A short, tongue-in-cheek guide to old classic movies from the film noir era. Like Pauline Kael only cooler!
Film noir (a term adopted well after these movies were made) represented a dark departure from the upbeat films that Hollywood produced up un...
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Part Two: Film Noir's Golden Age
Film noir reached the height of its popularity from the years 1945 to 1947. It's in this time period that film noir proliferated. And while many of these movies were consideredB-movies, aka low budget flicks, they reflected the sensibilities of post-WorldWar II America. Much of the insecurity and existential angst of the time would carry over into other low-budget films, as well. Many of the films challenge female stereotypes by having femme fatales who use their sexuality to push at the boundaries of their power. Such depiction of women is a double-edged sword. It suggests that women can wield power and savvy, but largely within society's accepted roles. Thus creating the false duality of women as either angels or whores. In any case, men dealing with post-war trauma, would find comfort in that thought. Presumably, women at the time couldn't imagine finding strength in other ways. Or so Hollywood imagined. Given the number of women who'd worked in factories as part of the war effort, such a presumption may be completely wrong. But the studios didn't think the public ready for such changes. What it didn't see coming was the real threat of television, which would forever change the movie industry.
