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L. A. Noir: Nine Dark Visions of the City of Angels
Los Angeles is an ideal city for film noir for both economic and aesthetic reasons. The largest metropolitan area in the country, home to an ever-changing population of the disillusioned and in close proximity to city, mountains, ocean, and desert, the City of Angels became a center of American film noir. This work discusses nine films, each analyzed in detail, with explanations of why certain settings are appropriate for film noir, why L.A. has been a favorite of authors such as Raymond Chandler, and relevant political developments in the area. The films are also examined in terms of story content as well as how they developed in the project stage. Utilizing a number of quotes from interviews, the work examines actors, directors, and others involved with the films, touching on their careers and details of their time in L.A. The major films covered are The Big Sleep, Criss Cross, D.O.A., In A Lonely Place, The Blue Gardenia, Kiss Me Deadly, The Killing, Chinatown, and L.A. Confidential.
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241 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2004
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
October 13, 2019
Abandoned. "Detailed discussion" means something else to me than long plot synopses (sometimes even of movies that aren't the topic of the chapter), irrelevant details, repetition (do I really need to know more than once that Lancaster had blonde hair and he was a former acrobat?), glaring errors, sloppy and jumbled writing, and very little of actual analysis.
Oh, and Los Angeles as a noir setting? Only an afterthought, which is the opposite what the blurb implies.
Oh, and Los Angeles as a noir setting? Only an afterthought, which is the opposite what the blurb implies.
June 24, 2016
Following up the triumph of his first book devoted to the "Noir" genre, the incisive and entertaining "Early Film Noir: Greed, Lust and Murder Hollywood Style," one of the best books ever written on the subject, author and film historian William Hare surpasses his own benchmark with this offering, his second volume on Film Noir, "L.A. Noir: Nine Dark Visions of the City of Angels," a comprehensive and thoroughly engrossing book that already has readers and true fans of the cinema rejoicing in the aisles.
Focusing on nine classic "Noir" films, all of which are set in Los Angeles and exemplify the perfection of this particular art form-- and it is most definitely an art form-- Mr. Hare takes us once again into that clandestine world of shadows and fog, neon lights that beckon to lost souls in the night, the hard guys and the femmes fatales who can bring them to their knees in spite of themselves. It's a rich tapestry of the human condition, captured in luxurious black&white (or in the spirit thereof) on a living, breathing canvas called the Silver Screen, which the author masterfully dissects and explores here between the covers of his book
Enhancing the enjoyment of this book further still, is Mr. Hare's command of his craft as a writer. The rhythm and flow of his narrative takes you from page to page with facility, making this one of those books you simply do not want to put down. In the end, "L.A. Noir: Nine Dark Visions of the City of Angels" is an adventure; a journey of exploration and discovery that takes you from the dark alleys of the city to the Pacific Ocean, from Angels Flight Railway to Chinatown and to the San Fernando Valley of yesteryear. By the time you're through, you'll know a lot more about movies and, without question, have a greater appreciation for the artists whose labors of love brought them to life. You'll come away, as well, with perhaps a better understanding of why "Chinatown," for instance, is one of your favorite films, and what exactly made Jack Nicholson's performance as Jake Gittes so memorable. For anyone who loves movies and learning about what makes them tick, this book is an absolute must-have for your library. Kudos to author Hare for his work, and for making the viewing of these magnificent films an experience that just keeps getting better than ever.
Focusing on nine classic "Noir" films, all of which are set in Los Angeles and exemplify the perfection of this particular art form-- and it is most definitely an art form-- Mr. Hare takes us once again into that clandestine world of shadows and fog, neon lights that beckon to lost souls in the night, the hard guys and the femmes fatales who can bring them to their knees in spite of themselves. It's a rich tapestry of the human condition, captured in luxurious black&white (or in the spirit thereof) on a living, breathing canvas called the Silver Screen, which the author masterfully dissects and explores here between the covers of his book
Enhancing the enjoyment of this book further still, is Mr. Hare's command of his craft as a writer. The rhythm and flow of his narrative takes you from page to page with facility, making this one of those books you simply do not want to put down. In the end, "L.A. Noir: Nine Dark Visions of the City of Angels" is an adventure; a journey of exploration and discovery that takes you from the dark alleys of the city to the Pacific Ocean, from Angels Flight Railway to Chinatown and to the San Fernando Valley of yesteryear. By the time you're through, you'll know a lot more about movies and, without question, have a greater appreciation for the artists whose labors of love brought them to life. You'll come away, as well, with perhaps a better understanding of why "Chinatown," for instance, is one of your favorite films, and what exactly made Jack Nicholson's performance as Jake Gittes so memorable. For anyone who loves movies and learning about what makes them tick, this book is an absolute must-have for your library. Kudos to author Hare for his work, and for making the viewing of these magnificent films an experience that just keeps getting better than ever.
