Noir Becomes Aware of Its Self

by Douglas Williams

It is often said that one of film’s most distinctive and ambiguous genres, Noir, was once only considered B-movies in their own time. Directors did not have a certain genre they were trying to blend in with; it was only afterwards when the label of noir was applied. In the book The Dark Page: Books That Inspired American Film Noir Kevin Johnson describes a conscious “cut-off” as 1965. According to Johnson all films after 1965 were cognizant their genre and therefore neo-noir, I will therefore use the same year although it is debatable. I have chose three films to use in discussing the use of this cut-off—several films that are unaware of themselves and then conversely the films that were aware of where their allegiance lies, within conscious genre of noir.
The film Out of the Past (47) can clearly be seen as a very important part of the noir catalogue. Although it exemplifies most everything noir has to offer, it is not only a basic mystery, the plot structure is revolutionary and has been imitated by countless films. Its photography is beautiful and the femme fatale is present but as is her foil in the honest and loving Ann Miller. This film seems to represent what American noir was in the 1940’s.
Robert Mitchum, as well, represents the noir hero, a strong yet flawed leading man seeking answers and redemption. A young Kirk Douglas shows his talents playing the menacing and calculating villain. Although the villains in noir can often be physically threatening it is characters like Douglas whose intellectual traits create the tension that give this film its grit. Some of the smaller quarks to the film such as the dumb boy who unexpectedly becomes a hero to our leading man round out the film. So often Mitchum plays the antagonist, especially in his most well known roles, it is great to see him play the hero of a great noir.
Moving ahead a few years the forgotten Night, When the Devil Came (57) represents Euro-noir. Also where Out of the Past is a staple of noir, Night, When the Devil Came has its noir assets underlying. At face value it seems to be a thriller about the hunt for a serial killer. The plot structure itself is again one of the enduring points of the film. A man is on the hunt for the culprit of several murders in wartime Germany and then we also see a large dimwitted man wander through life, this man is our killer.
Some of the scenes depicted are very frightening and effective because of the way the director simply leaves it out there for all to see. The tension is not manipulated or even emphasized yet scenes involving Bruno, our killer, can shake the audience. The realism in scenes such as when Bruno delivers potatoes to a young woman who is hiding out in her apartment is astounding and terrifying. She goes into the kitchen as Bruno gets up and locks the door, planning to later kill her. There is no music, there are no cuts, the audience watches from afar as Bruno gets up out of his chair, walks over to the door, locks it and then seats himself again. Death and murder are not romanticized as they are often in other noirs.
Yet director Robert Siodmak knows when to increase the control over the audience and the frame. In a scene when Bruno is describing to the police how he killed one of his victims the cuts become frantic and violent. This editing is not necessarily commonplace in noir, it even stands out as anti-noir. This perpendicular aspect to the normalcy of noir is a testament to the fact that it is unaware the label and genre it would one day be associated with.
Moving past the “cut-off date” by almost 10 years, the classic Chinatown (74) seems to be one of the most often discussed representations of neo-noir. Directed by Roman Polanski, all the aspects of the now dubbed noir genre seem to be condensed into one film and put on display for the viewer. This to me is what makes Chinatown so great, it depicts with great prowess some of the many elements of noir.
J. J. Gittes is the perfect noir hero, vices, dishonesty and all. A detective in historic Los Angeles trying to solve a mystery that is decidedly not noir. His wonderful wordplay and gritty attitude create a character that is coarser than Marlow but nevertheless one the audience loves to watch.
Here seems to be one of the better examples of a film that is quite obviously trying to fit itself into the noir genre rather than being labeled so later. I do not mean that a “genuine” noir film, unaware of itself and the future of the genre, is superior to the neo-noir films, only that in watching them one should be aware of the difference.
One of the most appealing aspects concerning the cutoff concept, I believe, is that the neo-noir genre has allowed for expansion. Noir no longer has to be segregated by words like shadows or by heroes that are private eyes or even strictly men for that matter. The original noir films are not segregated to these either but what noir is today in our culture has been broadened a great deal. Now the term noir can be applied to films that may not have been labeled so earlier. Films like Chinatown are obviously trying to play to the traditional idea of what noir is but newer films such as Memories of Murder (03) are helping to expand what we consider noir.
A film to be labeled noir is also the goal of many filmmakers, certain choices in making a film can’t be made assuming that the term noir will apply. The term almost seems to always mean something positive, at least I believe so, unless the attempt to be noir is over the top. Noir is something to strive for, where many filmmakers are concerned. To have one’s film dubbed noir is different from having it dubbed a comedy. A comedy is self-evident often times, noir is harder to point to or to recreate, this is probably because the definition is just as difficult to dictate.