TV Noir: Dark Drama on the Small Screen

by Allen Glover

Overview

The pioneering, incisive, lavishly illustrated survey of noir on television—the first of its kind

Noir—as a style, movement, or sensibility—has its roots in hardboiled detective fiction by writers like Chandler and Hammett, and films adapted from their novels were among the first called “film noir” by French cinéastes. But film isn’t the only medium with a taste for a dark story.

Hundreds of noir dramas have been produced for television, featuring detectives and femmes fatales, gangsters, and dark deeds, continuing week after week, with a new disruption of the social order. In TV Noir, television historian Allen Glover presents the first complete study of the subject. Deconstructing its key elements with astute analysis, from NBC’s adaptation of Woolrich’s The Black Angel to the anthology programs of the ’40s and ’50s, from the classic period of Dragnet, M Squad, and 77 Sunset Strip to neo-noirs of the ’60s and ’70s including The Fugitive, Kolchak, and Harry O., this is the essential volume on TV noir.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781590201671
Publisher:	ABRAMS
Publication date:	09/24/2019
Pages:	256
Sales rank:	1,166,795
Product dimensions:	8.10(w) x 10.10(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Allen Glover is a film and television historian. As a curator at the Paley Center for Media, he created exhibitions on such cultural icons as David Bowie, Rod Serling, Robert Altman, and Buster Keaton. He lives in Los Angeles. Visit his website at agkinowerken.com.

Editorial Reviews

08/23/2019

Film and TV historian and former Paley Center for Media curator Glover spent more than 15 years on this terrific tome, and his devotion manifests in the comprehensive bibliography, which noir fans will devour; the knowledgeable, occasionally florid descriptions, which perfectly complement the plentiful photos; the depth of analysis and research; and the connections he makes among the television shows, noir films, and concurrent events. Glover begins with a brief history of TV's ascent in the 1940s. "Live Noir" discusses the first live television dramas. "A Classic Cycle" records the rise of "telefilms" often made at Hollywood "B" studios, then covers 1950s-60s shows such as Dragnet, Peter Gunn, and 77 Sunset Strip. "Neo Noir" dissects paranoid 1960s-70s thrillers including The Fugitive, The Invaders, and Kolchak: The Night Stalker. "Closing Scenes" draws parallels between older black-and-white TV and movie fare and modern noir shows such as Breaking Bad, Twin Peaks, and The X-Files. VERDICT Each section could be a stand-alone show at a media museum or, better yet, a series at a dimly lit revival house. Essential for noir lovers, especially those who have exhausted the film canon and are hungry for more.—Liz French, Library Journal

Library Journal