Second Film Noir review - The Maltese Falcon

Having already reviewed a Neo Noir film I decided to review a classic Noir thriller in order to compare the style and conventions of both sub genres. I chose to review The Maltese Falcon as it is one of the best classic Film Noir movies.

The Maltese Falcon – Film Review

Sam Spade (Bogart) is a private eye with his partner Miles Archer (Jerome Cowan). When the pretty Miss Wonderly (Mary Astor) comes in to their office with a story about her sister and mystery man Thursby, they take the case, but soon enough Archer turns up dead, and later that night so too does Thursby. The police suspect Spade may be involved, and meanwhile Spade uncovers a plot where Wonderly is in fact O'Shaughnessy, and a group of questionable people including Joel Cairo (Peter Lorre) and Kasper Gutman (Sydney Greenstreet) are all looking for a famed Falcon statue.

John Huston’s ‘The Maltese Falcon’ is an exceptional and classic film noir. Immaculately designed, evocatively photographed, and easy to watch but also morally complex, and ultimately unsettling, the film remains a beloved classic to this day. The story is rich and compelling whilst the acting, particular that of Humphrey Bogart, is truly outstanding.

Adapted for the screen from Dashiell Hammett's classic detective novel of the same name, the movie sticks close to the book and even keeps the majority of the original dialogue making it one of the greatest adaptations of all time.

Another surprising thing about this movie is how it is made up almost entirely of talk, unlike some other films noir’s which prefer gritty action and slick violence, yet the wonderfully crafted performances by an exceptional cast are so focused that conversations become the action of the movie.

What makes the film such a classic noir is that, Huston and his cinematographer, Arthur Edeson, use light and shadow liberally and none of what transpires during the course of The Maltese Falcon does so in bright sunlight. The street scenes are in the black of night and, with the exception of Spade's office and Gutman's drawing room, few sets are well-lit. Huston employs interesting camera angles to vary the film's visual look. Greenstreet, for example, is often shot from below so he fills up and towers over the scene. There's also a long, unbroken take when Spade meets Gutman that often goes unnoticed and unmentioned because it flows so well and does not call attention to itself.

All in all, this is a stirring and memorable movie that despite the twisty, turny nature of the plot, never becomes incomprehensible. This one set a standard that is still influencing pop culture today, and definitely deserves to be seen.

Analysis of a Film Noir/Neo Noir film...

As part of my research into Film Noir I analysed a Film Noir. In order to get a better understanding of the the entire genre I decided to analyse a Neo Noir film rather than a cllasic Noir to see how the regular conventions can be challenged or twisted to create a new style in case I wished to do this with my project. The film I chose to analyse was 'Chinatown'.

I learnt a lot from analysing a film about the elements I may want to incorporate into my film and which conventions I might choose to challenge. This would help me create and develop my project.

Film Noir review - L.a. Confidential

L.A. Confidential Film Review

Death, double crossing and deceit along with crooked cops and secret alliances set against the mysterious and alluring backdrop of 1950’s Hollywood all come together to make Curtis Hanson’s L.A. Confidential one of the most exciting noir thrillers of all time.

It's 1953, and Los Angeles is in the grip of an unprecedented wave of violence. Corrupt cops turn their backs on crimes and the jailing of a major mob boss creates a power struggle that leads to a turf war. Then comes the Night Owl Massacre, where six victims (including an ex-cop) are brutally gunned down at the Night Owl Café. The police begin routine investigations, but it quickly becomes apparent that this is no ordinary multiple homicide.

There are three cops investigating the case. Bud White (Russell Crowe) is a ‘tough guy’ who believes that violence is the answer and is willing to bend, and in some cases even break, the rules to obtain results. Jack Vincennes (Kevin Spacey) is the kind of officer who prefers to be in the spotlight rather than get bogged down in harsh police work. He's the high-profile technical advisor to the hit TV series, Badge of Honor, and has an illicit agreement with the editor (Danny DeVito) of Hush Hush magazine, a sleazy tabloid that publishes photos and stories showing Jack arresting celebrities in compromising positions. Finally, there's Ed Exley (Guy Pearce), a by-the- book cop who thinks he can rise through the ranks without resorting to Bud's unorthodox methods. Obviously, the tactics used by these three differ greatly, but, as they delve deeper into the murky mysteries of the L.A. police force, it becomes clear that their survival depends on working together.