March 6, 2021
In today's book world a tragedy is evolving among some reviewers in writing personalized hit pieces and classifying them under the heading of reviews. As the author of L.A. NOIR: NINE DARK VISIONS OF THE CITY OF ANGELS I was waiting for the reviewer called Suvi to make one salient comment on why, in being bestowed a one star review, misfired with reckless abandon repeatedly and hurled the comments with such seething bile.
One of the few specific examples given was over endless repetition when Suvi disgustedly proclaims getting tired of Burt Lancaster in my Chapter Two analysis of "Criss Cross" of being told that he was blonde and an acrobat. I could not recall any such tendency much less galling repetition being invoked. I decided to check out the claim, perusing the chapter not once but twice. Alas, I found that I had referred to a grand total of once.
The reviewer then moved into an irate and impatient collection of ad hominem attacks, two of the more ferocious being long and unfocused sections and repeated editorial errors. At McFarland I had a chief editor and additional editors assisting. Since the company sells large numbers of books to colleges and libraries and some books are chosen as textbooks the editors are ever careful about not letting such mistakes go unrecognized. "L.A. Noir" was not rampant with errors. Had it been rest assured that Suvi would have pounced on any specifics to buttress the reviewer's points about my alleged writing incompetence.
The angry zinger that Suvi saved for the end of her verbal assault against me related to the title of my book and concomitant assertion that it dealt with how the movies selected focused on the essence of the city being endowed with certain characteristics that made Los Angeles an ideal city to make films in the noir category. Suvi scoffingly berated me for failing to follow a promise related in the book's title.
Here is a brief breakdown and the correlation between film noir and Los Angeles. In Chapter One "The Big Sleep" depicts Los Angeles in an adaptation of a Raymond Chandler novel. The rootlessness and wild west element he observed made Los Angeles such an attractive city for him to write about. The element of lost souls converging from everywhere has been cited for the scene in which Humphrey Bogart encounters Dorothy Malone in a bookstore and as rain begins to fall she dramatically closes the store and turns her attention romantically toward him. A quick liaison was the order of the day between two people meeting for the first time before they have even become acquainted.
Chapter Two is set in Bunker Hill, the run down area just above downtown Los Angeles where Chandler spent his first night in Los Angeles. Detroit mobster Dan Duryea has come to prosper in a town where the citizenry not that many years earlier recalled Mayor Frank Shaw for joining rather than fighting criminal elements. A confused drifter who can't forget ex-wife Yvonne De Carlo comes home, gets a job driving an armored car, and is persuaded and thoroughly used by his ex-wife to participate in an armored car heist. Femme fatale De Carlo has hypnotized Burt Lancaster just as Ava Gardner had in "The Killers".
Chapter Three features Edmond O'Brien as an accountant from the small town of Banning near Palm Springs in "D.O.A.". He becomes a victim of circumstances and is given poison intended to kill him. An Armenian gang led by Luther Adler seeks to finish the job before O'Brien can gain his revenge. The size and scope of the city is microscopically examined in a long chase scene in which famous relics such as the Garden of Allah, the Laurel Arms where F. Scott Fitzgerald sustained his fatal heart attack, and the Arcade Building are all on display. The city's by evening is revealed in all its noir vastness.
"In a Lonely Place" finds Bogart as a brilliant screenwriter driven by his inner demons accentuated by the conflict he has encountered as an officer in World War Two. He is suspected of murder by one of the men who served him in World War Two, Frank Lovejoy, now a Beverly Hills Police detective. Neighbor Gloria Grahame becomes romantically involved but, observing Bogart's violent manner, wonders if he is a killer. Once more the rootlessness of people herded into the largesse of the endless city, the grist of Raymond Chandler drama, is on full dramatic display.
One can then move on to the climactic chapters of Eight and Nine for the capstone of the vicious marriage of rootlessness and a sprawling city with "Chinatown" and "L.A. Confidential" If these two explosive film noir masterpieces do not depict sprawling Los Angeles amid its violent nights and panoply of endless and frequently conflicted people caught in a whirlpool of activity then what does?
