Stuff you practically never saw/heard in Classic Noir
I haven't by any means seen every film produced during what is usually considered Hollywood's Classic Noir Era but I've probably seen out of Shelby's "Dark City The Film Noir" list about 330-5 noirs. But here is stuff you practically never saw or heard in Classic Hollywood film noir (usually defined as the period from 1941-1958).
Diegetic Popular Music, Popular music whose source is visible on the screen especially in Noirs after say 1952, you never saw a character, turn on a car radio, punch in a jukebox, or put a record on a turntable and heard Dean Martin, Tony Bennett, Frank Sinatra, Patti Page, Ames Brothers, Hank Williams, Dinah Shore, Bill Haley and His Comets, Platters, Elvis Presley, Fats Domino, Harry Belafonte, Chuck Berry, Ricky Nelson, Jerry Lee Lewis,The Kingston Trio, Little Anthony and the Imperials, etc., etc. All popular artists who would have been live in a band, on the air, or on records.
I have seen Louis Armstrong in The Beat Generation, and Nat King Cole in The Blue Gardenia and some Jazz bands, notably the one in D.O.A., and others that I can't recall at the moment but, contrary to popular belief, most Film Noir had studio orchestra "string" scores.
Pizza Parlors/Joints Never seen a Noir with a Pizza Parlor, have you? I've seen Italian restaurants sure. Pizza places were there because the first printed reference to "pizza" served in the US is a 1904 article in The Boston Journal, and Gennaro Lombardi opened a grocery store in 1897 which was later established as the "said" first pizzeria in America in 1905 with New York's issuance of the mercantile license. So WTF? It was around and a relatively cheap food. Any body see a character eat a slice, or pick up a pie for the gang? The same goes for...
Chinese Restaurants the only one I can think of is in Pickup on South Street, there's always a diner or a burger joint in noirs, but on a side note you ever notice the character always orders a burger and a coffee, and never a Coke, and what about fries they too are usually MIA in Noirs. What about Hot Dogs, Tacos or a bowl of Chili?
Levis jeans or just jeans in general, the only noir that I've seen where a character noticeably wears jeans is Steve Cochran in Tomorrow Is Another Day (1951)
got any thing to add?