The Name Came Later
When you use the word “genre” when talking about movies, a lot of films spring to mind. Musicals, westerns, horror…but there’s one so familiar we may not even know the formal name given to it. Film noir is a genre that seems as if Hollywood knew exactly what it was doing; it taps into something most audiences recognize and love. The way it was filmed, with its shadows and mystery, the morally questionable detective, the gorgeous woman who can’t be trusted, the city at night, and the rain (why is it always raining?). We know it today as film noir, but that’s not how it started. It required a war to get a name.
Today’s Trivia Question
Who gave film noir its now-famous name?
(pick one to reveal the answer)
Bonus points if you can name the four films cited when the term was first used to describe this new type of American movie.
| A Few More for Fun… |
One movie French critics often mentioned was Double Indemnity, now practically a starter kit for any other film noir movie! Who co-wrote the screenplay along with the director, Billy Wilder?
(pick one to reveal the answer)
| A Few More Trivia Questions Before You Go… |
Film noir gave us shadowy alleys, bad decisions, compromised heroes, and enough Venetian blinds to peer through that we might furnish an entire neighborhood with window dressings. However, a lot of what goes into making film noir feel like film noir has little to do with movies.
Science
Our eyes act differently in very low light. What cells become important when we are trying to see in dim conditions?
(pick one to reveal the answer)
History
During Hollywood’s classic noir period, movies were also governed by a set of self-censorship rules. What were they called?
(pick one to reveal the answer)
Geography
What is the name of the Los Angeles neighborhood known for its hills, stairways, Victorian buildings, and famous Angels Flight railway, and which became a favorite setting for noir before much of it was demolished for redevelopment?
(pick one to reveal the answer)
Movies
In the 1953 film The Hitch-Hiker, directed by Ida Lupino, what physical trait does the killer have that makes even sleeping near him terrifying?
(pick one to reveal the answer)
Language
Film noir is noted for dramatic use of chiaroscuro. What does that word mean?
(pick one to reveal the answer)
Answers
Today’s question Answer: B. French film critics seeing the films after WWII. France had gone for years without new American movies arriving thanks to the war. When the movies reached French theaters after liberation, in 1946, one critic (Nino Frank) used the term film noir while writing about them. Bonus points if you said The Maltese Falcon, Double Indemnity, Laura, and Murder, My Sweet. | |
| 01 | Answer: D. Raymond Chandler. The novel had been written by James M. Cain, while Chandler and Wilder adapted it for the film. Chandler was already famous for his hard-nosed detective stories and novels, including those with his private eye Philip Marlowe. |
| 02 | Answer: A. None. Zip, zilch, not a bean. Although it is seen as one of the defining films of a beloved genre (film noir), it won no Oscars. |
| 03 | Answer: B. Rods. Cones are what give us our color vision, and they operate best in brighter light. Rods are much more sensitive in low light. As light fades, so does much of our ability to distinguish color. Good excuse to say you didn’t see nothin! |
| 04 | Answer: B. The Hays Code. The Motion Picture Production Code put limits on what movies could show. This included crime, violence, sex, and the treatment of criminals. That sounds pretty tough for film noir because they so often made crime look appealing, but had to show that, in the end, it didn’t pay. |
| 05 | Answer: C. Bunker Hill. The old neighborhood’s steep streets, stairways, and funicular gave filmmakers a place that didn’t need much help from set designers. Many well-known film noir features were shot there before redevelopment transformed the area. And while we’re still in Hollywood… |
| 06 | Answer: C. He cannot fully close one eye. The killer’s eyelid cannot shut, so his hostages never know if he’s fully asleep. This eerie detail came from the real-life killer who inspired the film. |
| 07 | Answer: C. Strong contrast between light and dark. The word comes from the Italian words meaning “light” and “dark,” and it describes the use of sharp contrast between light and shadow. Painters use it, but noir cinematographers also found it worked well for making faces suspicious, women mysterious, and alleys a lot tougher than they were. |
How did you do? Score 1 point for each correct answer and 1 point for each bonus you knew. Perfect score: 10.
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