The latter film was even based on a novel written by James Ellroy, who was born and raised in the city and as a writer has traversed the land of Raymond Chandler with spirited vigor. Meanwhile "Chinatown " gives us definitive outsider Jack Nicholson seeking to rein in super rich sociopath John Huston after he falls in love with Faye Dunaway, a victim of father Huston's sexual abuse.
So Suvi sees no nexus between film noir and Los Angeles in this book. Could Suvi have read this book and paid any attention at all except for personal laments?
One of the few specific examples given was over endless repetition when Suvi disgustedly proclaims getting tired of Burt Lancaster in my Chapter Two analysis of "Criss Cross" of being told that he was blonde and an acrobat. I could not recall any such tendency much less galling repetition being invoked. I decided to check out the claim, perusing the chapter not once but twice. Alas, I found that I had referred to a grand total of once.
The reviewer then moved into an irate and impatient collection of ad hominem attacks, two of the more ferocious being long and unfocused sections and repeated editorial errors. At McFarland I had a chief editor and additional editors assisting. Since the company sells large numbers of books to colleges and libraries and some books are chosen as textbooks the editors are ever careful about not letting such mistakes go unrecognized. "L.A. Noir" was not rampant with errors. Had it been rest assured that Suvi would have pounced on any specifics to buttress the reviewer's points about my alleged writing incompetence.
The angry zinger that Suvi saved for the end of her verbal assault against me related to the title of my book and concomitant assertion that it dealt with how the movies selected focused on the essence of the city being endowed with certain characteristics that made Los Angeles an ideal city to make films in the noir category. Suvi scoffingly berated me for failing to follow a promise related in the book's title.
Here is a brief breakdown and the correlation between film noir and Los Angeles. In Chapter One "The Big Sleep" depicts Los Angeles in an adaptation of a Raymond Chandler novel. The rootlessness and wild west element he observed made Los Angeles such an attractive city for him to write about. The element of lost souls converging from everywhere has been cited for the scene in which Humphrey Bogart encounters Dorothy Malone in a bookstore and as rain begins to fall she dramatically closes the store and turns her attention romantically toward him. A quick liaison was the order of the day between two people meeting for the first time before they have even become acquainted.
Chapter Two is set in Bunker Hill, the run down area just above downtown Los Angeles where Chandler spent his first night in Los Angeles. Detroit mobster Dan Duryea has come to prosper in a town where the citizenry not that many years earlier recalled Mayor Frank Shaw for joining rather than fighting criminal elements. A confused drifter who can't forget ex-wife Yvonne De Carlo comes home, gets a job driving an armored car, and is persuaded and thoroughly used by his ex-wife to participate in an armored car heist. Femme fatale De Carlo has hypnotized Burt Lancaster just as Ava Gardner had in "The Killers".
Chapter Three features Edmond O'Brien as an accountant from the small town of Banning near Palm Springs in "D.O.A.". He becomes a victim of circumstances and is given poison intended to kill him. An Armenian gang led by Luther Adler seeks to finish the job before O'Brien can gain his revenge. The size and scope of the city is microscopically examined in a long chase scene in which famous relics such as the Garden of Allah, the Laurel Arms where F. Scott Fitzgerald sustained his fatal heart attack, and the Arcade Building are all on display. The city's by evening is revealed in all its noir vastness.
"In a Lonely Place" finds Bogart as a brilliant screenwriter driven by his inner demons accentuated by the conflict he has encountered as an officer in World War Two. He is suspected of murder by one of the men who served him in World War Two, Frank Lovejoy, now a Beverly Hills Police detective. Neighbor Gloria Grahame becomes romantically involved but, observing Bogart's violent manner, wonders if he is a killer. Once more the rootlessness of people herded into the largesse of the endless city, the grist of Raymond Chandler drama, is on full dramatic display.
One can then move on to the climactic chapters of Eight and Nine for the capstone of the vicious marriage of rootlessness and a sprawling city with "Chinatown" and "L.A. Confidential" If these two explosive film noir masterpieces do not depict sprawling Los Angeles amid its violent nights and panoply of endless and frequently conflicted people caught in a whirlpool of activity then what does?
