthy lifestyle. A 1940s and 50s audience would have been able to easily identify the class and importance of a character from their drink of choice- for example, a detective drinking whisky, brandy, vodka, would have been seen as middle-upper class, whereas a detective drinking beer would have been identified as more working class, or else wanting to appear as such.
The score begins before anything is seen on screen other than the ‘Paramount Picture’ logo. The score is orchestrated, with deep brass instruments providing sporadic bass notes, high tremolo strings holding the same note, to add tension, and mid-pitch trumpets playing a sharp chord pattern. When the tremolo strings kick in, the ‘Paramount Picture’ symbol fades, and the camera tilts downwards to a medium-close up, revealing the words ‘Sunset Blvd’ emblazoned on a gritty street curb. This establishes the name of the film, and some amount of setting- we can assume that it is a city curb, and that the name of the street is ‘Sunset Boulevard’.
The camera then tracks backwards, the first title appears, and the tremolo strings fade in volume. Titles are superimposed over the image, which is of a road- the camera continuing to track backwards, with the shot always pointed towards the floor. Woodwind instruments and Tenor Saxes play, with rhythmic kettle drums building and dropping to build and drop tension. The titles are all capitalised, in a broken military style font, in white. The mood is dramatic, and tense, the audience is being lead to believe that perhaps something important is about to, or has just, happened.
The last title fades, and the camera tilts back upwards to show a long, American road, with trees either side. Police cars speed towards the camera, framed almost centrally in the shot. A voice over plays non-diegetically, whilst police car sirens provide a diegetic background noise. The music has faded to a low volume, and brass and strings provides the melody. The mood is calmer now, the voice over sounds like a middle aged, American man. He seems to be an omniscient, present tense, narrator; the voice over is used to set the scene, provide a background narrative, and bring the audience into the film. It begins with the words ‘Yes, this is Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles, California ‘- the language is informal, personal, as if he is speaking directly to the audience.
As the voice over speaks, the cop cars are shot from a high angle, pulling up at a large mansion, getting out of their cars and running around the side of the house. The camera pans to follow them. The voice over almost explains what is happening in the shot he says ‘The body of a young man was found in the pool’, as the shot cuts to the cops and reporters crowded around a pool, with the body of a man floating face down in it.
The cops are dressed in high-street cop uniforms, and the reporters wear trench coats and trilby hats. It then cuts to a low angle, underwater shot, with the dead, floating man, facing the camera. The cops and reporters can be seen in the depth of field, talking frantically, and taking photos. The shot fades. The opening is shot in black and white, natural lighting.
2.Double Indemnity
The film opens on long shot of a city street, with extremely low key lighting, to tell the audience that it is night time. Only the pin-prick lights of streetlamps and car headlights can be seen through the darkness. The music is a frantic score, of harpsichord, bells, strings, trumpet, viola, and trombone. A sign reading ‘Los Angeles Railway’ lights up, as the car drives towards the camera. The camera then cuts to a medium close up of the traffic lights changing from ‘Go’ to ‘Stop’ the car, in the right half of the shot, does not stop, but purposefully carries on. There is a quick cut to the car swerving around an oncoming vehicle from the right of the shot. The music builds, and slows down as the car pulls up to a building. We do not yet know who is in the car, or why they are driving so erratically.
You get the feeling that they are perhaps being chased, or else have to get somewhere immediately- it is, again, like Sunset Boulevard, setting the audience up for something big, only to bring them back down again, when there seems to be no particular reason for this type of driving, or score, as the next shot is a man walking into the building (this is assumedly the driver of the car). He then has a conversation with a short man, who casually asks him lots of questions as they walk into a lift together- he seems as if he is eager to impress of please the car driver- they seem to already know each other.
The driver of the car gives short and cagey answers, and he is dressed in a mac or trench coat, with a trilby hat. This raises questions over who this man is, why he is so mysterious, and where exactly he is. He seems, however, to be our perfect Film Noir hero- perhaps a detective, or police man; reporter, or writer, private eye, spy, etc..., he is guarded, shady, a middle aged American man. The music continues, throughout the short conversation between our assumed hero, and the talkative man, but quietly, and much less frantically. It seems that it is common in Film Noir openings, then, for the music to build tension, and draw in the audience, before dropping down to either a more upbeat score, or to dialogue.
3.The Third Man
‘The Third Man’ begins with a black screen and a faint sound of a gong symbol. Then a close up shot of vibrating zither strings fades into the picture, the strings forming even horizontal lines across the shot. The famous music by Anton Karas fades in, and titles are superimposed over the strings. The titles are white, and cross-dissolve into each other, in the centre of the shot. The credits role for 1 minute and 27 seconds, before the shot fades to black- the music ends, and the shot fades in on a shot of Vienna, before the superimposed title ‘Vienna’ appears.
