The Dark Themes Of Film Noir, And Why They Matter Today

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Robert Mitchum and Jane Grier in Out of the Past

In the 1940s and 1950s, a new genre of film began to filter out of Hollywood.  It was a hard-bitten, cynical genre, dealing with themes that movies had not dealt with before.  It’s often said that jazz is the only truly unique American art form.  This is not exactly true.  Film noir is a cinematic genre that was created in America, and has been copied elsewhere extensively around the world.

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