Encyclopedia of Film Noir

Geoff Mayer, Brian McDonnell

Greenwood Press | 2007 | ISBN: 0313333068 | Pages: 496 | PDF | 3.27 MB





    *   "New Zealand-based film studies scholars Mayer and McDonnell list and describe approximately 130 films, actors, and directors of the film noir genre in alphabetically arranged entries. Along with classics such as Hitchcock's works, Chinatown, and Sunset Boulevard, this highly cross- referential text discusses newer noir such as Shallow Grave and Memento. Five essays open the book and expound on themes including noir's reflection on the McCarthy era and the influence of hard boiled detective fiction on the films of Bogart and his ilk."
 — Reference & Research Book News November 2007



    * "This work is highly recommended for academic and public libraries supporting film studies collections." — American Reference Books Annual 2008



    * "Film authorities Mayer and McDonnell deliver a well-researched, comprehensive guide to film noir history. The first part of the encyclopedia provides five excellent essays on the genre, complete with references, and the second part has entries on films, actors, and directors. Covering both the classical film noir cycle (1939-59) and the modern neo-noir period (1959-present), this work assesses many old standards (High Sierra, Treasure of the Sierra Madre) and modern films (Body Heat, Chinatown). In addition, it covers low-budget films, black films, and representative British films. Big name actors and directors (Bogart, Stanwyck, Hitchcock) are profiled, as are some unlikely minor ones like Hugh Beaumont. Most entries vary in length from one to three pages, but the genre essays are much longer.... this one is hard to beat because of its broad focus, scholarly but readable style, and good organization. The essays on the film noir genre will appeal to academic libraries with film studies programs and public libraries with film aficionados. Highly recommended. Lower-level undergraduates and above; general readers." — Choice 2/1/2008



    * "This is an essential book on any courses devoted to film studies and the cinema and, indeed, the essays will be excellent material for study in literary studies that include detective novels. The encyclopedia will be of interest in the public library for general readers, who will find details of their favourite 1940's films, even if some general readers may find the essays rather too academically inclined. Another marvellous film book!" — Reference Reviews August 2008



    * "This is one of those rich resource books that's fun to have around, because you can open it to just about any page and find lively musings on a particular film or artist associated with noir....The writing is accessible, concise, and never pretentious, unlike other film-noir encyclopedias I've come across. Ultimately, the authors make a good point: you can't simplify noir."      — The Santa Fe New Mexican September 19-25, 2008






When viewers think of film noir, they often picture actors like Humphrey Bogart playing characters like Sam Spade in The Maltese Falcon, the film based on the book by Dashiell Hammett. Yet film noir is a genre much richer. 

The authors first examine the debate surrounding the parameters of the genre and the many different ways it is defined. They discuss the Noir City, its setting and backdrop, and also the cultural (WWII) and institutional (the House UnAmerican Activities Committee, and the Production Code Administration) influences on the subgenres. 

An analysis of the low budget and series film noirs provides information on those cult classics. With over 200 entries on films, directors, and actors, the Encyclopedia of Film Noir is the most complete resource for film fans, students, and scholars.





Table of Contents:


