MovieChat Forums > Scarlet Street (1945) Discussion > Film-Noir?

Film-Noir?

posted 17 years ago by goodygoodyassdrops
7 replies | jump to latest

I just saw it for the first time last night and really liked it. One thing that bother me thought, why is it classed as Film-Noir?.
The only thing that i could pick up on was that its black n white and thats about it. The story is your typical run off the mill con job which gets played out with little suspence or mystery(apart from the ex-husband turning up). Sure it had a couple of scenes during the night time with good use of lighting/shadow etc but isn't that expected and used in ever film which has night scenes using black n white film from westerns/comedies/dramas etc.
I know your probably going to say i don't know anything or understand what Noir is but i do. A lot of my favorite movies are thrillers/Noir type movies but this one i'm not sure about.

[–] spaceface 17 years ago

Two words:

femme fatale

But it did happen

[–] AlanSquier 17 years ago

Innocent guy lured by a femme fatale with tragic consequences for him...yeah, I call that film noir. And yes, many of the dark scenes were night scenes, but the photography emphasized the dark. I believe ther were also vivid shadowy scenes which weren't nighttime scenes. It does come down to noir being more a feeling than a genre with apecific perimeters. And no, I don't put anyone down for questioning whether a film is noir or not. There is a subjective element involved which varies from one viewer to another.

"What's the most you ever lost in a coin toss?"

[–] goodygoodyassdrops 17 years ago

Cool, thanks for the reply. That cleared it up for me.

[–] AlanSquier 17 years ago

BTW, there are movies commonly considered film noir
whch I question, such as White Heat and Brute Force. These are both great movies, but to me, White Heat is a pure gangster movie and Brute Force a pure prison movie. I'm sure as hell not putting down either of those classics, nor am I putting down those who label them noir. I just don't see them that way myself.

"What's the most you ever lost in a coin toss?"

[–] BigShoe62 17 years ago

Roger Ebert has said that the difference between a gangster movie and a film noir is this: In noir, the bad guys don't know they are bad guys. I would say that Scarlet Street matches that description well.

After all, Chris Cross is the innocent victim in all of this, yet he is also the double murderer. One murder commited actively, the next commited passively. Film noir all the way.

[–] Gloede_The_Saint 17 years ago

Film Noir is about two things "mood/camera angles/visuals" and the the most important "moral insecurity".

Somebody here has been drinking and I'm sad to say it ain't me - Allan Francis Doyle

[–] aciolino 17 years ago

In a society where little kids play ball where everybody wins, where any viewpoint is acceptable because it's YOURS then, it doesn't matter because nothing has any meaning.

However, if you are a small part of that rapidly vanishing thing called Western Civilization and believe that words DO have meaning, then it does.

Film noir has traditionally (oh, "tradition" is a dirty word today) been defined as a film that explores characters and situations where moral certitude is absent or at least, unclear. Film noir characters present the audience with actions or beliefs that may be difficult to define morally, and "right," and "wrong," are obscured.

It has less to do with lighting than meaning, although ligthing and texture can enhance or enforce meaning, certainly.