One thing that sets L.A. Confidential apart from other noir movies is it’s use of the colour. The colour adds a whole new style to the film not featured in older film noirs. The colours add to the visual by helping to set the mood and making the element of blood more prominent which adds to the violence, making the film even grittier and much more compelling.

All three lead actors, Spacey, Crowe and Pearce, all give outstanding performances and each brings something unique to the film. Spacey's Jack is cocky and confident, Crowe's Bud is brimming with tightly-controlled anger, and Pearce's Ed is caught between his towering ambition and his desire to do the right thing. Although two of the three main actors, Crowe and Pearce, are Australian they have perfected their American accents to such a degree that it adds another level of realism to the movie.

Another of L.A. Confidential’s strengths comes from the atmosphere it creates. While the Los Angeles depicted in L.A. Confidential may not accurately reflect the real city during the '50s, it nevertheless represents what we expect Hollywood to have been like, from the glitzy buildings to the cool-but-beautiful femme fatales and the strong, authoritative men.

Overall this film is a true noir classic and is not to be missed.

Examples of classic Film Noir movies...

Bellow is a list of some of the most well known and influential films in the Film Noir genre along with a brief synopsis of each film:

• The Maltese Falcon (1941) - Perhaps more of a thriller than a true noir, this film still has many of the noir elements, notably the gritty PI and a proto-femme fatale. Remade several times and under several different titles, the 1941 version, starring Humphrey Bogart and directed by John Huston, has become the standard. Based on a book by Dashiel Hammet, the plot tells of double-dealing seeking for the incredibly valuable eponymous statue.
• Double Indemnity (1944) - Directed by Hungarian/Polish immigrant Billy Wilder, this is, arguably, where noir began on the cinema screens. Told in flashback, with voice-over narration and a downbeat ending, insurance investigator Walter Neff is lured into using his insider knowledge to murder the husband of beautiful Phyllis Deitrichson for the life insurance. Though it suffers now from later films re-using almost all its themes, it remains a classic. The 'stunning' femme fatale, Barbara Stanwyck, is not totally believable as an irresistible siren though. 
• The Big Sleep (1946) - Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall star in one of the most complex plots ever filmed. Legend has it that director Howard Hawks phoned writer Raymond Chandler to ask who committed one of the murders - and Chandler didn't know! Nevertheless, the script sizzles with wit as private eye Phillip Marlowe searches for a millionaire's daughter. 
• The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946) - A femme fatale (Lana Turner), a murder and a huge pile of cash, based on James M Cain's novel. Plot is an archetypal lovers-murder-woman's-husband, the twist being that their first attempt fails but makes the police suspicious, so the couple then have to hope the husband (who owns a successful service station) lives. Their second attempt leads to their trial and conviction, at which point we learn that the film is being narrated as a confession. 
• The Killers (1946) - Based on a story by Ernest Hemmingway. Two hard-men track their quarry, 'The Swede' down to a small-town service station, and he does not resist when they shoot him dead. A cop has to investigate, and uncovers a tale of payroll robberies, double-dealing and a femme fatale.
• Out of the Past (1947) - The film that made Robert Mitchum a star. Also starring Kirk Douglas and Jane Greer. A PI is hired to trace a gangster's girlfriend who has stolen $40,000 and fled to Mexico. He finds her, but they fall in love and become embroiled in murder as they try to keep their affair secret (which involves him getting a job in a service station). Doubts begin to arise over her honesty. James M Cain wrote part of the script, uncredited. 
• Force of Evil (1948) - Gangster-lawyer's one redeeming feature, his compassion for his small-time bookie brother, leads to downfall of all concerned. Underlying anti-capitalist sentiment got its director, Abraham Polonsky, blacklisted for decades by McCarthyists. A comparatively little-known expressionist masterpiece. 
• The Third Man (1949) - Directed by Carol Reed and starring Joseph Cotton, but Orson Welles steals the show in this cold-war underworld intrigue. Zither soundtrack adds a comic element to a plot that drips with human suffering. Nice plot twist mid-way and classic scenes on fairground wheel and in the sewers. Often cited as one of the best ever made – so influential that Third Man tours were run of the Viennese sewers where the film's climax is set.

