Dish of the Day
Just some film musings of a more succinct, spontaneous and sometimes seditious nature:
Monday, April 3, 2023
Today’s “Dish of the Day” concerns whether or not a true Film noir can end on an uplifting, positive or hopeful note.
* Note: spoilers are referred to.
There are more than several classic film noir related Facebook chat rooms in which the definition of film noir, even limited to those films made in the U.S. during the classic time period (1940 - 1958), is constantly being defined with widely varying claims which are often the subject of fiery debates.
Several members have expressed the strong opinion that due to what they feel are the category’s mandatory bleak, sometimes called “existential,” outlook on life, a “happy” ending would disqualify a film from being classified as noir. One member claimed that film noir necessitated its story’s finale be consistent with “... a fatalistic and negative world view that most of us are fated to a life of despair and disappointment” to which I responded…
“Many do (e.g. The Asphalt Jungle, Detour, D.O.A., Double Indemnity, The Killing, et al) but just as many do not. Noirs such as The Big Steal, Crime Wave, Cry Danger, Dark Passage, Impact, Jeopardy, Kansas City Confidential, Key Largo, Key Witness, Mystery Street, Phantom Lady, Quicksand, Side Street, The Steel Trap, Stranger on the Third Floor, Tension, Tomorrow is Another Day, The Woman in the Window, and Woman on the Run all have enough pronounced bright and hopeful resolutions to significantly diminish whatever ‘despair and disappointment’ might have otherwise prevailed in the narrative. What those have claimed as essential, is like spice added to a recipe: distinct and influential to be sure but not a mandatory ingredient.”
More of my thoughts on the subject of Film Noir can be found in: Plundering the Genre: Film Noir.
Lauren Bacall as Irene Jansen provides the “happily ever after” reunion finale in an otherwise Dark Passage (1949)
Elisha Cook Jr as Joe Briggs is finally a happy camper after thinking his goose was cooked in Stranger on the Third Floor (1940)
All responses are not only welcomed but encouraged in the comments section below.
Hope to see you tomorrow.
A.G.