LIFE Film Noir: 75 Years of the Greatest Crime Films

by LIFE

By incorporating and transforming foreign influences, film noir became a uniquely American art form. Though it was overlooked at first, this powerful genre would give Humphrey Bogart and Robert Mitchum career-defining roles, fuel Joan Crawford's middle-age comeback, and set the stage for the work of Martin Scorsese and Quentin Tarantino. Noir illuminated the dark side of the American dream, but despite its characteristic bleakness, these films are somehow always fun.

Film 75 Years of the Greatest Crime Films revisits 20 of the genre's best, from the first noir The Maltese Falcon to L.A. Confidential . We commence by delving into "Classic Noir," films released between 1941 and 1958 with their angular chiaroscuro and Teutonic angst combined with the influence of pup and hard-boiled crime fiction. Stunning photography walks us through Shadow of a Doubt , Double Indemnity , Laura , Mildred Pierce , Out of the Past , The Third Man , In a Lonely Place , Niagara , The Night of the Hunter , Touch of Evil and more. Next in our "Neo Noir" section, you will see the transformation of noir from 1967 onward with films like Bonnie and Clyde , Dirty Harry , Chinatown , Taxi Driver , Body Heat , Blood Simple , Blue Velvet , Pulp Fiction and more. Articles about how the genre was born, tabloids and film noir, offscreen noir, and what factors lead film back to black punctuate these spreads. Enter the cinematic world of "doom, fate, fear, and betrayal," as beloved film critic Roger Ebert said, with Film 75 Years of the Greatest Crime Films .

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Noir, Film

119 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 19, 2016

About the author

Life was an American magazine published weekly from 1883 to 1972, as an intermittent "special" until 1978, and as a monthly from 1978 until 2000. During its golden age from 1936 to 1972, Life was a wide-ranging weekly general interest magazine known for the quality of its photography.

Reviews

[Gerry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Life magazine books are usually well worth a look and read and this one is no exception, especially if one is an aficionado of film noir. Author JJ Baker examines the greatest crime films across 75 years beginning with what is recognised as the first film noir, 'The Maltese Falcon'. Writer Dashiell Hammett reworked two short stories from 1925 that appeared in the magazine 'Black Mask' and with John Huston's adaptation and Humphrey Bogart's portrayal of Sam Spade and the marvellous character acting by Sydney Greenstreet and Peter Lorre, the film was an instant hit. What I didn't realise was that it had been filmed twice previously in 1931 and 1936 - one of those allegedly a comedy with Bette Davis!!!.

The second film of the 20 chosen to represent the best was Alfred Hitchcock's 'Shadow of a Doubt', a film that was among his favourites if for no other reason that he worked on it with Billy Wilder and there is a great still of Hitchcock giving pointers to his cast on the Santa Rosa, California, set; indeed, the film crew took over Santa Rosa for four weeks and according to LIFE, 'turning it into a complete motion-picture studio'.

James M Cain was a writer who excelled at the film noir genre and he is represented by two films, 'Double Indemnity' and 'Mildred Pierce'. Joan Crawford, Jack Carson and Zachary Scott starred in the latter in which Crawford, on her comeback, won the Best Actress Oscar while it was Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck and Edward G Robinson in the former. Raymond Chandler was hired to do some of the writing for the film but he and director Wilder did not get on with the latter complaining about Chandler's drinking and the former complaining about Wilder's womanising. Even so the film was a huge success!

The title of 'creepiest noir of all time' goes apparently to 'The Night of the Hunter' with Robert Mitchum and the film was the first and only directorial outing for actor Charles Laughton. And 'Touch of Evil' with Charlton Heston, Janet Leigh and Orson Welles was the last Hollywood effort as director for Welles.

After running through the 20 greatest, there is then a look at the renaissance of noir beginning with 'Bonnie and Clyde' from 1967. 'Dirty Harry' of 1971 follows as does 'Blood Simple' from 1984 and finally 'LA Confidential' of 1997. I must admit I don't find these later films to fit the Film Noir profile quite like those earlier ones but perhaps the one that comes nearest is 'Chinatown' with the brilliant acting of Jack Nicholson setting it nearest to the noir category.

The book is an excellent assessment of the genre, with some excellent stills and posters from the films, and this uniquely American art form is perhaps best summed up in the words of critic Robert Ebert who saw it as 'the most American film genre, because no society could have created a world filled with doom, fate, fear, and betrayal [words that could be applied today!], unless it were essentially naive and optimistic'.

[Sally Sugarman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a publication of Life, a Time Inc Special. It reviews film noirs with pictures from the outstanding examples it gives starting with 1941 when it claims The Maltese Falcon was the first film noir. Since it is Life, the emphasis is on the visual. There are brief commentaries on each of the films with a general introduction at the beginning. The work of Orson Welles and Alfred Hitchcock get special notice but the so does Roman Polanski and Quentin Tarantino as later practitioners of the art even if they do so in color. The last film discussed is L.A. Confidential in 1997. The book only focuses on the highlights and the outstanding examples of the genre rather than looking at the contribution lesser films made to the genre. It does note some of the outstanding stars of the genre such as Mitchum and Bogart. It also connects it to the pulp fiction of the time. There is an interesting glimpse into how difficult Raymond Chandler was as a screen writer. The focus on the work of the big three, Chandler, Hammett and Cain is briefly discussed. This is a book that does not pretend to be more than a quick survey, but it serves the purpose of introducing the genre with a few interesting anecdotes along the way. And of course, great pictures, particularly those in black and white.

[Hannah Joy Batayula · Rating 5 out of 5]

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

[Stephen Snead · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Film Noir. If you're looking for an in depth study. This ain't it. But, as a fun trip with cool pics it's a pretty good way to spend some time in the long ago world of hoods, dolls and guns.

[Michelle Powers · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick read. Great for anyone into noir film (I am) who needs to learn more (I do). Provides an overview of about 20 films from 1941 (Maltese Falcon) to 1997 (LA Confidential).

[Germanicusii · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is an accepted fact that Jazz is the great American art form, but Hollywood noir must be is close proximity to that status. This brief, beautifully illustrated ezine explores many of the most entertainingly titles.For adults looking for engaging, mature movies this will be terrific guide.

[Andy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good basic introductory-level book (magazine) on the basics and most recognized big-name film noir movies.

[Davorin Ostruh]

Some good movies in there...