Origins of Film noir

The themes of film noir, derived from sources in Europe. Film noir is rooted from German Expressionism in the 1920's and 1930''s where successful film makers such as Fritz Lang, fled from Germany during the war and imported their work and ideas to Hollywood. German directors such as Robert Wiene, G.W Pabst and F.W Murnau were noted for their stark camera angles and movements, contrast lighting and shadowy, high contrast images, these all became elements of film noir. French sound Films such as Pepe Le Moko(1937) by director Julien Duvivier also contributed to film noir's development.

Another sub Origin of film noir was from the plots and themes taken and adapted from American literany works, generally best selling pulp novels and crime fiction by James M. Cain, Raymond Chandler or Cornell Woolrich. This resulted in the earliest film noir's being detective thrillers. Film noir also derived from the crime/gangster and detective/mystery saga's from the 1930's (Public Enemy 1931, Scarface 1932) but very different in characterization and tone.

Traditional gangster framework was based on film noir elements such as The Drive By Night (1940) and White Heat (1949).

It is uncertain what the first film noir was however many sources claim that director Boris Ingster's and RKO's, Stranger On The Third Floor(1940) was the first film noir containing many elements including after affects and circumstances of a murder trial. Other claim that Orson Welles' Citizen Kane(1941) influenced pre-film noir greatly.

The first detective film noir to use shadowy film noir style in a definitive way was the work of a novice director named John Huston in The Maltese Falcon (1941)

Paranoia, despair, bleakness, loss of innocence and mistrust are evident in film noir, this reflects the fear present during the cold war period when the threat of nuclear war was present. The criminal, violent and greedy perspectives of anti-heroes in film noir were a symbol of the evil in society at the time, with a strong sense of moral conflict and sense of injustice. There were rarely happy endings. Classic film noir developed during and after World War II, taking advantage of the post-war ambiance of anxiety and suspicion. During this era of McCarthyism, thousands of Americans became accused of being Communists or communist sympathizers and the subject of aggressive investigations and questioning before government or private-industry panels. The primary targets of such suspicions were government employees, those in the entertainment industry, educators and union activists. This era influenced the film industry greatly and emphasised the depression and reflection of the general public at the time.