Welcome to Cyclopaedia 7: Noir. Cyclopaedia is a monthly article on the InnRoads Ministries website as part of the Getting Started series. The topic this month was voted on by the InnRoads Ministries – The Tavern Facebook group yet the inspiration came from recent re-readings of Dresden Files novels and a viewing of the movie, Cast A Deadly Spell. I grew up watching crime dramas with my grandmother, mostly Perry Mason and Columbo, but occasionally we would watch an old movie together. The movies she enjoyed were the old black and white hard boiled detective stories that made film noir famous. She introduced me to the likes of Humphrey Bogart and Robert Mitchum. I find myself still drawn to the noir inspired dramas and literature to this day. So put on your trench coat and fedora, it is time for an inner monologue!
If you have questions about this article or topics you would like me to consider researching for future Cyclopaedia articles, please leave a comment below.
Overview
Noir begins with the French word for black but more often is associated with cinema or fiction characterized by bleak settings, cynicism, danger, fatalism, femme fatales, mystery, and tough heroes.
Film noir, which means black film, sets the standard for most people when it comes to Noir. Crime dramas produced in the 40s and 50s, most often filmed in black and white. Often the anti-hero or hard-boiled detective narrated the dark and bleak tale of his encounter with the femme fatale and the crime she was associated with.
At its core, Noir instills in readers and viewers specific emotions and visuals. Dark shadows and off center lighting set a bleak tone to the scene. Ambiguous morality and cynicism grays the line between hero and villain. Even in modern films and literature, the core of Noir can be found in various films and books, even merging with other genres such as fantasy and science fiction.
Noir Sub-Genres
Even then, this iconic visual of Film Noir only covers a portion of the noir genre. There are five primary sub-genres of noir recognized by most, each with its own feel and flair.
- Film Noir
- Crime Noir
- Neo-Noir
- Science Fiction Noir
- Tech Noir
Following are sources of information pertaining to Noir to assist prospective game masters, game designers, writers, and storytellers in knowing where to start their research.
ARTICLES
Film Noir Fascination: Outside History, But Historically So
By Harris, Oliver
Source: Cinema Journal, 43, no. 1 (2003): 3-24
Hollywood’s Detectives: Crime Series in the 1930s and 1940s from the Whodunnit to Hard-boiled Noir
By Wilson, R.
Source: HISTORICAL JOURNAL OF FILM RADIO AND TELEVISION, 33, no. 3, (2013): 530-532
A Lotta Night Music: The Sound of Film Noir
By Ness, Richard
Source: Cinema Journal, 47 (2007): 52-73
Meehan’s The Fusion of Science Fiction and Film Noir and Botting’s Limits of Horror
By Freedman, C
Source: Science-fiction studies. 38, Part 3 (2011): 528-529
Melodrama and Film Noir on Today’s Big Screen: How Modern Audiences Experience Yesterday’s Classics
By Hilscher, M.C. and Cupchik G.C.
Source: Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, v2 n4 (2008 11 01): 203-212
BOOKS
Batman Noir
By Azzarello, Brian and Risso, Eduardo
The Big Sleep (Philip Marlowe #1)
By Chandler, Raymond
Burning Chrome
By Gibson, William
The Cleanup
By Doolittle, Sean
Cocktail Noir: From Gangsters and Gin Joints to Gumshoes and Gimlets
By Deitche, Scott
Dark Passage
By Goodis, David
Devil in a Blue Dress (Easy Rawlins, #1)
By Mosley, Walter
Dirty Snow
By Simenon, George
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep
By Dick, Philip K.
Double Indemnity
By Cain, James M.
Femme Noir: Bad Girls of Film
By Hannsberry, Karen Burroughs
The Film Noir Encyclopedia
By Silver, Alain and Ward, Elizabeth M.
Film Noir FAQ: All That’s Left to Know About Hollywood’s Golden Age of Dames, Detectives, and Danger
By Hogan, David J.
The Grifters
By Thompson, Jim
Gun, with Occasional Music
By Letham, Jonathan
In Cold Blood
By Capote, Truman
The Hidden World of Film Noir
By Vieira, Mark A.
I, the Jury (Mike Hammer, #1)
By Spillane, Mickey
The Killer Inside Me
By Thompson, Jim
L.A. Confidential
By Ellroy, James
The Maltese Falcon
By Hammett, Dashiell
The Man with the Getaway Face
By Stark, Richard
More than Night: Film Noir in Its Contexts
By Naremore, James
Neverwhere
By Gaiman, Neil
No Country For Old Men
By McCarthy, Cormac
Noir Style
By Silver, Alain
The Postman Always Rings Twice
By Cain, James M.