The latter film was even based on a novel written by James Ellroy, who was born and raised in the city and as a writer has traversed the land of Raymond Chandler with spirited vigor. Meanwhile "Chinatown " gives us definitive outsider Jack Nicholson seeking to rein in super rich sociopath John Huston after he falls in love with Faye Dunaway, a victim of father Huston's sexual abuse.
So Suvi sees no nexus between film noir and Los Angeles in this book. Could Suvi have read this book and paid any attention at all except for personal laments?
October 8, 2021
I love films noirs...
...so you'd expect I'd love this book. Well, the topic, films noirs set in L.A., Is certainly an interesting one; however, this book is so badly written it is almost unreadable. It desperately needs a good editing.
...so you'd expect I'd love this book. Well, the topic, films noirs set in L.A., Is certainly an interesting one; however, this book is so badly written it is almost unreadable. It desperately needs a good editing.
December 1, 2020
Not Bad
Really in need of good proof-reading. The lack thereof was very distracting.Otherwise a good view of noir movies, recent and older, set in the City of Angels.
Really in need of good proof-reading. The lack thereof was very distracting.Otherwise a good view of noir movies, recent and older, set in the City of Angels.
June 24, 2016
Delighted by author, William Hare's book, "Early Film Noir", I turned to "LA Noir: Nine Dark Visions of the City of Angels." The book covers the films: "The Big Sleep" "Criss Cross" "D.O.A" "In a Lonely Place" "The Blue Gardenia" "Kiss Me Deadly" "The Killing" "Chinatown" and "L.A. Confidential." Each one of these noir films is centered in the city of Los Angeles, and the author argues that Los Angeles is a "city created by a never-ending migration"--a place that is pivotal to the genre of film noir. Indeed, film noir giant, writer Raymond Chandler "loved the spirited anarchy of the city." The book examines the plots of the nine films and the relationship between the plots and the all-important setting of Los Angeles. For example, the author argues that "In a Lonely Place" "reveals the pervasive uncertainties of the Hollywood film industry." In "The Blue Gardenia" an innocent girl (Anne Baxter) recently relocated from Bakersfield to Los Angeles, is pegged as a soft touch by practiced playboy Harry Prebble (Raymond Burr).
"LA Noir" is comprised of nine chapters--one covering each film. Each chapter is loaded with details--including plot synopsis, the careers of various cast members, and problems both on and off the set. For example, the chapter "Lancaster Noir" covers the film "Criss Cross" and includes details of how Burt Lancaster was spotted by a talent scout, other noir films in Lancaster's career, and the comparison of the femme fatales from "Criss Cross" (Yvonne de Carlo), "The Killers" (Ava Gardener), and "Out of the Past" (Jane Greer).
The chapter covering "In a Lonely Place" explores the idea of Bogart's tremendous appeal, and author Hare argues that Bogart "thrived on playing characters from stories containing brooding darkness and moral ambiguity." The author also analyzes Gloria Grahame's stage presence. As Grahame is a great favourite of mine, I was particularly delighted to read details of her much underappreciated contribution to film noir. A large portion of the chapter is given to details of director, Nicholas Ray.
"LA Noir" is not for those merely casually interested in film noir or for those desiring an overview of the genre. This book is for the true aficionado who already has grounding in the subject and yearns for an integrative approach, or for fans of any of the nine films. For those addicted to film noir, "LA Noir" offers a remarkable feast of details, and it's clear the book is written by someone passionate about the genre. This is a book I shall return to many times--displacedhuman
"LA Noir" is comprised of nine chapters--one covering each film. Each chapter is loaded with details--including plot synopsis, the careers of various cast members, and problems both on and off the set. For example, the chapter "Lancaster Noir" covers the film "Criss Cross" and includes details of how Burt Lancaster was spotted by a talent scout, other noir films in Lancaster's career, and the comparison of the femme fatales from "Criss Cross" (Yvonne de Carlo), "The Killers" (Ava Gardener), and "Out of the Past" (Jane Greer).
The chapter covering "In a Lonely Place" explores the idea of Bogart's tremendous appeal, and author Hare argues that Bogart "thrived on playing characters from stories containing brooding darkness and moral ambiguity." The author also analyzes Gloria Grahame's stage presence. As Grahame is a great favourite of mine, I was particularly delighted to read details of her much underappreciated contribution to film noir. A large portion of the chapter is given to details of director, Nicholas Ray.
