You know film noir when you see it: the shadowed setting; the cynical detective; the femme fatale; and the twist of fate. Into the Dark captures this alluring genre with a cavalcade of compelling photographs and a guide to 82 of its best films.

Film noir is one of the most intriguing yet difficult to define terms in cinema history. First associated with Hollywood thrillers of teh 1940s and 50s, film noir has become fully international in its nature and appeal, attracting the interest of great directors right up to our present time. In this Very Short Introduction James Naremore analyses classic examples of the films, as well as a few lesser known noir pieces, highlighting their key themes...

Features directors, actors, histories, and themes, of 1940's Film Noir years for film fans, students, and scholars.

Beyond its obvious cultural significance as the only classic film noir directed by a woman (actress Ida Lupino), THE HITCH-HIKER is perhaps better remembered as simply one of the most nightmarish motion pictures of the 1950s. Inspired by the true-life murder spree of Billy Cook, THE HITCH-HIKER is the tension-laden saga of two men on a camping trip (Edmond O'Brien and Frank Lovejoy) who are held captive by a homicidal drifter (William Talman). He...

A cave collapse in New Mexico traps a man, and all eyes turn toward the tragedy ... including those of Charles "Chuck" Tatum (Kirk Douglas), a washed-up newspaper reporter who sees the incident as a ticket back to his former days at the top of the journalism heap. As the media circus begins to swirl around the trapped man's plight, Tatum takes command of the situation, embellishing the unfolding drama and prolonging the rescue effort ... while feeding...

Naomi, an Israeli Mossad agent is sent to Germany to protect Mona, a Lebanese informant recovering from plastic surgery to assume her new identity. Together for two weeks in a quiet apartment in Hamburg, the relationship that develops between the two women is soon exposed to the threat of terror that is engulfing the world today. In this game of deception, beliefs are questioned, choices are made, and their fate takes a surprising turn in this suspense-laden,...

Richard Kiley stars in this gripping crime drama about a crusading lawyer who takes on the corrupt machine running a Southern town, based on actual events. Phenix City was known as the "Sin City" of Alabama where gambling, prostitution, and any number of other vices were tolerated openly by the law as organized crime controlled the local government. In 1954, a reform group tries to persuade the city's most prominent attorney, Albert Patterson (John...

In the fictional Rain City, ex-cop Hawk has just been released from prison after serving hard time. Meanwhile, a young down-on-his-luck father, Coop, and his radiant wife, Georgia, head toward the city with their new baby in search of a new life.

A unfaithful wife plots with her lover to kill her husband, but the lover is accidentally killed instead. The husband stays in hiding, and lets his wife be charged with conspiracy.

After boxing manager Doc Woods accidentally kills a reporter, he frames his champion fighter, Johnnie Bradfield (John Garfield), who changes his identity and flees to Arizona. There Johnnie takes refuge at a ranch run by a kindly older woman known as Grandma (May Robson), who has also opened her home to delinquents the Dead End Kids. With the help of Peggy (Gloria Dickson), Johnnie and the Kids struggle to overcome their distrust, just as Detective...