Hardboiled Crime Fiction
Given enough time, a hypothetical chimpanzee typing at random would, as part of its output, almost surely produce one of today’s mystery/suspense genre novels. Of course, these novels might never form a series with titles that conveniently fall into alphabetical order, and these novels are not likely to be about cats that do various unusual [...]
The Role of Shadow in the Noir Film “Sudden Fear”
In director David Miller’s 1952 film noir classic, “Sudden Fear”, a clock’s pendulum rhythmically sways and its shadow falls across Joan Crawford’s face, shifting from side to side like her thoughts. Although we cannot see the thoughts within her mind, the shadow of the clock speaks of them: “Do I kill him before he kills [...]
Nameless in the Shadows of Cornell Woolrich’s “I Married a Deadman”
“I Married a Deadman” echoes the sense of doom and personal impotence found in much of Cornell Woolrich’s fiction. Francis Nevins called Woolrich “the Poe of the 20th century and the poet of its shadows, the Hitchcock of the written word” (Francis M. Nevins. “Tonight, Somewhere in New York”. Carroll & Graf, New York, 2005. [...]
Poison as a Dramatic Device in Rudolph Maté’s Film “D.O.A.”
In Rudolph Maté’s 1950 film “D.O.A.” Frank Bigelow is looking for a murderer, his own. Bigelow has been poisoned and there is no antidote; he will have no more than one week to live. His urgent need to convict his murderer propels Bigelow’s quest, as well as the pace of the film. It’s a matter [...]
Time in Kenneth Fearing’s Noir Novel “The Big Clock”
If you happen to own a big city publishing firm and have a little problem, like the fact that you’ve murdered your girlfriend, and you want to pin the crime on a man you saw outside her home right before the dirty deed, why not put your best investigative reporter to the task of finding [...]
“The Big Sleep” as Pulp Fiction for the Thinking Man
Howard Hawks, director of such favorite movies as “His Girl Friday” and “Bringing Up Baby” is reported to have defined a good movie as “three great scenes and no bad scenes.” The final theatrical release of his film “The Big Sleep” includes reshoots which give us one of the film’s great scenes, and is said [...]
Life as a Marathon Dance in Horace McCoy’s “They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?”
In Horace McCoy’s novella “They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?” the cycles and repetition of life are represented by the circular movements of marathon dancers suspended on a pier over the ocean’s rolling waves. The marathon, and life by comparison, is a draining and degrading dance contest, and most likely the outcome is fixed. But underneath [...]
German Expressionism in Edgar G. Ulmer’s Film Noir “Detour”
Filmed in a style so classically noir it verges on parody, all the genre’s defining elements are present in director Edgar G. Ulmer’s “Detour”: confusion, fatalism, and claustrophobia, filmed in a style calculated to intensify the effect. Ulmer’s film is one of the darkest of the film noir genre, more specifically, a dystopian example of [...]
Visual Representation of Psychological Separation in Billy Wilder’s “Double Indemnity”
They hadn’t seen each other that evening, but it could also be said they had never truly seen each other at all. They worked together on faith and hope; hoping the other person was someone they could trust and faith that other person really was. They were on a journey together, a journey which Walter [...]
The Cat Theme in James M. Cain’s “The Postman Always Rings Twice”
Frank Chambers’ partner in murder, Cora, has gone to visit her dying mother and he takes a trip down the coast with a girl named Madge Allen. Madge raises cats, but not the domestic type.
“Cats, hey. What do you do, train them?”“Not the stuff we’ve got. They’re no good. All but the tigers are outlaws. [...]
-
Get Updates
Search
Creative Writing
Books and Literature
Social Media
- Power to the Consumer: How Will You Embrace Permission-Based Marketing? 5
- How Green Is Your Blog? Green Marketing and the Internet 10
- Three Billy Goats and a Media Mogul Troll: Permission-Based Marketing Meets the Old Gatekeepers 8
- Snow White and the Seven Outsourcing Dwarfs 10
- Goldilocks and the Three Copywriters 17