Film Noir

Film Noir is a movie genre that started in the 1930's and was very popular through to the 1960's. The stories typically involve conflicted cynical characters, flawed in some way. The themes are dark, pessimistic and menacing. A "femme fatale" is always a prominent character who leads the hero astray. The lighting is often shadowy. Flashback is frequently used as a storytelling technique. A modern film noir would be L.A. Confidential.

Last night Sam and I watched an excellent example of this type of film - Double Indemnity - a black and white film released in 1944. Fred McMurray plays an insurance agent who is lured into crime by a femme fatale played by Barbara Standwyk. Edward G. Robinson plays another agent, for once playing a "good guy" in a film career built on being a bad guy. This film is 65 years old and yet we both found it engaging, the dialogue witty and snappy, the on-screen chemistry between Standwyk and McMurray very believable.

This film was based on a crime story written by James M. Cain who became a very popular crime writer in US. Several of his stories were made into film noir movies - Mildred Pierce and The Postman Always Rings Twice being two others. Billy Wilder directed and also wrote the screenplay with another author who became a famous crime writer, Jeff Chandler. Movie studios in the midst of WWII ( 1944) were focused on upbeat musicals and comedies, which they believed audiences wanted. Dramas usually had a very patriotic theme and storyline. Double Indemnity was an exception, but did very well at the box office. It gained seven Academy Award nominations, including best picture, best actress for Standwyk, best director for Wilder, best screenplay - but won nothing. Going My Way - the Irish musical staring Bing Crosby as a priest won best picture and several other awards that year.

Barbara Standwyk was reluctant to take this role. In 1944 she was a glamorous star, (think Angelina Jolie) and in those days those types of actresses did not take femme fatale roles. But she took a risk, and it really paid off for her. She was nominated for best actress, and although she didn't win, she gained enough confidence to take other risks in her career, which was strong and varied.

I first was introduced to Fred McMurray and Barbara Standwyk in my childhood in the 1950's or 60's when they were both TV stars. McMurray played a charming pipe-smoking dad in a weekly family show called My Three Sons. Standwyk played the matriarch of a ranching family on Big Valley. My parents were both movie buffs ( still are) and I expect my dad saw this movie when it was first released. In 1944 he would be 20 years old. I'm pretty sure I first saw Double Indemnity on a Late Show sometime in our living room with my parents when I was a teenager. Sam had never seen it, and watching it together last night, on Turner Classic Movies channel ( no ads) was a very pleasant experience. Double Indemnity has been remade sometime in the last couple of decades, but I can't remember who was in that. If you know anything about the remake - please comment and let us all know.