Our first film will be Billy Wilder's masterful and epoch-making Double Indemnity. Though most might not give it preeminence as the first film noir (Huston's Maltese Falcon usually gets that honor), it still gets the title of the earliest, "pure" noir. Falcon has the atmosphere and the femme fatale, but her allure is no match for Spade's self-mastery. Walter Neff is not made of the same stuff, though he thinks he is.
Film noir, however, is associated and largely inhabits the sphere conventionally defined as masculine. Consequently, Phyllis Dietrichson struggles against and is presented through men, something we should recall when attempting to reach conclusions about her character. Femme fatales are viewed (and often act) as "monstrous" in noir. Obviously, this crosses over well with horror, though in Cat People, one of our future horror films, the female lead seems an unwilling monster.
Film noir, however, is associated and largely inhabits the sphere conventionally defined as masculine. Consequently, Phyllis Dietrichson struggles against and is presented through men, something we should recall when attempting to reach conclusions about her character. Femme fatales are viewed (and often act) as "monstrous" in noir. Obviously, this crosses over well with horror, though in Cat People, one of our future horror films, the female lead seems an unwilling monster.
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