Tuesday, March 2, 2021
You're Invited! Pre-Code Series THE STYLE OF SIN Continues 3/21 with Barbara Stanwyck
Tuesday, February 23, 2021
Watch FILM NOIR STYLE: THE POST-WAR YEARS on Vimeo!
Last weekend an enthusiastic audience joined me to celebrate Film Noir Style: The Post-War Years! This was the final event in the four-part series, which mirrors my book Film Noir Style: The Killer 1940s. This webinar examined the dramatic changes that occurred in both film and fashion after World War II along with the backstories and ongoing influence of six essential film noir from 1947 to 1950:
Friday, February 5, 2021
FILM NOIR STYLE Featured on Seattle's New Day Northwest
You're Invited! FILM NOIR STYLE Online Series Concludes with POST-WAR YEARS on 2/21
On Sunday, February 21, my online series Film Noir Style concludes with The Post-War Years 1947-1950. This is the fourth and final event in the series that accompanies my book Film Noir Style: The Killer 1940s. Like the book, the series is divided into four parts:
In this webinar, I will present and discuss the historical context of the time, dramatic changes that occurred in both film and fashion after World War II, and the backstories of 6 films noir of the era - Dead Reckoning (1947), Lady in the Lake (1947), Out of the Past (1947), The Lady from Shanghai (1948), The Asphalt Jungle (1950), and Sunset Boulevard (1950).
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In 1941, Hollywood turned down a dark alley and began to explore stories of vice, corruption, and murder. Pictures featured tough leading men and mysterious women who were often very good at being bad. While navigating the impact of the Production Code and World War II, studio costume designers defined the style of the decade's crime thrillers and murder dramas, which would collectively become known as film noir. They transformed Hollywood's leading ladies into intrigantes and femme fatales - women who would do anything to get what they want.
The actors in film noir, led by Humphrey Bogart, set style standards for America in the way they wore suits, fedoras, and trench coats. And oh, the women - whether good or bad, they captured the imagination of the country and immediately began influencing fashion. Film noir made stars of young actresses like Lauren Bacall, Ava Gardner, Gene Tierney, and Marilyn Monroe and magnified the careers of Rita Hayworth, Barbara Stanwyck, Jane Greer, and Gloria Swanson. In all cases, costume design proved vital to their success. Historian Kimberly Truhler explores twenty definitive film noir titles and traces the intersection of film noir and popular fashion through the decade and beyond.