"LA Noir" is not for those merely casually interested in film noir or for those desiring an overview of the genre. This book is for the true aficionado who already has grounding in the subject and yearns for an integrative approach, or for fans of any of the nine films. For those addicted to film noir, "LA Noir" offers a remarkable feast of details, and it's clear the book is written by someone passionate about the genre. This is a book I shall return to many times--displacedhuman
June 24, 2016
Delighted by author, William Hare's book, "Early Film Noir", I turned to "LA Noir: Nine Dark Visions of the City of Angels." The book covers the films: "The Big Sleep" "Criss Cross" "D.O.A" "In a Lonely Place" "The Blue Gardenia" "Kiss Me Deadly" "The Killing" "Chinatown" and "L.A. Confidential." Each one of these noir films is centered in the city of Los Angeles, and the author argues that Los Angeles is a "city created by a never-ending migration"--a place that is pivotal to the genre of film noir. Indeed, film noir giant, writer Raymond Chandler "loved the spirited anarchy of the city." The book examines the plots of the nine films and the relationship between the plots and the all-important setting of Los Angeles. For example, the author argues that "In a Lonely Place" "reveals the pervasive uncertainties of the Hollywood film industry." In "The Blue Gardenia" an innocent girl (Anne Baxter) recently relocated from Bakersfield to Los Angeles, is pegged as a soft touch by practiced playboy Harry Prebble (Raymond Burr).
"LA Noir" is comprised of nine chapters--one covering each film. Each chapter is loaded with details--including plot synopsis, the careers of various cast members, and problems both on and off the set. For example, the chapter "Lancaster Noir" covers the film "Criss Cross" and includes details of how Burt Lancaster was spotted by a talent scout, other noir films in Lancaster's career, and the comparison of the femme fatales from "Criss Cross" (Yvonne de Carlo), "The Killers" (Ava Gardener), and "Out of the Past" (Jane Greer).
The chapter covering "In a Lonely Place" explores the idea of Bogart's tremendous appeal, and author Hare argues that Bogart "thrived on playing characters from stories containing brooding darkness and moral ambiguity." The author also analyzes Gloria Grahame's stage presence. As Grahame is a great favourite of mine, I was particularly delighted to read details of her much underappreciated contribution to film noir. A large portion of the chapter is given to details of director, Nicholas Ray.
"LA Noir" is not for those merely casually interested in film noir or for those desiring an overview of the genre. This book is for the true aficionado who already has grounding in the subject and yearns for an integrative approach, or for fans of any of the nine films. For those addicted to film noir, "LA Noir" offers a remarkable feast of details, and it's clear the book is written by someone passionate about the genre. This is a book I shall return to many times--displacedhuman
"LA Noir" is comprised of nine chapters--one covering each film. Each chapter is loaded with details--including plot synopsis, the careers of various cast members, and problems both on and off the set. For example, the chapter "Lancaster Noir" covers the film "Criss Cross" and includes details of how Burt Lancaster was spotted by a talent scout, other noir films in Lancaster's career, and the comparison of the femme fatales from "Criss Cross" (Yvonne de Carlo), "The Killers" (Ava Gardener), and "Out of the Past" (Jane Greer).
The chapter covering "In a Lonely Place" explores the idea of Bogart's tremendous appeal, and author Hare argues that Bogart "thrived on playing characters from stories containing brooding darkness and moral ambiguity." The author also analyzes Gloria Grahame's stage presence. As Grahame is a great favourite of mine, I was particularly delighted to read details of her much underappreciated contribution to film noir. A large portion of the chapter is given to details of director, Nicholas Ray.
"LA Noir" is not for those merely casually interested in film noir or for those desiring an overview of the genre. This book is for the true aficionado who already has grounding in the subject and yearns for an integrative approach, or for fans of any of the nine films. For those addicted to film noir, "LA Noir" offers a remarkable feast of details, and it's clear the book is written by someone passionate about the genre. This is a book I shall return to many times--displacedhuman
November 18, 2021
L.A. NOIR shows how much interest surrounds the large, sprawling city. For instance, two films surveyed CRISS CROSS and KISS ME DEADLY, make use of the fascinating Bunker Hiil just west of downtown Los Angeles and reachable by the world famed trolley on what is termed Angel's Flight. Raymond Chandler spent his first night in the city in Bunker Hill, finding it fascinating and featuring it often in his books. Two true life incidents from the city's interesting background and reputation for controversy became two of the most popular and well made films in film noir history, CHINATOWN and L.A. CONFIDENTIAL.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews