Frenzied Film Noir

Humphrey Bogart in The Maltese Falcon

The Film Noir genre arguably began with the movie "The Maltese Falcon" in 1941, and is defined by an overload of shadow and disorienting angles on actors, and holds a very mysterious crime style allure. Acting is often tight lipped and restrained, or frenzied and a little crazy. City life is portrayed as full of greed and corruption; almost toxic.

The men and women in Noir films were toughened up by getting through the Wars and the Great Depression, and perfectly show the mainstay of fashions of the 40's and 50's. The stars of these films wore fedoras and smoked cigars, had fingerwaves and wore furs and whilst being corrupt and crazed had that elusive 40's charm which let it all slip by....