Blackout: World War II and the Origins of Film Noir

Challenging conventional scholarship placing the origins of film noir in postwar Hollywood, Sheri Chinen Biesen finds the genre's roots firmly planted in the political, social, and material conditions of Hollywood during the war. After Pearl Harbor, America and Hollywood experienced a sharp cultural transformation that made horror, shock, and violence not only palatable but preferable. Hard times necessitated cheaper sets, fewer lights, and fresh talent; censors as well as the movie-going public showed a new tolerance for sex and violence; and female producers experienced newfound prominence in the industry.

Biesen brings prodigious archival research, accessible prose, and imaginative insights to both well-known films noir of the wartime period--The Maltese Falcon, The Big Sleep, and Double Indemnity--and others often overlooked or underrated--Scarlet Street, Ministry of Fear, Phantom Lady, and Stranger on the Third Floor.

Author: Sheri Chinen Biesen
Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
Published: 10/01/2005
Pages: 264
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 1.17lbs
Size: 9.02h x 6.16w x 0.69d
ISBN: 9780801882180

About the Author

Sheri Chinen Biesen is an associate professor of radio, television, and film studies at Rowan University.

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