The entirety of cinematic history is just about 120 years old. Within that time, the beginnings of film noir came on to the scene – or should we say big screen! – only about 20 to 30 years after movies were born.

However, most people associate the classic era of film noir with the 1940s and 1950s.¹ Why was this particular time in history so popular for film noir movies? As we’re about to explain, much of it stems from both earlier artistic movements in film and prior world events.

The individuals making film noir did not realize at the time that they were part of a new cinematic trend.² However, it becomes clear in retrospect that several circumstances both inside and outside the creative world heavily contributed to the formation of film noir.

Visually, film noir takes a great deal from German Expressionism, which had its own heyday from the 1910s through the 1930s. At this time, Germany was going through immense political and social upheaval. This resulted in a cinematic movement favoring strong contrast in lighting and nightmarish storytelling with little levity or lightness from either a plot or visual standpoint.

Perhaps one of the most challenging times in all of American history was the era of the Great Depression. Kicked off by the catastrophic stock market crash of 1929, it persisted for an entire decade with millions of people suffering life-changing economic hardships. In one regard, cinema attempted to counteract this challenging time with stories of the extreme rich and privileged in film. However, this is also when the earliest film noir movies began to find their way into theaters.

The entry of the United States in World War II effectively ended the Great Depression in many regards. However, it did not necessarily end the anxiety, depression, and other psychological stressors that Americans were facing. Especially given the trauma suffered by the millions of soldiers who fought in World War II, as well as the losses and pain experienced by loved ones left behind, this pervasive malaise found its way into cinema through film noir.

As the name implies, Italian Neorealism was a cinematic movement that concentrated on stripping away the glam and polish normally associated with cinema. This trend in Italian filmmaking also turned away from depicting stories of the rich and privileged to focus on the everyday man and woman with all the struggles that they endured. A movement that came directly from the tremendous loss suffered by this nation during World War II, it too contributed to what would become the heyday of film noir.

As mentioned, film noir has a very distinctive visual style that sets it apart from other types of movies.³ It’s this unique way of shooting film noir that also helps to inform the tone and storytelling of it.

You may not notice it, but often movies are shot in what is called high-key lighting, which means little to no shadows in a shot to obscure what is going on in it. In contrast, film noir is nearly always shot in low-key lighting in part to enhance areas of darkness in each scene.

On account of the low-key lighting, film noir tends to depict scenes with a great amount of shadows. While quite literally this tactic serves to obscure areas of the screen and have audiences guessing at what they’re viewing, the shadow effect – sometimes called chiaroscuro – also tonally affects the story being told. As a viewer, we can’t see the whole picture. In the same way, we don’t fully know the motives of the characters or if they can be trusted.

As we’re about to explore, film noir stories often revolve around questionable characters engaging in equally questionable – if not completely illegal – activities. For this reason, many scenes in film noir take place at night. While this fits right in with the film noir style of low-key lighting and shadows, it again points to a clear visual aesthetic that both stands on its own and adds nuance to the storytelling elements.

We’ll tell you right now… There are rarely happy endings in film noir. Not only do these movies look dark, but also the stories they tell are equally dark.

Crime is a common part of the stories told in film noir. It could be out-and-out crime leaders who are the antiheroes of a film noir, but often the illegal activities are more covert in nature. Conspiracies to kill, blackmail, or steal. And no matter the crime, a body count is typically the outcome. What makes film noir particularly fascinating is that even the “good guys” tend to engage in activities of a dubious moral nature. When it comes to being on the right side of the law, there are few who qualify in film noir.

Hand in hand with crime is the cynicism common to so many characters in film noir. Many of them have been so beaten down in life that they no longer can see any redemptive qualities to it, which tends to result in a dog-eat-dog mentality to justify their activities. Few see the good in not only others but also themselves.

On a related note, film noir storytelling often revolves around someone either betraying the trust of a lover or friend or seeking revenge for being on the other side of that betrayal. In general, trust is not a common quality among any of the characters in film noir. Even for characters portrayed as partners or lovers, there is a note of doubt – usually from each person in the relationship – regarding whether they can fully put their faith in the other.

Some film noirs can be called whodunits. Someone is killed or a possession is stolen, and it’s up to the characters in the movie to determine who is behind the crime. Similarly, film noir characters tend to be draped in mystery. They have shadowy pasts. What they say may not be what they mean. Their motives for helping someone else may not be as altruistic as perceived. Rarely do we come away from watching a film noir feeling like we came to really know the characters in it.

Speaking of characters… While film noir contains a wide collection of films that showcase a diverse set of characters, there are common character tropes that often pop up.⁴

Because film noir tends to focus on stories involving a crime of some kind, it only makes sense that to uncover the mystery of that crime, a private eye or detective is needed. This character usually is a figure who has “seen it all.” Nothing fazes them. Regardless of the crime, they do not bring their emotions into it nor get too attached to the clients who have sought them out for their help. Unless, of course, there’s a femme fatale in the picture!

The depiction of women in film noir is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, many film noir movies showcase incredibly strong, smart, and independent women. They don’t need men so much as they just want them for a specific purpose. To that end, though, the women in film noir tend to represent what we call a femme fatale. She seduces. She uses. And she cannot be trusted… However, that last bit is often found out only too late by the men who have been lured in by the femme fatale.

You wouldn’t need a private eye if there wasn’t something wrong, right? While not always the case that a private eye is investigating an outright crime, someone is usually engaging in underhanded activities in film noir. As we’ve discussed, in some movies, they are introduced pretty cut and dry as crime figures. Other times, they’re “regular people” who simply get caught up in illegal schemes of some sort. And it usually does not end well for them.

The classic era of film noir produced some of the most compelling movies of the 1940s and 1950s. Forget great film noir. These are just great movies!⁵

Anyone familiar with film noir will no doubt include Double Indemnity (1944) on their list of the best of the best.

In The Big Sleep (1946), we get a glimpse of that hardboiled private eye as played by Humphrey Bogart who doesn’t suffer fools or femme fatales.

Talk about introductions! Rita Hayworth’s titular Gilda (1946) comes on the scene in truly memorable fashion in this film noir classic.

With this scene from The Third Man (1949), audiences see the candor with which characters discuss their misdeeds or intention to behave badly in the future.

A later addition to the film noir oeuvre, Touch of Evil (1958) provides one of the most memorable opening scenes of any film in any genre or style.

Film noir’s initial heyday began to wane as cinema headed into the 1960s. However, as with many movements, what’s old becomes new again. With the mid-1970s came a return of noir, which often is referred to as neo-noir. Some of the more well-known examples have both added to the oeuvre and become classics in their own right.

Per usual in film noir, Chinatown (1974) showcases characters who aren’t particularly ashamed of their bad behavior.

With newer noir films like Night Moves (1975) come opportunities to show the pervasive darkness of tone even in scenes of stark daylight.

Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner (1982) offers up a unique fusion of film noir and sci-fi to spectacular results.

Not only a foray into film noir, but also their first film period, the Coen brothers provide a truly despairing modern take on it with Blood Simple (1984).

People are rarely what they seem to be in film noir as this scene clearly indicates in the acclaimed L.A. Confidential (1997).