Part 3: Dark is the Night

7. The Big Sleep - Howard Hawks (1946)
8. Out of the Past - Jacques Tourneur (1947)
8. Nightmare Alley - Edmund Goulding (1948)


Dark is the night. In the wake of John Huston's 1941 masterpiece The Maltese Falcon, a seemingly endless swell of films emerged from the 1940's which were to be hailed by French critics as 'film noir.' It was a title which was to define the most iconic genre of American film to date. And yet, what is 'film noir'?

It is a question which has puzzled, confused, and tantalized critics and audiences for years. A host of explications may be given towards what makes a film a 'noir:' its expressive use of style and lighting harkening back to the German expressionism of the 1920's, the roster of actors used between the 1940's and 50's, as well as its preoccupation with crime; and yet, none of these facets could ever quite describe the true inner nature of 'film noir.'

It is described by many as a growing pessimism to the world, a sort of black whiplash from devastation of World War II. And to be sure there can be a pessimism to the world of 'film noir.' And yet, more than pessimism these films reveal a fatalism which is at the core of their emotional power.

In a word: choice. The ability to define one’s place in the world, the ability to self-fashion and govern the choices which shape our place in the world; these are the characteristics of noir film. However, in 'film noir,' it is the darker side of our choices which are revealed. The characters in these films often take a road which leads them spiraling down to their own defeat. Are they pulled by some unknown force to make the choices they do? Is it fate? Do we have free will? Or are we all constantly being pulled or pushed by some unknown force to either our victory or defeat?

Perhaps it is because these questions are so universal to humanity itself; perhaps it is because mankind has wrestled with this question of fate so long, which makes 'film noir' so captivating. America had returned from the most devastating war mankind has seen, soldiers had come back with a new vision of the world, one that questioned the choices we make, one that understood the darker aspects of our actions, one that questioned the meaning of our lives. Dark is the night.

—Devon Gallant