Noirs come in two varieties--family drama/murder plot and the detective mystery. Double Indemnity obviously fits the first type, while Chinatown, as we'll see, revamps the second. To offer a point of comparison, check the archetype of the noir detective, Sam Spade (Humphrey Bogart, of course).
Thursday, May 23, 2013
Classic Noir Detective
Noirs come in two varieties--family drama/murder plot and the detective mystery. Double Indemnity obviously fits the first type, while Chinatown, as we'll see, revamps the second. To offer a point of comparison, check the archetype of the noir detective, Sam Spade (Humphrey Bogart, of course).
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I've read the book and have seen many a Bogart film. Bogart has influenced many in Hollywood, as has the noir detective. I really enjoy this type of character. He doesn't play by the rules and is a loner. He uses his brawn and brain to solve the crime or become a part of it.
ReplyDeleteDO the character traits of a noir detective pop up in the family drama/murder story as well as in horror?
That's a good summary of Sam (and the Bogart persona, for that matter), though he's somewhat atypical of the noir protagonist in that he's eventually able to control the course of events (eventually) in a way others aren't. Jeff in Out of the Past is more in keeping with the typical noir male, capable, but not able to dictate events completely. Usually just barely keeping one step ahead, or maybe even one step behind his antagonist (often a woman). Chinatown definitely harkens back to Falcon and earlier noir detectives, though the film as a whole fits more with later, fifties noir, which has a more paranoid social view (governmental, corporate conspiracy, etc.), a mood that echoed with seventies America.
ReplyDeleteAs for a combination noir plot, Since there are so many noirs (it's roughly two decades of films after all), it's likely that there must be a film that combines both plot types (to take a Sagan approach--billions and billions, etc.). However, one doesn't immediately leap to mind. To be an ideal candidate, the film would have a detective who is investigating his wife, who's trying to do away with him (or vice versa, a detective whose husband is plotting to do the same). Or maybe a victim who starts to suspect such and takes up th detective role to uncover the plot.
Don't know of a film like that, though it actually sounds like it could make a good movie! There are some that approach this combination. Out of the Past, to an extent, works a sort of combination, though its much more the detective plot. Lady from Shanghai and Gilda (both with Rita Hayworth) work to an extent too, as does Rear Window and Dial M for Mystery (both Hitchcock's), perhaps, but I don't know that any would satisfy the requirements of such a combination fully. Anyone have other candidates?