Hardboiled (genre not John Woo)

DLaurent

Well-known member
I've noticed that the Lady in the Lake film had a screenplay by Steve Fisher. He wrote a lot of 'Pulp' short stories that you could say are hardboiled. There's a few films either based on his stories or screenplays that are worth watching. I Wake Up Screaming. City that Never Sleeps. And a good one called 36 Hours where Dan Duryea gets in trouble in London. I like the short Pulp Magazine type stories.
 

DLaurent

Well-known member
Good topic btw! I'm about 3 years into watching noir regularly but it's became a proper interest of mine. All a learning curve and I still don't feel fully up to speed.
 

IdleRich

IdleRich
There was a period where I watched an awful lot of noirs and neo-noirs and, er, post-modern noirs such as Brick etc seems that now I'm gonna read the books. Bus to London today should bosh Lady in the Lake I guess.
 

DLaurent

Well-known member
I watch whatever is on YouTube most of the time and some of the better ones it seems you have to pay for so I'm missing a few, that and they blur into one. I bought a few books, downloaded a few when my internet let me onto an eBook site, but in desperate need of reading glasses. I have a feeling noir and noir related fiction will be a lifelong interest of mine though. I watched a few noir documentaries on YouTube, and there was loads of clips of loads of films I still haven't seen.
 

IdleRich

IdleRich
I watch whatever is on YouTube most of the time and some of the better ones it seems you have to pay for so I'm missing a few, that and they blur into one. I bought a few books, downloaded a few when my internet let me onto an eBook site, but in desperate need of reading glasses. I have a feeling noir and noir related fiction will be a lifelong interest of mine though. I watched a few noir documentaries on YouTube, and there was loads of clips of loads of films I still haven't seen.
That was the problem for me, they started to blur into one.... especially cos the titles always seem to be sort of randomly generated from a list of about 100 words - The Long and Deadly Kiss
 

DLaurent

Well-known member
Another problem I find with YouTube is that a lot of the films tagged Noir aren't actually Noir and just any black and white crime type film. I only learned from watching a documentary that it's generally between specific post WW2 years. News to me. And to be hardboiled needs a detective right?
 

IdleRich

IdleRich
This is what wikipedia says

Noir
Film noir (/nwɑːr/; French: [film nwaʁ]) is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of American film noir. Film noir of this era is associated with a low-key, black-and-white visual style that has roots in German Expressionist cinematography. Many of the prototypical stories and much of the attitude of classic noir derive from the hardboiled school of crime fiction that emerged in the United States during the Great Depression.[1]

The term film noir, French for 'black film' (literal) or 'dark film' (closer meaning),[2] was first applied to Hollywood films by French critic Nino Frankin 1946, but was unrecognized by most American film industry professionals of that era.[3] Frank is believed to have been inspired by the French literary publishing imprint Série noire, founded in 1945.

Cinema historians and critics defined the category retrospectively. Before the notion was widely adopted in the 1970s, many of the classic films noir[a] were referred to as "melodramas". Whether film noir qualifies as a distinct genre or whether it is more of a filmmaking style is a matter of ongoing debate among scholars.


Hardboiled
Hardboiled (or hard-boiled) fiction is a literary genre that shares some of its characters and settings with crime fiction (especially detective fictionand noir fiction). The genre's typical protagonist is a detective who battles the violence of organized crime that flourished during Prohibition (1920–1933) and its aftermath, while dealing with a legal system that has become as corrupt as the organized crime itself.[1] Rendered cynical by this cycle of violence, the detectives of hardboiled fiction are often antiheroes. Notable hardboiled detectives include Dick Tracy, Philip Marlowe, Mike Hammer, Sam Spade, Lew Archer, Slam Bradley, and The Continental Op.
 

DLaurent

Well-known member
I've found the film I'm watching tonight. Stranger on the Third Floor with Peter Lorre. Says on Wiki one of the first from the 'classic' period, 1940 onwards. It was James Elroy and others in the documentary that gave more specific years. SOTTF is meant to be hardboiled so we'll see. I've seen for example early James Cagney films tagged noir and they weren't.
 

DLaurent

Well-known member
This is spot on. The eBook site I used seems to have been seized by the FBI, but if anyone wants an ePub copy of this let me know.

Screenshot 2022-12-30 at 11.56.44.png
 

DLaurent

Well-known member
I loved Stranger on the Third Floor, it fits in my head to be historically important but wouldn't necessarily recommend it as a great film per se unless already into noir, but still worth watching, especially once the voice over and doubts start setting in. It's not really what I'd call hardboiled though, lacks the detective and investigation, but definitely elements of noir.
 

DLaurent

Well-known member
Also has one of the best things of noir, only about an hour running time. I have got so used to short running times I struggle to watch anything over 90 minutes long.
 

DLaurent

Well-known member
No way I could read that far without reading glasses though, I only seem to be able to focus on a computer screen these days....
 
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