Red Planet Blues
By Sawyer, Robert J.
Somewhere in the Night: Film Noir and the Underside of American Urban Life
By Christopher, Nicholas
Storm Front (The Dresden Files, Book 1)
By Butcher, Jim
Street with No Name: A History of the Classic American Film Noir
By Dickos, Andrew
Sweet Silver Blues (Garret P.I., #1)
By Cook, Glen
The Talented Mr Ripley (Ripley, #1)
By Highsmith, Patricia
They Shoot Horse, Don’t They
By McCoy, Horace
Watchmen – Graphic Novel
By Moore, Alan
GAMES
A Dirty World – RPG
BioShock Infinite – Computer Game
Black Vienna – Tabletop Game
Blade Runner – Computer Game
Cargo Noir – Tabletop Game
Cthulhu Confidential – RPG
Deadlines: Noir – RPG
Deja Vu – Computer Game
Grim Fandango – Computer Game
Gumshoe – Tabletop Game
GUMSHOE System – RPG
Heavy Rain – Computer Game
Hellywood – RPG
Hotel Dusk: Room 215 – Computer Game
Killer 7 – Computer Game
Mage Noir – RPG
Max Payne – Computer Game
Noir: The Film Noir Roleplaying-Game – RPG
NOIR: Deductive Mystery Game – Tabletop Game
L.A. Noire – Computer Game
P.I. – Tabletop Game
Shadowrun – Computer Game
Snatch – Computer Game
Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions – Computer Game
Technoir – RPG
Trail of Cthulhu – RPG
White Night – Computer Game
CINEMA
12 Monkeys
Alphaville
Basic Instinct
The Big Heat
The Big O – Anime
The Big Sleep
Blade Runner
Body Heat
Breathless
Cape Fear
Cast A Deadly Spell
Chinatown
The City of Lost Children
Collateral
Cowboy Bepop – Anime
Criss Cross
Dark City
The Dark Knight
Detour
Devil in a Blue Dress
Double Indemnity
Fargo
The Grifters
The Groundstar Conspiracy
High and Low
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
Key Largo
The Killers
Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang
Kiss Me Deadly
Kolchak: The Night Stalker – TV
L.A. Confidential
The Last Seduction
Laura
Le Samouraï
The Long Goodbye
M
The Maltese Falcon
The Manchurian Candidate
Marvel’s Jessica Jones – TV
Memento
Moonlighting – TV
Mulholland Drive
Murder, My Sweet
Night Moves
Noir – Anime
Notorious
Out of the Past
Outland
Pickup on South Street
Point Blank
Pulp Fiction
Remington Steele – TV
Reservoir Dogs
Se7en
Sin City
Soylent Green
Sledge Hammer! – TV
Someone to Watch Over Me
Strangers on a Train
Sunset Boulevard
Sweet Smell of Success
Touch of Evil
True Detective – TV
Twin Peaks – TV
The Two Jakes
The Usual Suspects
Veronica Mars – TV
The X-Files – TV
LOCATIONS
Alex Theatre, Glendale
http://www.alextheatre.org/
Arthur Lyons Film Noir Festival
http://arthurlyonsfilmnoir.ning.com/
Deal Noir Crime Fiction Convention
https://dealnoir.wordpress.com/
Pacific Dining Car
http://pacificdiningcar.com/
PEOPLE
Lauren Bacall
Humphrey Bogart
James Cagney
James M. Cain
Raymond Chandler
Joan Crawford
Bette Davis
David Goodis
Gloria Grahame
John Huston
Ritz Lang
Ida Lupino
Philip Marlow
Robert Mitchum
Rita Hayworth
Joe Sawyer
Jim Thompson
Charles Williams
Cornell Woolrich
I hope you find these resources informative and inspiring for your adventures, storytelling, or game design.
Stay Creative!
T.R. Knight
( If you would like to save this list of resources as a convenient PDF for later reference, you can find that HERE )
WHO IS T.R. KNIGHT?
He is a freelance editor, proofreader, and writer in the game industry. He is also a Husband and Caregiver to his wife Angie, Father of Twins Emily and Rachel, Gardner and Hobby Chef, and Director of Academic Technology and User Services at Taylor University. You can learn more about T.R. at his blog http://www.thomasrknight.com.