The Film Noir Encyclopedia

by Carl Macek and Elizabeth M. Ward

Meet the cynical and obsessive heroes of film noir portrayed by actors like Humphrey Bogart, Peter Lorre, James Cageny, Joan Crawford, and Bette Davis. You may encounter a gun-toting gangster, a femme fatale wrapped in fur, a detective with the brim of his hat turned down, or a desperate murderer lurking in the shadows of a doorway. It's a world we all know - the seedy underbelly of the American Dream, and every bit as much a part of our culture...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1590201442
• ISBN13: 9781590201442
• Release Date: May 2010
• Publisher: Harry N. Abrams
• Length: 512 Pages
• Weight: 3.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.5" x 8.3" x 10.2"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

film noir: the dark side of hollywood

Best film noir reference I have found or read, including the old edition of this book. Highly recommended.

A classic reference updated

I received my copy of the FNE 4th Edition last week. I was anxious to see what had been changed since the 1993 publication of the 3rd edition. They do seem to have addressed the plot synopses errors from previous edtions. When I study the FNE 4th titles, they have now included some sci-fi titles - not sure how noir they really are: THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL (1951), INVADERS FROM MARS (1953), THEM! (1954) + INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS (1956) which was listed by Keaney (Film Noir Guide, 2003) & Selby (Dark City: The Film Noir, 2004). They have also added a number of westerns which had previously only been listed by Keaney: THE OX-BOW INCIDENT (1943), JOHNNY GUITAR (19540, RANCHO NOTORIOUS (1952), BLOOD ON THE MOON (1948) [also listed by Selby], DEVIL'S DOORWAY (1950) [also listed by Selby], NAKED SPUR (1954) [also listed by Duncan] (Film Noir: Films of Trust & Betrayal, 2003), RAMROD (1947) [also listed by Duncan]. Westerns not previously listed by the referenced sources are: DUEL IN THE SUN (1946) & I SHOT JESSE JAMES 1949). They also added the Ida Lupino directed film THE BIGAMIST (1953) to their list. I don't have any real problem with these new titles, but I was very surprised at some that they dropped, such as MINISTRY OF FEAR (1944), THE TATTOOED STRANGER (1950), BLACK TUESDAY (1954) & THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE (1962). Well - maybe I do have a problem - don't understand dropping a film like MINISTRY OF FEAR and then adding some very marginal titles instead.

Knowing Noir

Overlook's Film Noir Encyclopedia Fills in the Shadows Man, do I dig it when a plan comes together. When that plan wasn't even a plan to begin with and it comes together by accident, well, hell, that's even more diggable. Take last Friday. I open my front door to find a package bearing Overlook's ultrafine Film Noir: The Encyclopedia ($45). I'd put in a request for a review copy some weeks back and had been itchy with anticipation ever since. And why wouldn't I be? I mean, I'm the kinda cat who's either watching film noir or attempting to re-create it in real life, and it's a cinch I'd wanna get my mitts on something that covers the subject in such depth. Anyway, as I say, the book arrives. Thrill enough in itself for a shady guy like me. But then when I sashay out to my mailbox I find that the thrill has been compounded by Netflix. Yep, you guessed it, they'd kindly sent along some noir of their own. In fact, it was Where Danger Lives, one of the feistiest films in the genre. And it came backed by another dark little ditty called Tension. Naturally I was psyched, doubly psyched, and keen to see if either of the above got any play in my new Encyclopedia. I shouldn't have questioned the premise. Not only are both flicks well covered in the book, but Danger gets its own six pages of duly explained sequence shots. That's right, shot-by-shots of "fugitive couple" Jeff Cameron (played by Robert Mitchum) and Margo Lannington (Faith Domergue) -- first before some roly-poly Alice in a back-alley burlesque; second, getting shaken down in a carny kingpin's office; and third, in four groupings, coming unhinged in some fleabag hotel room while they wait to make their escape to Mexico. I tell ya, it was enough to make me flip my proverbial lid. If this Encyclopedia would do all this for one of Mitch's lesser known noirs, what would it do for more famous flicks such as Crossfire, Macao, Out of the Past and The Racket? Turns out, a lot. All four of the aforementioned are thoroughly covered as well, though not nearly as thoroughly as Danger. Perhaps that's because two of the four authors of the Encyclopedia handle Danger's "commentary." Or maybe it's just that the flick is held in higher esteem than I ever imagined. It was some kinda wonderful. And if noted noir ops Alain Silver and Elizabeth Ward see fit to give the flick major play, who am I to argue? Indeed, Silver and Ward, and their encyclopedic colleagues, James Ursini and Robert Porfirio, have their mitts on just about all the noir out there, from each Film Noir Reader that's been fit to print, to every flick ever to be reissued. In other words, these four have cornered the market on shadows and fog. And they're undoubtedly the most informed film noir historians working today. Of course noir didn't begin or end with Mitchum, nor did it stop with the dissolution of black-and-white, and Film Noir: The Encyclopedia fills you in on what came before and after, be it back in noir's heyday or in its mor

With a thoroughly 'user friendly' format and all inclusive content

'Film Noir' is a French phrase used to describe a particular genre of movies -- dark explorations of the human condition, a cinematic world largely populated by hard-boiled detectives, ruthless gangsters, and deadly but beautiful women. Knowledgeably compiled and expertly edited by the team of Alain Silver, Elizabeth Ward, James Ursini, and Robert Porfirio, "Film Noir: The Encyclopedia" is a comprehensive, nicely illustrated, 464-page compilation that organizes the film into 'The Classic Period' and the 'Neo-Noir' productions. In addition to listing the films in each section alphabetically, "Film Noir" includes numerous sidebars, an extensive bibliography, and a comprehensive index. With its thoroughly 'user friendly' format and all inclusive content, "Film Noir" is strongly recommended for personal, professional, academic, and community library Theatre/Cinema reference collections.