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Film Noir: He Says, She Says

What Women Say About Men "Men are such fools. They think they can buy everything with a smile and a few kind words. Or a gun." ~The Lady from Shanghai “Every guy thinks he’s something special but they’re all from the same assembly line. There’s always a replacement around in case the one you’ve got gets lost or broken. ~ Women’s Prison "Aren’t there any more comfortable men in this world? Now they’re all little and nervous like sparrows, or big and worried like sick bears

Terry Hamburg

1 day ago1 min read

Film Noir: Profiles in Courage

Film noir was never shy about showing off breasts, especially on curvaceous figures like Jane Russell. She became a trailblazer in the mid-1940s, testing the limits of public exposure. Those limits were brief and vague. Section 8, Subsection 4 of the Hayes Code stated: “Nudity can never be permitted as being necessary for the plot. Semi-nudity must not result in undue or indecent exposures.” The Hays Code - officially known as "A Code To Govern The Making of Motion and Ta

Film Noir: Swagger on the Marquee

Film noir gave us some of the greatest movie titles ever marqueed—raw, provocative, and loaded with B movie braggadocio. By the mid-1940s, the labor was turning scientific. Titles had always mattered, especially for films lacking star power, which included most noirs. The title was the hook, the first and maybe the only chance to snag an audience. The subtitles could promise still more, even if the “more” was seldom delivered. That publicity lure became more calculated afte

My Favorite Film Noir Bad Boys

Cody Jarrett (James Cagney) going out with a bang in White Heat. Film noir anti-heroes are often flawed and damaged, or average Joes dealt a fateful, lousy hand. Even when they’re toxic, most have redeeming qualities. But some are just bad to the bone. The dark streets are crawling with them. It’s their playground. Almost by definition, a film noir must have at least one dangerously offbeat character. Some are “sociopaths.” You know them when you see them: tightly wound, i

REVIEWS: WORTH A LOOK

Nightmare Alley

Ace in the Hole

Face in the Crowd

From the early 1940s through the late 1950s, Film Noir flourished. NOIR LENS explores how the culture of this period shaped Hollywood and the public imagination.

WHAT IS FILM NOIR?

THE HAYES CODE

THE NOIR GENERATION

STATE OF THE UNION: 1950

COST OF LIVING

NEO-NOIR

DO YOU KNOW?

Click the lightbulb to test your knowledge of all things Noir.

"You believe people are either good or bad, yet good and evil can change places like light and shadows. How can we be sure where one ends and the other begins?"

The 13th Letter