The styles and coventions of typical Film Noirs...

Noir films tend to reflect certain themes. Unlike most other genres, there is some argument about what constitutes film noir. Films are often described in terms of how noir they are.It should be noted that Film Noir movies also normally fall into other genres, for example most Film Noir films are also thrillers. 

The following are all typical conventions of Film Noir movies, few if any contain all of these conventions, yet they are all trademarks of the film noir style:

•  The Look - Black and white, often high contrast. Much given to close-ups. People, especially femmes fatales, tend to face the camera while talking to people behind them. This allows the camera to dwell stylishly on their reactions and their cigarette smoke.
  
•  The Women - A femme fatale (literally 'killer woman') is the beautiful yet manipulative love interest, who often turns out to be the villain of the piece. This ambiguity is often central to the plot. Invariably chain-smokers. There may also be a saccharine 'good' woman. She will be recognisable as she will not smoke.
  
•  The Men - Often Private Investigators (PIs). Usually get hit lots, may have a way with women. Always carry guns. Usually heavy drinkers, invariably chain-smokers. If they have a foreign accent, they will be villains. Alternately, they may be the wealthy-but-dull (and thus doomed) husbands married to the femmes fatales.
  
• The Plots - Often complex. The usually innocent hero is caught up in a web of intrigue he doesn't fully understand, possibly woven by the femme fatale. Books by writers like Dashiel Hammet and Raymond Chandler (both smokers) were favourites. 
  
• The Cars - Huge American things with more solid steel than a Sherman tank. They look like 'The Mini That Ate New York'. They never smoke, even when shot or run off the road. 
   
• The Philosophy - In a word, bleak. Life is cheap and money is hard to come by except by crime, which definitely does pay. This owes a great debt to the influence of the European directors who had recently arrived from war-torn Europe, with a much more cynical world-view than most of their American colleagues.
  
• Expressionism - Always big in Europe, this style now invaded the Hollywood mainstream. It involved using visual means to express characters' feelings - the emotionally distant might be physically separated, for example, or powerful characters might loom over the camera or be physically higher than weaker characters. This was also used to imply a sexual relationship, particularly a homosexual one, thus circumventing the strict morality of the Production Code guidelines of the time. 
  
• The Service Station - There are only two places in noir America; the crime-ridden city or the small-town garage/motel/restaurant. Whether it's a valuable piece of real-estate or a simple refuge for someone hiding from his past life, drifters always seem to end up working there.

 

A history of Film Noir...

Film Noir is a French term, literally translating as 'black film'. It is used as a description of a genre of film, loosely linked by style and content, that prospered in Hollywood in the decade or so after the Second World War. Few artistic movements have ever resulted so directly from the politics of a time and place as film noir. 


In the years following World War II the budgets available to film makers were drastricly resrticted while at the same time many European directors had made their way to America bringing with them their own unique style. This resulted in a situation where quality scripts that could deliver an engrossing plot, preferably while using standard sets and props, became more popular with studios. Also the Studio system (where actors and directors were salaried employees of the studio, which owned the sound stages and even the cinemas) meant they could use A list actors in their films without pushing the budget out of control.

Some of the more gifted directors, most notably the Europeans used to sub Hollywood finances, started to find ways around their low budget, such as shooting in very low lighting to hide defects in the set quality which coincidentally added a stylish and atmospheric touch which has become synonymous with the Film Noir genre.

Although often exploited by studios at the time as a way of making cheap thrillers, and consequently often relegated to B-movie status alongside westerns and horror films, many of these films have since been recognised as genuine 'classics'.