Review by Choice Review
The French invented the term film noir to describe the post--WW II fatalistic genre that dominated Hollywood filmmaking from the late 1940s to the late 1950s. These American films were marked by an overwhelming sense of despair and cynicism. But the French have a long tradition of noir cinema of their own, and in this sharp volume Walker-Morrison (Univ. of Auckland, NZ) explores not only the numerous French noirs made during the noir period, but also the connections between French and American noirs and the social forces that shaped the genre. The author is particularly sensitive to the role of women in noir: almost invariably seen as femmes fatales, these women lead men to their doom. Morrison covers a vast number of films with assurance and style, including Henri-Georges Clouzot's Le Corbeau (The Raven, 1943), Jean Renoir's La Bête humaine (The Human Beast, 1938), Louis Malle's Ascenseur pour l'échafaud (Elevator to the Gallows, 1958), Jean-Pierre Melville's Bob le flambeur (Bob the Gambler, 1956), and such related American films as Tay Garnett's The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946) and Fritz Lang's Human Desire (1954). This is an erudite and insightful book. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty. --Gwendolyn Audrey Foster, University of Nebraska--Lincoln
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