A voice over sounds, and the camera cuts away to a series of shots of statues in Vienna. The shot then cuts to a two shot of two poor men- shown through their slightly dirty faces, and flat caps, buying and selling on the black market. The voice over accompanies the action, with the words “I really got to know [Vienna] in the classic period of the black market”.
The slight juxtaposition from the shots of the statues to the shots of dodgy dealing on the black market serves the purpose of setting up one of the themes of the theme: class differences/ ignorance of culture and art, and gives the audience an insight into the personality of the narrator: the fact that he says that he never really understood Vienna for the wonderful art and sophisticated culture, he only really understood the black market of Vienna. We can assume that the narrator is a lower class, petty criminal, with a chosen ignorance to art and culture- he is aware of it; he’s just not interested in it.
4.The Maltese Falcon(Note: this is the only video I could find that had the opening in it. I analysed up to 2:00)
The opening shot of ‘Maltese Falcon’ is of an ornamental bird- assumedly the ‘Maltese Falcon’. The shot of the Falcon seems to be lit from underneath and the front from several angles, casting multiple dark shadows across the non-descript wall behind it. We cannot make out where the ornament is. The score kicks in- again, an overblown, dramatic orchestral piece, with trumpets, brass bass notes, orchestral drums, panpipes- un-melodic and almost un-rhythmic. The titles appear with a ripple transition- perhaps symbolic of memories? After all, the falcon that is pictured statically behind the titles is lost, and so the water-like rippling titles could be a reference to this.
The credit titles finish, but in the place of a voiceover, as is conventional in Film Noir, there is a rolling title, introducing the audience to the story line, and giving background information on the film. The title describes how the ‘Maltese Falcon’ was lost, and its whereabouts remain a mystery ‘to this day---‘. This acts as a narrative hook, suggesting that the audience are about to find out where the Falcon is.
The titles fade to black, and fades in on a shot of San Francisco bridge, with the superimposed title ‘San Francisco’, the score continues to develop, the tone of the music becoming much more upbeat, over a series of long shots of San Francisco. The shot then fades to a mid shot of a window, shot from the inside, emblazoned with the words ‘Spade and Archer’ appearing backwards through the window. We can assume we are being let into the inside of some sort of recognised firm or business.
The shot then tilts down to a man sitting at a desk, rolling a cigarette. His (assumed) PA walks into the room, and speaks about a woman waiting for him, describing her as a ‘knock-out’. We get the impression that the man at the desk is perhaps a bit of a womanizer, as his (assumed) PA, feels the need to comment on her looks. He seems pleased at this information- we get the idea that this is a possible love interest. This is unusual, as the hero of a film Noir is usually pretty indifferent to women and love stories between the hero and another female character are usually pretty limited.
5.Touch of Evil
The opening scene of a Touch of Evil is a pretty famous and iconic first shot. The shot is a continuous shot for over 3 minutes, opening with an unseen man setting the timer on a bomb, and putting it in the boot of a car. A couple then get into the car, and drive around the corner, passing some policemen. A pedestrian couple pass the car, and the camera tracks them instead- through dialogue we understand that the man is a well-known detective, recently married to the woman on his arm. They stop walking, to kiss. As they kiss, the car with the bomb in it blows up.
This is a pretty unconventional opening to a Film Noir- there is no voiceover, or titles, and the music is a jazz piece, as opposed to an orchestral score. The music is almost diegetic- the audience gets the feeling that the music is playing in the streets of the city, due to the low volume, and trailing echo. We do, however, have a detective, and a crime.
Much like all the other openings I have watched, there is a definitive narrative hook in the opening that would seemingly dictate the rest of the plot. In Touch of Evil, it would seem to be the exploding car and the culprit behind it- the detective was an eyewitness to the crime, and so we can assume that the rest of the film will follow him trying to find the culprit. What is even more interesting is the fact that we see the bomb being put in the car, but, of course, we do not know who the man is.
Lighting and shadow is used well throughout the opening- e.g. the bomber’s shadow, illuminated on the wall beside him as he runs towards the car. This could be done to perhaps make the bomber seem bigger than he is- we have seen him priming the bomb, but we do not know what he is going to do with it. It seems this use of shadow sets the audience up for something big. The cinematography in this opening, also, is groundbreaking. Although the opening shot is one continuous tracking shot, Welles manages to include close ups, mid shots, long shots, a crane down, a high shot, crane up all in the opening.
Here are the plots for ImDb's (Internet Movie Database) Top 5 Film Noir Films, and I shall write a detailed analysis of the opening sequences of the Top 5 at a later date.
