In our first episode we defined what a B-Movie is, and how we would approach it. Then, we decided to do a series of special episodes about some of the different genres within the B-Movie world. And what better genre to start with than Film Noir. We also added a twist with the beer: a flight of stouts. Samuel Smith's Oatmeal Stout, Bell's Kalamazoo Stout, Artisanal Brew Works Multiple Infinities Irish Cream Stout and Great Divide's Yeti Imperial Stout. All distinctly different, all delicious, and all dark, like Film Noir.
We kick it off with Sam Smith's Oatmeal Stout, an all time classic. Creamy, smooth, a real good time.
If you're interested in nerding out on the subject like we did, the definitive text on Film Noir is A Panorama of American Film Noir, More Than Night, Women in Film Noir, The Philosphy of Film Noir, L.A. Noir: The City as Character, Los Angeles's Bunker Hill: Pulp Fiction's Mean Streets and Film Noir's Ground Zero! and Death On The Cheap: The Lost B Movies Of Film Noir.
Writers like Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler, and James M. Cain provided a lot of material for Film Noirs, and often had a hand in writing the screenplays.
Directors Fritz Lang, Billy Wilder, Robert Siodmak, fled Germany and Austria, and helped define the style.
The femme fatale is one of the key characters in a Film Noir, but it's not required to have one. Barbara Stanwyck and Jane Greer are two of the most famous femme fatales in Film Noir.
Elisha Cook Jr. was in every film ever made, we think, and gets smacked around all the time.
The anti hero is big in noir.
Richard Widmark as Tommy Udo in Kiss of Death. Sadistic bad guys abound in the genre.
The point of view is from the criminal world, not from the police. For us, that's the defining trait of the genre.
Kiss Me Deadly is a good example of the anti hero. Ralph Meeker as Mike Hammer is a pretty jerky guy.
Plots are complicated, with double crossings, flashbacks, and lots of twists. The hero doesn't get involved for altruistic reasons, but for money.
Time for the Kalamazoo stout. Dark chocolate, roasty, coffee, delicious.
Noir doesn't have to be in the dark, rainy cities. The Hitch Hiker (Ep. 3 of our podcast) and Highway Dragnet are two examples. The Big Combo often pops up on Film Noir lists, but I disagree, because the point of view is from the police. Jayson says the same of He Walks By Night.
Pessimistic and cynical endings are pretty popular in Film Noir. Jayson uses The Killing as an example.
You don't have to have all the elements, but the best Film Noirs have things like Femme Fatales, dark rainy streets, etc. That's my opinion, at least.
Time for the Multiple Infinities Irish Cream Stout from Artisanal Brew Works. Sweet, tasty, strong at 9%. We're sharing it. It's a sneaky little rascal. Really nice.
Noir doesn't usually have romances, with Gun Crazy being an exception.
Nicholas Musuraca is the director of photography often credited with defining the look of Film Noir.
Last beer time: Great Divide's Yeti. I love this beer so much. Roasty as heck. If you haven't had it, and love stouts, find it.
People in Film Noir always have the best comebacks.
We consider 1941-59 the Film Noir period. After that we consider them Neo Noir. They have the elements, but we personally consider Film Noir to be in black and white.
Jayson had a good time doing a deep dive into Film Noir, and still has a list of pictures he wants to watch. I loved revisiting the genre, and finding new examples I haven't seen.
We feel the genre still resonates. Technology may have changed, but greed and revenge haven't. And many of the films are readily available online, due to being in the public domain. The beers were great, the films amazing, and the conversation a blast.
Intro music for this episode is a mix of (1) Turn on The Funk (Story Blocks Audio subscription), (2) sample 1961’s The Phantom Planet [in the public domain], and (3) sample 1968’s Voyage to the Planet of Prehistoric Women [in the public domain].
Comments