"Film Noir FAQ" by David J. Hogan

Film noir pulls us close to brutal cops and scheming dames, desperate heist men and hardboiled private eyes, and the unlucky innocent citizens that get in their way. These are exciting movies with tough guys in trench coats and hot tomatoes in form-fitting gowns. The moon is a streetlamp, and the narrow streets are prowled by squad cars and long black limousines. Lives are often small but people's plans are big—sometimes too big. Robbery, murder, gambling; the gun and the fist; the grift and the con game; the hard kiss and the brutal brush-off. It’s a genre where we are plunged into a disorienting place where everything we thought we knew is wrong.

Film Noir FAQ (Applause Books) by David J. Hogan celebrates and reappraises more than 200 noir thrillers, representing 20 years of Hollywood’s golden age. In detailing who made the films and who starred in them, as well as how each movie came to be, Film Noir FAQ brings lively attention to story, mood, themes, and technical detail, plus behind-the-scenes stories of the production of individual films. Hogan breaks the book down by theme and case files of key players like Alfred Hitchcock, Raymond Burr, Peter Lorre, Robert Wise, Fritz Lang, Raymond Chandler, Humphrey Bogart, and many others. Film noir icon Lizabeth Scott even contributes a brief message for readers of this book.

Featuring approximately 75 stills and posters—many never before published in book form—highlighting key moments of great noir movies, Film Noir FAQ serves up insights into many of the most popular and revered names in Hollywood history, including noir’s greatest stars, supporting players, directors, writers, and cinematographers. Pour a Scotch, light up a smoke, and lean back with your private guide to film noir.

Film Noir FAQ: All That's Left to Know About Hollywood's Golden Age of Dames, Detectives, and Danger is now available from Applause Books.

PopCultureGuy personally recommends the following Film Noir efforts that are mentioned in the book: Shadow of a Doubt (1943, directed by Alfred Hitchcock), Key Largo (1948, directed by John Huston) and Psycho (1960, directed by Alfred Hitchcock).