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The Literature of Film Noir (FLM 59)
Although the term "film noir" was not coined until 1946 by French cineaste Nino Frank, the literature of film noir had its roots in the plot-driven, hardboiled crime fiction of the 1930s and ’40s, pioneered by such authors as Raymond Chandler, W.R. Burnett, Cornell Woolrich, James M. Cain, David Goodis, and Jim Thompson. The dark, atmospheric work of these authors was brought to the screen in the 1940s and ’50s in such films as Double Indemnity, The Asphalt Jungle, Murder, My Sweet, and The Phantom Lady.
This course will examine the literary underpinnings of the noir cycle, review the lives of famous and lesserknown authors, which were sometimes as dark and tragic as their work, and track the critical reception, recurring themes, and cultural influence of both the novels and films. Well-known and little-known films in the noir canon will be discussed, and film clips will be used to illustrate the individual contributions of studios, directors, screenwriters, cinematographers, set designers, actors, and actresses in bringing the core fiction to life on the screen.
John Billheimer
Author
John Billheimer received a PhD from Stanford, and is the author of the "funny, sometimes touching" Owen Allison mystery series set in Appalachia's coalfields. The Drood Review voted his first book, The Contrary Blues, one of the ten best mysteries of 1998. Four subsequent novels, including the most recent, Stonewall Jackson's Elbow, explore various scams in his native West Virginia.
Eddie Muller
Author; Film Historian
Eddie Muller has written three books on the film noir
phenomenon: Dark City: The Lost World of Film Noir;
Dark City Dames: The Wicked Women of Film Noir; and
The Art of Noir. He founded the nonprofit Film Noir
Foundation to rescue and restore classic noir films in
danger of extinction. He has hosted numerous film noir
retrospectives around the country, and has contributed
audio commentary to many DVD editions of film noir
classics. He is also the author of two mystery novels
set in 1940s San Francisco: the Shamus-award winning
The Distance and Shadow Boxer. His monthly column
for the San Francisco Chronicle, "Guilty Bystander,"
examines contemporary crime fiction.
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Course Details
Tuesdays
7:00 - 9:00 pm
5 weeks
Jun 24 - Jul 22
1 unit $200
Drop by: Jul 7
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