The roots of Film Noir...

[Hollis]

Good morning to all,

I just watched "The Asphalt Jungle" (again) and a question came to mind. I'm hoping someone can answer it. Is there any one film in particular that's credited with giving rise to the genre known as "Film Noir?" I'm also curious to know if it was an intentional attempt to create a new breed of film or was purely accidental. Thanks in advance for your replies. I hope everyone had a good weekend. Mine was a mixed bag as my Phillies won their division in baseball but my beloved Eagles (if I'm cut I bleed green) fell to 1-3 after losing to the denizens of the Meadowlands (Jimmy Hoffa's gravesite?) the despised New York Giants. If you haven't already figured it out, I'm originally from Philly! Have a great week!

As always,

Hollis

[Dewey1960]

Hollis asked: "Is there any one film in particular that's credited with giving rise to the genre known as "Film Noir?" I'm also curious to know if it was an intentional attempt to create a new breed of film or was purely accidental."

Hey, Hollis. Oddly enough, there is that one film that enthusiasts and scholars alike credit as being the first American film to exemplify those qualities that later became known as "film noir." That film is STRANGER ON THE THIRD FLOOR," an audacious 1940 RKO "B' picutre directed by German emigre Boris Ingster. This 65 minute gem introduces many of the themes and visual landscapes of classical noir. It didn't hurt that RKO produced the film; their stable of artisans and technicians would ultimately come to personify the very nature of noir. (TCM is running this film in early December, and it should not be missed by anyone who cares deeply about such things.)

None of the films from that period were intentionally devised as "noir" films, it was a style of film that emerged from of the increasing number of German and Austrian filmmakers coming to this country in an attempt to escape the encroaching Nazi terror in the 1930s. Directors like Fritz Lang, Robert Siodmak, Edgar G. Ulmer, Billy Wilder and many others made their home base Hollywood, thereby transplanting that dark, Germanic sensibilty to the myriad of crime pictures that were already a staple of US studio filmmaking.

The notion of "film noir" as an organized body of films with a particular commonality was born in France almost immediately after World War II. French writers and critics connected deeply with these films of dark desolation and their enthusiasm for them helped give rise to the movement.

TCM is offering up an impressive lineup of noir films today (Monday, October 1). A good day to stay home!

[Hollis]

Good morning Dewey,

We haven't spoken for a while so it's good to hear from you. I knew it wouldn't be long before I had an answer to my question, and a thorough answer at that. As you probably know, I spend more than a fair share of my time in front of the tube watching (almost exclusively) TCM due to my disability and the relative lack of mobility it affords me. I'll have to keep an eye open come December for "Stranger on the Third Floor" as I've become a big fan of Film Noir over the last couple of years, and I'd really like to see the movie which was the genesis of the genre. And you're right about today's lineup, especially "White Heat" which is one of my all time favorite "gangster" movies. You know where I'll be! You mentioned Billy Wilder, who, if I'm correct, directed "Some Like it Hot" which was an out and out comedy, but still bore a certain semblance to far more "sinister" films in the way it looks on the screen. I guess it was no coincidence that it appeared that way and it definitely works. A "dark" comedy (of sorts) which to my mind at least, really doesn't have any equal. Certainly the only good think to have come of Herr Adolf's reign of terror was the mass exodus of talented artists in all mediums that found safe haven elsewhere. It's almost a shame that he didn't live long enough to see what he had so inadvertently created. I did say "almost." Better that he'd never been born at all. Thanks again for your time and effort. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't find another reason to be thankful to Jon et al for creating and maintaining this site. It really has become an Oasis!

As always,

Hollis

p.s. I'm not a big fan of the French people (as a whole) and here you go giving me one less reason to dislike them! Ah well, "C'est la Guerre!"

[inglis]

I had a great day yesterday .I cleaned my house, did vasts amounts of laundry and painted underneath my sink and watched and listened to Asphalt Jungle and White heat.I did not always get to see what was going on but just being able to listen to the dialogue was great.Thats the first time I ever really enjoyed doing my house work,just having those movies playing in the background was comforting .I know this might sound weird but it was like listening to music only it was movies. Cheers Inglis

[SSO Admins]

Thats the first time I ever really enjoyed doing my house work,just having those movies playing in the background was comforting .I know this might sound weird but it was like listening to music only it was movies. Cheers Inglis

I have a large collection of movies on DVD and DVD-R, so if you want to come visit, you'd be most welcome.

