Film noir -

When is it?
-Classic film noir developed during and after World War II, taking advantage of the post-war ambience of anxiety. It was a style of black and white American films that first evolved in the 1940s, becoming more popular in the post-war era, and lasted in a classic "Golden Age" period until about 1960.

What is it?
-The term film noir describes a type of film that is very dark in its outlook. The word noir is French for 'black', and it was during the 1940s that film noir came into its own. The term was coined by film critics just after World War II.

Film Noir (literally 'black film or cinema') was reviewed by French film critics (first by Nino Frank in 1946) film critics noticed a change in US films. A lot of the films were no longer of the sunny, optimistic fare that was shown before the war. The films seemed to be darker and more pessimistic in outlook. It was as if Hollywood had woken up to the harsh realities of the world and the horrors of war. of many American crime and detective films released in France to theatres following the war, such as The Maltese Falcon (1941), Murder, My Sweet (1944),  Double Indemnity (1944), The Woman in the Window (1944), and Laura (1944).

Film noir was the flip side of life. Doomed heroes, manipulative people and hidden personal and political agendas were around every corner. The lighting used in film noir was very dark, creating long shadow.  The heroes or ant-heroes seemed set on a path that would ultimately lead to their downfall. Usually, they were ordinary people who were ensnared in grave or unfortunate coincidences. A large number of these fatalistic incidents were instigated by the femme fatale.