Somewhere in the Night Film Noir and the American City

by Christopher, Nicholas

• ISBN13: 9781593760977
• ISBN10: 1593760973
• Edition: Revised
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-05-02
• Publisher: Counterpoint

Summary

Starting with such classic films as Out of the Past and Kiss Me Deadly, acclaimed poet and novelist Nicholas Christopher takes us on a grand tour of the great films noirs that, with their interplay of light and dark, femmes fatales, and charged settings, have transfixed cinemagoers since the 1940s. In his analysis of more than three hundred films, Christopher identifies the central motif as the urban labyrinth, a place infested with psychosis and existential dread in which the noir hero embarks on a dangerously illuminating quest. Citing cultural, social, and historical influences, Christopher explores the complex mythology of the American city, always imbuing the language of film with the lyricism so praised in his novels. This edition, with a new preface and expanded filmography, effortlessly guides us through the labyrinth and into a greatly enriched understanding of an endlessly fascinating genre. Book jacket.

Author Biography

Nicholas Christopher is the author of six novels, The Soloist, Veronica, A Trip to the Stars, Franklin Flyer, The Bestiary, and Tiger Rag; eight books of poetry, On Tour with Rita, A Short History of the Island of Butterflies, Desperate Characters: A Novella in Verse, In the Year of the Comet, 5 ̊, The Creation of the Night Sky, Atomic Field, and Crossing the Equator: New & Selected Poems, 1972-2004; a nonfiction book, Somewhere in the Night: Film Noir & the American City; and a novel for children, The True Adventures of Nicolo Zen. He lives in New York City.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	vii
Preface	ix
Introduction	xvii
1 Into the Labyrinth	1	(32)
2 Night and the City	33	(34)
3 Postcards from the Ruins: Some Americans Abroad	67	(18)
4 Office Buildings and Casinos	85	(66)
5 Grafters, Grifters, and Tycoons	151	(36)
6 The Dark Mirror: Sex, Dreams, and Psychoanalysis	187	(36)
7 Black and White in Color	223	(8)
8 Paint It Black	231	(36)
Appendix: A Brief Genealogy	267	(2)
Sources	269	(4)
Selected Filmography: 1940-1959	273	(6)
Selected Neo-Noirs: 1960-2006	279	(2)
Index	281