FILM NOIR

 

MOVIE BUFF DEPT.

Film noir explores the dark side of human nature.

OUR FRIEND, JOLENE MUELLER, from Algona, Iowa, is a big fan of the film noir genre. She's always recommending movies to me; and I must admit, she's got great taste. Just in the last two weeks, Jolene suggested two, classic film noirs: Don't Bother to Knock and Gun Crazy that I've really enjoyed. In Don't Bother to Knock, Marilyn Monroe's acting was impressive. I was pleasantly surprised to see her playing such a complex character—quite a departure from the usual light-hearted and comedic roles she's best known for. The movie follows Monroe's character, a babysitter with serious emotional and mental issues, as she becomes obsessed with a hotel guest.

Don't Bother to Knock - starring Marilyn Monroe (click above for more details)

Gun Crazy is a thriller with a touch of romance. The film features Peggy Cummings and John Dall as the leading pair who become outlaws after falling in love. Even though the movie would be considered politically incorrect on so many levels by today's standards, it's still a gripping watch through the lens of the cultural norms in the 1950s.

Gun Crazy - a 1950s thriller (click above for more info)

For those of you who may not be familiar with the term "film noir," it's a French term that literally means "dark film." It's a genre of movies that typically features cynical themes set in urban landscapes—often involving crime and the dark side of human nature. It's a style of movie-making that originated in the 1940s and 50s that's become a favorite with today's film aficionados. If you're a fan of the genre, or even if you've never heard of film noir, I think you'll enjoy these two movies—both excellent examples of film noirs (available on Turner Movie Classics and Amazon Prime Video.) Incidentally, after having watched Gun Crazy, I looked up the movie on Wikipedia only to discover that the original story and screenplay were by MacKinlay Kantor, a native of Webster City, Iowa. Kantor—born Benjamin McKinlay Kantor—was an American journalist, novelist and screenwriter. He wrote more than 30 novels, several set during the American Civil War and was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1956 for his 1955 novel, Andersonville.