[benwhowell]

That's not weird at all, Carol. I "listen" to TCM all the time. Classic movie dialogue is music to my ears.

"Why don't you quit crying and get me some bourbon."

[jdb1]

I had a great day yesterday .I cleaned my house, did vasts amounts of laundry and painted underneath my sink and watched and listened to Asphalt Jungle and White heat.I did not always get to see what was going on but just being able to listen to the dialogue was great.Thats the first time I ever really enjoyed doing my house work,just having those movies playing in the background was comforting .I know this might sound weird but it was like listening to music only it was movies. Cheers Inglis

I don't find it weird at all. Although I can't say I actually "watch" TV constantly, the set is very often on when I'm at home, providing some interesting background sounds. I almost always do my housework with the TV on, and as you say, classic movies sometimes make a much more interesting background than the inane natterings of talk radio, which I hate more and more each day. If people can listen to books on tape, why can't we listen to our favorite movies -- after all, we already know most of what's going on in them, so listening can be a new way to enjoy them.

[moira finnie]

I think it's very comforting to have an old movie playing in the background when doing other things. Dusting, balancing the checking account or folding laundry, I'd rather hear Ingrid or Astaire or Ava or Flynn murmuring away than many other sounds--they can sometimes be music to my ears. It's particularly great if you're an occasional insomniac, I find.

To return for a moment to the roots of noir, in addition to the European cultural influence, I've always thought that there was alot of moral outrage & sometimes unrelenting despair that simmers and boils over throughout American Noir films. In some ways I think that American moviemakers took the elements of noir and used it to express these feelings in a cathartic way. And, of course, this being America, it didn't hurt that it was also profitable for the studios to weave a new skein of the noir thread into their bottom line, (up to a point, of course).

As seen through the eyes of such American filmmakers, some of the issues such as alienation, injustice and corruption, (which have always existed), seem to have grown out of the dislocations caused by WWI and particularly the Depression followed by the experience of WWII. The men who made some of the sharpest noirs grew up and lived through an unprecedented amount of painful change in this country.

Some of that can be seen in films such Zinnemann's Act of Violence examining the American preoccupation with "getting on with business" instead of examining and treating the wounds of the previous decades, especially the Second World War. The performances of Van Heflin and Robert Ryan, both veterans of the recent conflict, seem filled with the pain of that experience. Nicholas Ray's In a Lonely Place also has a bitter edge to it regarding the ambivalence and revulsion of the impulsive, damaged and introspective leading veteran character toward life as usual. I also see some noir elements in an allegedly "feel good" movie, such as It's a Wonderful Life.

I dunno, what do you guys think?

[Hollis]

Hi Moira,

I wish that I were more familiar with the films you mentioned but alas, I'm not. One actor that was a veteran of combat duty in the South Pacific and was regarded as heroic by the Marines he transported to the beaches during amphibious landings was Eddie Albert. Yet of all the actors who served during the war, he stands out (to me at least) as being less affected by his experiences than most others. He was under constant and heavy fire as the helmsman of an LST at Iwo Jima as well as at more than a few other battles and certainly saw more than his fair share of carnage. What intrigues me is that he was able to become a well respected dramatic actor in "Noirish" movies as well as being a more than capable comedic actor, both on the big screen and on television. Was it an inner strength he possessed? Or simply the ability to push the memories to the back of his mind? I know I've drifted from the original theme of the thread, but that's typical of me! Being as well read as you are, I thought perhaps you might have come across something in print about Hollywood's stars who served and possibly something about Mr Albert. He didn't have the stature of Gable, Flynn, Stewart and the like but his contributions to the war effort may actually have exceeded most others. Any thoughts or info? Let me bend your ear a little more while I'm at it. Bette Davis was certainly no stranger to Film Noir ("The Letter" comes first to mind) and may be the finest actress to have ever graced the screen. I've seen her interview with Dick Cavett several times but I don't remember him asking her if she had a favorite role. Do you know if she did and what it was? Thank you so much.

As always,

Hollis

p.s. I couldn't agree with you more with regard to having an old movie on in the background while doing household chores. Isn't it funny how you can see the picture in your mind's eye while the movie's playing? Sort of like listening to a baseball or football game on the radio as opposed to watching it on the tube.

[nightwalker]

I think that's very well put, Moira.

