Film Noir: A Comprehensive, Illustrated Reference to Movies, Terms and Persons

Film noir is a uniquely American genre that has stylistic links to the German expressionist cinema of the 1920s and thematic links to the hard-boiled crime fiction that emerged in the 1930s. Generally the milieu is urban and middle class, and the overall feel is one of repression and fatalism. Whether shot in black and white or color, the style reinforces the overall feel.

Films, directors, actors, producers, screenwriters, art directors, themes, plot devices and many other elements are con...