    * Introduction
      :The Myths and Parameters of Film Noir
      The Hard-Boiled Influence
      Film Noir and the City
      Film Noir Style
      Films, Actors and Directors
      Act of Violence
      Aldrich, Robert
      Among the Living
      Andrews, Dana
      Angel Face
      Apology for Murder
      Asphalt Jungle, The
      Beaumont, Hugh
      Bennett, Joan
      Big Clock, The
      Big Combo, The
      Big Heat, The
      Big Sleep, The
      Black Angel
      Blonde Ice
      Blood Simple
      Body Heat
      Bogart, Humphrey
      Born to Kill
      Breaking Point, The
      Brighton Rock
      Brodie, Steve
      Brothers, The
      Brothers Rico, The
      Burr, Raymond
      Carnival
      Cash on Demand
      Chase, The
      Chinatown
      Collateral
      Conte, Richard
      Cook, Jr., Elisha
      Corridors of Mirrors
      Cosh Boy
      Crack-Up
      Criminal, The
      Criss Cross
      Crooked Way, The
      Crossfire
      Croupier
      Cry of the City
      Dance With a Stranger
      Dark City
      Dark Corner, The
      Dark Passage
      Daughter of Darkness
      Dead Reckoning
      Dear Murderer
      Decoy
      Desperate
      Detour
      Devil in a Blue Dress
      Dmytryk, Edward
      D.O.A.
      Double Indemnity
      Duryea, Dan
      Fallen Angel
      Fallen Sparrow, The
      Farrow, John
      Fear in the Night
      File on Thelma Jordan, The
      Force of Evil
      Ford, Glenn
      Framed
      Fuller, Sam
      Garfield, John
      Get Carter
      Gilda
      Good Die Young, The
      Goring, Marius
      Grahame, Gloria
      Great Day
      Great Flamarion, The
      Greer, Jane
      Gun Crazy
      Gynt, Greta
      Hatters Castle
      Hayden, Sterling
      Heflin, Van
      Hell Drivers
      High Sierra
      History of Violence, A
      Hitchcock, Alfred
      Hollow Triumph
      House Across the Lake, The
      Huston, John
      I Wake Up Screaming
      I Wouldnt Be In Your Shoes
      Impulse
      In a Lonely Place
      Interrupted Journey
      It Always Rains on Sunday
      Johnny OClock
      Kansas City Confidential
      Karlson, Phil
      Killers, The
      Killing, The
      Kiss Me Deadly
      Kiss of Death
      Kiss the Blood Off My Hands
      Klute
      L.A. Confidential
      Ladd, Alan
      Lake, Veronica
      Lancaster, Burt
      Lang, Fritz
      Late Edwina Black, The
      Laura
      Leave Her to Heaven
      Lewis, Joseph H.
      Long Memory, The
      Lupino, Ida
      MacMurray, Fred
      Macomber Affair, The
      Macready, George
      Madeleine
      Man From Colorado, The
      Mann, Anthony
      Mark of Cain, The
      Mason, James
      Memento
      Mildred Pierce
      Mine Own Executioner
      Mitchum, Robert
      Money Trap, The
      Mr. Perrin and Mr. Traill
      Murder, My Sweet
      My Brothers Keeper
      My Name is Julia Ross
      Naked City
      Neal, Tom
      Night and the City
      Night Has Eyes, The
      Night Moves
      Nightmare Alley
      99 River Street
      No Orchids For Miss Blandish
      OBrien, Edmond
      Obsession
      October Man, The
      Odds Against Tomorrow
      On Dangerous Ground
      Out of the Past
      Paris By Night
      Payne, John
      Phantom Lady
      Pickup on South Street
      Pink String and Sealing Wax
      Pitfall
      Point Blank
      Portman, Eric
      Possessed
      Postman Always Rings Twice, The
      Powell, Dick
      Preminger, Otto
      Prowler, The
      Pushover
      Raw Deal
      Ray, Nicholas
      Reckless Moment, The
      Ride the Pink Horse
      Roadblock
      Robinson, Edward G..
      Rocking Horse Winner, The
      Ryan, Robert
      Savage, Ann
      Scandal Sheet
      Scarlet Street.
      Scott, Lizabeth
      Set-Up, The
      Se7en
      711 Ocean Drive
      Seventh Veil, The
      Seventh Victim, The
      Shallow Grave
      Sin City
      Siodmak, Robert
      Slightly Scarlet
      So Dark the Night
      So Evil My Love
      Somewhere in the Night
      Sorry, Wrong Number
      Spider and the Fly, The
      Stanwyck, Barbara
      Stranger on the Third Floor
      Street of Chance
      Sunset Boulevard
      Take My Life
      Taxi Driver
      They Made Me a Fugitive
      They Wont Believe Me
      Third Man, The
      This Gun For Hire
      Tierney, Gene
      Tightrope
      T-Men
      Todd, Ann
      Totter, Audrey
      Touch of Evil
      Tourneur, Jacques
      Trevor, Claire
      True Confessions
      Ulmer, Edgar
      Under the Gun
      Undercover Man, The
      Victim
      Where Danger Lives
      Where the Sidewalk Ends
      Widmark, Richard
      Wilde, Cornel
      Wilder, Billy
      Windsor, Marie
      Wings of the Dove, The
      Winstone, Ray
      Woman in the Window, The
      Selected Bibliography
      Appendix
      Index