In addition to the elements of outrage and despair I would also add that of a fatalistic outlook on life as well, although I suppose that could be considered a part of the "despair" thing as well. This might best be summed up by Robert Mitchum's line in OUT OF THE PAST when Rhonda Fleming says to him "I don't want to die!" and he replies "Neither do I, baby, but if I have to, I'm gonna die last!"

***SPOILER ALERT****

And sure enough, he does.

This can also be seen in THE DARK CORNER when, for no reason he can discern, Mark Stevens becomes drawn into a plot to frame him for murder. As he says, "Something's backed me into a dark corner and it just keeps hitting me."

And then there's Edmond O'Brien's anguished cry in DOA when he finds out he's been murdered by slow-acting "luminous toxin": "All I did was notarize a bill of sale."

For these protagonists as well as others, the universe is a cold, unfriendly, even hostile place. One can be minding one's own business, going about life's routine having done nothing to merit such treatment by "the powers that be" and still find his life disrupted, or even,ultimately, ended, for no discernable reason.

In morality plays of prior times, if the protagonist was to be punished, there was a reason. He committed a crime or in some way rendered himself morally culpable for (divine?) punishment. In noir, this is not the case. Anything (or even nothing) can be the cause of said punishment, from going to work, stopping at a diner, buying a pack of cigarettes or giving a lift to the wrong person.

Do I agree with this view of reality? No. But I understand it and also understand why some people do feel this way.

Interestingly, I have always felt that the works of a writer not usually connected with noir have reinforced this. In noir, the "powers that be" are nameless and faceless. In the works of H.P. Lovecraft, these "powers" sometimes have names (albeit unpronounceable ones) and may or not have faces, but they also are, at best, indifferent to the fate of men, disrupting, ruining and even ending their lives for no apparent cause, and at worst, are downright hostile to men, destroying them simply for that reason, or because men are comparable to insects in their sight.

By the way, Inglis, I'd also like to chime in and say I don't think it's weird at all to "listen" to movies while otherwise occupied. In the long gone days of my youth, prior to the days of VCRs and DVRs, I used to make cassette tapes of my faves and listen to them all the time at my convenience! At least you got some work done! More power to you.

[moira finnie]

One actor that was a veteran of combat duty in the South Pacific and was regarded as heroic by the Marines he transported to the beaches during amphibious landings was Eddie Albert. Yet of all the actors who served during the war, he stands out (to me at least) as being less affected by his experiences than most others. He was under constant and heavy fire as the helmsman of an LST at Iwo Jima as well as at more than a few other battles and certainly saw more than his fair share of carnage ~ Hollis

.

Hi Hollis,
I tend to agree with your assessment of Eddie Albert. Like alot of our fathers and grandfathers, after living through hell, they had the strength of character to return and take up their lives as best they could.

There are two outstanding performances by Mr. Albert that you may be familiar with that would seem to indicate something beneath the smiling surface in this good actor. He created two brilliantly effective portraits of men who have been promoted beyond their capability or who have too much on their conscience as a result of their exposure to war. Neither film is probably categorized as noir by purists, but they do deal with some similar themes:

Attack (1956): directed by Robert (The Dirty Dozen) Aldrich, this story of a frightened, close-to-cracking colonel and his men (led by a very good Jack Palance & always scene-stealing Lee Marvin) is devastating, simple and a darned good movie. Albert and the movie, not to mention the supporting cast and director should've gotten Academy nominations, imho.

Captain Newman, M.D. (1963): Starring Gregory Peck as a psychiatrist in an military hospital at the end of WWII this story, based on some autobiographical writings of Leo Rosten, is funny, sad and memorable, not least because of Robert Duvall, Bobby Darin, but most of all, perhaps, the work of Eddie Albert as a commander whose personality is shattered by his burdens. The performance of all are good, Albert's is unforgettable. This one had some Oscar noms, (for supporting actor Bobby Darin & the writing team & sound), but none for Albert, who was probably regarded as "old news" as an actor by then.

It's a shame that Eddie Albert isn't better remembered for something more than Green Acres, which, of course, I thoroughly enjoyed as a little kid! Imagine my shock when I caught up with these two performances years later. Both of these films have been broadcast on TCM in the past and I think Attack is on dvd and Capt. Newman is on vhs.

I'm not sure which role was Bette Davis' favorite, but I suspect that it may have been Charlotte Vale in Now, Voyager. She just kills in that one with her spot on portrayal, though The Letter ain't exactly coasting either. Something about William Wyler brought the best out in her...