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PLOT OVERVIEW: • A married woman (Cora Smith) and a drifter name Frank Chambers fall in love, then plot to murder her husband (Nick Smith). The first murder attempt backfires and Frank leaves town. He can’t stay away however and is drawn back to Cora’s side. They plan a second murder which is successful. They get Nick drunk then drive him and his vehicle off a cliff. Once the deed is done, they must live with the consequences of their actions.
Expressionist Camerawork/Lighting: • Lighting: high contrast – expressionistic - lighting: deep ominous shadows and sharp ‘highlights’ – particularly in the hospital scene where Frank is in bed, the venetian blinds cast fragmented shadows on the wall which appear almost like prison bars. This also appears in the court scene where Frank and Cora discuss their situation. This is a visual metaphor for their guilt and feeling of entrapment. It foreshadows their eventual death/physical imprisonment.
Antihero : • Frank Chambers. Like Walter, Frank may seem the victim of Cora’s conniving plan to murder Nick and avoid being sent off as nurse to his paraplegic sister in Canada. However, he is equally culpable – he did it in order to • Behind his charm and mild manners he is a ruthless criminal (adultery, murder larceny) • “Stealing a man's wife, that's nothing, but stealing a man's car, that's larceny”
Femme Fatale: • Cora Smith – single-minded and self-motivated, seductive, duplicitous. • Married Nick for his money • Uses her sexual appeal to convince Frank to kill Nick so that they can be together. In reality it is largely to prevent being sent away to care for Nick’s paraplegic sister in Canada • Cora Smith: I want to make something of this place, I want to make it into an honest-to-goodness... Frank Chambers: Well, aren't we ambitious. • "There's, there's one thing we could do that would fix everything for us." -- Turner, first bringing up murder as a solution to her and Garfield's problems."But they'd hang you for a thing like that.""Oh, not if we did it right, and you're smart, Frank. You'll think of a way. Plenty of men have."
Narrative: • Frank and Cora’s on and off ‘romance’ and plans twist and turn: they despise each other but are irresistibly attracted to one another – this seals their fate.
First Person Subjective Voiceover: • Frank’s voice-over is revealed to be a death row confessional to a priest – he understands he must pay with his life for the sins he has commit.
Theme: • The idea of paranoia and distrust is shown when Frank is duped to believe that Cora is trying to blame him completely for Nick’s death. • Fate is portrayed in the end of the film. Frank accepts that he must accept the punishment he has brought upon himself through his criminal activities. Even though he is innocent of Cora’s death, he is responsible for Nick’s – he is guilty and can’t escape this fate.
Industry Influences on Film Noir • Cheap film productions made by ‘Poverty Row’ studios and some ‘Big 5 studios’ – originally made as the ‘cheap’ film in the Depression-era ‘double feature.
Contribution to meaning: • Minimal funding and resourcing of many Films Noir forced directors to be innovative and clever in their cinematography and lighting to maximise each shot.
Relationship to Society: • War-time shortages reduced resources available to film-makers – this helped drive the innovation and expressionist film-making seen in Noir. • Noir began as a B-grade genre – its popularity is evidenced in the fact that it quickly became an ‘A-grade’ genre adopted by the big studios. (plenty of B-grade noirs were still made)
EVIDENCE: • Detour is a B-grade Noir masterpiece – innovative storytelling and cinematography. E.g triangular composition in diner scene.
The Hay’s Production Code • Film has long been regarded as a potent and influential force in society. • The Hays Code was a set of production directives, voluntarily adopted by all the major studios designed to pre-empt a government-run censorship program. • The Hays Code (the informal name for The Motion Picture Production Code) was adopted in 1930 but not seriously enforced until 1934. It was a set of rules which governed the American filmmaking industry and that shaped American cinema for over three decades. The cod evolved after a wave of complaints and rulings about the content of movies in the early 20th century, as well as a number of perceived immoral people within the industry itself (most infamously, Fatty Arbuckle).
The Postman Always Rings Twice vs Hay’s Code • Natural blonde Audrey Totter (who was of Austrian and Swedish descent) had to darken her hair for her small role in the film to avoid any confusion with leading lady Lana Turner.To offset any bad publicity over the sexual nature of her role, MGM's publicity department arranged to have Turner photographed on the set with her two-year-old daughter Cheryl Crane and even had her take the child to the picture's New York City premiere.Despite winning the approval of the Production Code Administration, The Postman Always Rings Twice was banned in Indonesia, Switzerland and Spain."It was a real chore to do Postman under the Hays Office, but I think I managed to get the sex across."- Tay Garnett
Contribution to Meaning: • Restricted the portrayal of adultery and crime (particularly murder) on screen. • Noir often pushed the boundaries of the Hays Code – but also relied a lot on innuendo rather than blatant portrayal. • Sin, in any form, is punished at the end of Noir.
Relationship to Society: • As a potent force in society, film were to uphold good morals, and any character who broke with good morals was to be punished.
EVIDENCE: • The Postman Always Rings Twice • Frank ends up on death-row: unable to escape the death penalty – but repenting and accepting o f the need to pay for his sins. • Detour • Vera’s murder is not seen on screen. • Ending changed – Al is caught by police: not left to wander free.