1.Sunset Boulevard
A hack screenwriter writes a screenplay for a former silent-film star who has faded into Hollywood obscurity. The story, set in '50s Hollywood, focuses on Norma Desmond, a silent-screen goddess whose pathetic belief in her own indestructibility has turned her into a demented recluse. The crumbling Sunset Boulevard mansion where she lives with only her butler, Max who was once her director and husband has become her self-contained world. Norma dreams of a comeback to pictures and she begins a relationship with Joe Gillis, a small-time writer who becomes her lover, that will soon end with murder and total madness.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0043014/
2.Double Indemnity
An insurance rep lets himself be talked into a murder/insurance fraud scheme that arouses an insurance investigator's suspicions. In 1938, the experienced salesman of the Pacific All Risk Insurance Co. Walter Neff meets the seductive wife of one of his client, Phyllis Dietrichson, and they have an affair. Phyllis proposes to kill her husband Dietrichson to receive the prize of an accident insurance policy and Walter plots a scheme to receive twice the amount based on a double indemnity clause. When Mr. Dietrichson is found dead on the trails of a train, the police accepts the evidence of accidental death. However, the insurance analyst and Walter's best friend Barton Keyes does not buy the version and suspects that Phyllis has murdered her husband with the help of another man
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0036775/
3.The Third Man
Arriving in Vienna, Holly Martins learns that his friend Harry Lime, who has invited him, recently died in a car accident. An out of work pulp fiction novelist, Holly Martins, arrives in a post war Vienna divided into sectors by the victorious allies, and where a shortage of supplies has lead to a flourishing black market. He arrives at the invitation of an ex-school friend, Harry Lime, who has offered him a job, only to discover that Lime has recently died in a peculiar traffic accident. From talking to Lime's friends and associates Martins soon notices that some of the stories are inconsistent, and determines to discover what really happened to Harry Lime
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0041959/
4.The Maltese Falcon
A private detective takes on a case that involves him with three eccentric criminals, a gorgeous liar, and their quest for a priceless statuette. Spade and Archer is the name of a San Francisco detective agency. That's for Sam Spade and Miles Archer. The two men are partners, but Sam doesn't like Miles much. A knockout, who goes by the name of Miss Wanderly, walks into their office; and by that night everything's changed. Miles is dead. And so is a man named Floyd Thursby. It seems Miss Wanderly is surrounded by dangerous men. There's Joel Cairo, who uses gardenia-scented calling cards. There's Kasper Gutman, with his enormous girth and feigned civility. Her only hope of protection comes from Sam, who is suspected by the police of one or the other murder. More murders are yet to come, and it will all be because of these dangerous men -- and their lust for a statuette of a bird: the Maltese Falcon.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0033870/
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0052311/
5.Touch Of Evil
Stark, perverse story of murder, kidnapping, and police corruption in Mexican border town. Mexican Narcotics officer Ramon Miguel 'Mike' Vargas has to interrupt his honeymoon on the Mexican-US border when an American building contractor is killed after someone places a bomb in his car. He's killed on the US side of the border but it's clear that the bomb was planted on the Mexican side. As a result, Vargas delays his return to Mexico City where he has been mounting a case against the Grandi family crime and narcotics syndicate. Police Captain Hank Quinlan is in charge on the US side and he soon has a suspect, a Mexican named Manolo Sanchez. Vargas is soon onto Quinlan and his Sergeant, Pete Menzies, when he catches them planting evidence to convict Sanchez. With his new American wife, Susie, safely tucked away in a hotel on the US side of the border - or so he thinks - he starts to review Quinlan's earlier cases. While concentrating on the corrupt policeman however, the Grandis have their own plans for Vargas and they start with his wife Susie.
This here is a list of the top 50 Film Noir films, courtesy of imdb.com. The purpose of studying this list is to a) get a feel for the type of films that Film Noir produces, and b) to gauge Film Noir’s that are successful, so that I can carry through some of the features that made them successful into my own production.
A San Francisco delivery man, Eddie Miller, struggles with his hatred of women. He's especially bothered by seeing women with their lovers. Miller knows he's sick, and out of despair, he self-inflicts burns on his right hand by holding it over a stove. The doctor treating the wound in an emergency room suspects he might need psychological help, but then gets too busy to follow through.
The film tells the story of the life and execution of Barbara Graham (Hayward) a prostitute, drug addict, and convicted perjurer. Graham is the product of a broken home, and works luring men into fixed card games.At one point, she attempts to go straight but marries the "wrong man," and has a child. When her life falls apart, she returns to her former professions and gets involved in a murder. She claims her innocence, but is convicted and executed.
