1. Professor Will Adams
Valencia College

2.  The film noir genre was
born from crime films.
 Audiences grew bored
with the criminal
protagonist of gangster
films.
 They wanted more of a
hero during war times
 It is a more intelligent
genre: German
Expressionists heavily
influenced it with their
mise-en-scene.
 Some film noir films have
criminals & private eyes,
but not all private eye or
crime films are film noir.
 The majority of film noir
were produced from
1945-ish to 1950-ish.
 They became simplified
and too common, but they
did leave a lasting
impression on later
filmmakers.

3.  There is no true
definition of what
constitutes a film noir, yet
many films that are
considered film noir
contain similar
characteristics.
 Pictured at right:
Humphrey Bogart in The
Maltese Falcon (1941)

4.  Mean, nasty places
where anything can
happen at any moment
 Violence and crime
occur often, usually
randomly
 Sex: strip clubs, bars,
sultry women abound
 Cities are grimy, dirty
places with lots of
shadows.

5.  In most film noir, fog
obscures and renders a
familiar environment both
unclear and unknown.
 Fog’s opacity is symbolic
of the mysterious,
unknowable quality of
both fate and the future.
 Its presence usually
foreshadows a turning
point in the film’s plot.

6.  What lies under the
water?
 The audience can rarely
see below the water’s
surface
 This creates apprehension
& suspense on the
viewer’s part.
 The water is often
symbolically murky,
choppy, or tumultuous

7.  Film noir uses high contrast lighting with lots of
shadows.
 Sometimes props are the only source of light
 This is called low key lighting.
 Little key lighting (principle source of light)
 Mostly fill light (lights from side or back)
 Comedies and musicals usually use high key
lighting to create uniform light with little contrast,
film noir are the opposite of this effect.

8. What low-key lighting effects do you see in this image of
Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca (1942)?

9. A still of the Brox Sisters in 1929’s Singing in the Rain. What do you
notice about the lighting?

10.  A film noir is designed to be a
world of paranoia and
entrapment
 Male protagonist feels trapped
and overwhelmed by a situation
 Chance plays a larger role than
fate
 Heavy use of mise-en-scene to
show craziness and entrapment:
 Bars or lines in front or behind
character
 Tight framing
 Canted shots
 Odd angles
 Slow tracking shots
 Backward tracking shots
Pickup on South Street (1953)

11.  A “dangerous woman” who traps
or pulls the male protagonist
(usually a common, everyday Joe)
into a world of crime and danger.
 She is sexy, dangerous, often filled
with “mad love,” greed, or
jealousy.
 Often, one or the other, maybe
both, will die.
 The Spider Woman: Why would
the femme fatale be called this as
well?
 Ensnares the hero in a web of
danger, lies and death!
Angelina Jolie in TheTourist (2010)
Famke Janssen in Goldeneye (1995)

12.  Automobiles, trains,
airplanes and boats are
featured prominently in
film noir.
 These means of
conveyance may be
alternately utilized as:
 Weapons
 Places of isolation, or
 Means of escape by the
characters of the film.
Casablanca (1942)
TheTourist (2010)

13.  In film noir, a character’s
costume or make-up design
is meant to help illustrate his
or her character to the
audience
 Film noir costumes may
convey:
 Wealth
 Innocence
 Guilt
 Danger
 Temptation
Alexis Bledel, Jamie King & Mickey
Rourke in Sin City (2005)

14.  Mirrors and glass – especially broken
glass – figure centrally into many film
noir.
 Broken shards of glass are sharp and
dangerous, yet fragile – a metaphor
for life in a film noir.
 Reflections in mirrors show that no
one is exempt from reality, and that
all characters are subject to the same
rules.
 Mirrors – and the turning of a
mirror’s image – create apprehension
on the viewer’s part. Something or
someone could be on the other side!
The Lady from Shanghai (1947)
Sin City (2005)

15.  Even though pure film noir died out,
its influence can still be seen today.
 Small details have been appropriated
from the classics (symbols, lighting,
characters).
 Some feel film noir must be black
and white, while others feel that
high contrast can be achieved
through use of vivid colors.
 Examples: Mulholland Drive (2001),
Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (1988),
TheTourist (2010) & The Black Dahlia
(2006).

16.  Released by Warner Bros. Studios
in 1942
 Directed by Michael Curtiz
 Stars Humphrey Bogart & Ingrid
Bergman
 Set inVichy-occupied WorldWar
II-era Moroccan city of
Casablanca
 Elements To Watch For:
 Film noir character
relationships
 Film noir mise-en-scene
 Sense of chance vs. fate
 Hero not wanting to be a hero