Some of the best films coming out of the 1940's were of the film noir genre. These black and white movie classics depicted the dark shadows of the inner psyche as well as those in the back alleys of the big city.
Hot, cramped New York apartments, lonely, foggy piers, smoky nightclubs and coffee shops with wisecrackin' waitresses dominated the noir landscapes.
Most of these films were shot on a relatively low budget, especially those from RKO, who turned out many of the quirkiest gems. The mise en scene, or visual look and feel of these films attempted to mirror the psychological quagmires of the characters.
Another characteristic of film noir came from the writing, which was often full of snappy, witty dialog, steeped in irony and dark humor.
The Academy recognized a few of these film noir classics for excellency in one aspect or another, and they are certainly worth seeing again with their awards in mind.
According to the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences database, the following films won the oscar in the year indicated.
In 1944, Joan Crawford won best actress for her performance as Mildred Pierce in the movie of the same name, "Mildred Pierce".
Billy Wilder won best director for his work on "The Lost Weekend", which also won best motion picture (Paramount), best screenplay (Charles Brackett and Billy Wilder), and best actor (Ray Milland).
That year also gave birth to "Laura", for which Joseph LaShelle garnered an oscar for his black and white cinematography.
In 1948, Claire Trevor got the oscar for best supporting actress for her role in "Key Largo".
"The Naked City" earned two oscars, one for William Daniels cinematography and the other for Paul Weatherwax' editing.
In 1950, "Sunset Boulevard" got the oscar for the best music score, done by Franz Waxman.
The best screenplay was "Panic In the Streets", penned by Edward and Edna Anhalt.
Robert Krasker's incredible cinematography in "The Third Man" got him the oscar that year.
In addition to these Academy Award winners, many more movies of the film noir genre were nominated for the writing. The writing category includes best original motion picture story, best original screenplay, and best screenplay. For those interested in classic film noir or in writing screenplays, these films are definitely worth revisiting.
In 1941 there was "The Maltese Falcon". 1943 bore "Shadow Of A Doubt." In 1944 there was "Double Indemnity" and "Laura". "Mildred Pierce" was nominated for the writing in 1945. ("Lost Weekend" won.)
In 1946 there were several film noir contenders: "The Dark Mirror", "The Strange Love of Martha Ivers", and "The Stranger", "Blue Dahlia", "Brief Encounter"(dubiously noir) and "The Killers".
In 1947, "Kiss Of Death", "A Double Life" and "Crossfire" were nominated, while in 1948 it was "The Naked City", "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre" and "Johnny Belinda".
In 1950, "Mystery Street" was one of the nominated, while "Panic In The Streets" (best motion picture story) and "Sunset Boulevard" (best story and screenplay) won.
"The Big Carnival" was nominated in 1951, while "The Narrow Margin" was nominated in 1952 (losing to "The Bad and the Beautiful".)
In 1958, "I Want To Live!" was nominated for best writing.
So, head to your nearest video store and see what film noir oscar treasures you can uncover!
Laura Eggers operates Film Noir Alley, a site which is a resource to help film noir fans find books, music, dvds and posters. Also delves into specific psychological aspects of film noir, such as strangest scenes, passions, obsessions, oddball characters, deviant relationships, and more. www.film-noir-alley.com
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