Film Noir: The Glamour and the Grit, 1950–65

As the 1950s dawned, a very different world greeted the moviegoing public, one shadowed by Cold War anxieties, existential dread, and a growing sense of national uncertainty.

Film noir entered its final classic phase with a wave of highly stylized, violent crime thrillers stamped with the red-hot nervous energy of their times while maintaining the rigid visual standards that distinguished them from Hollywood’s more polished, less provocative productions.

Radical subtexts gave writers and directors the chance to insinuate subversive political and sexual nuances into their gritty yet glamorous, down-and-dirty crime stories, which reflected the harsh realities of a wildly unpredictable era.

This intensive 10-week course explores more than 20 films by acknowledged Hollywood masters, including Fritz Lang ( The Big Heat ), Orson Welles ( Touch of Evil ), Joseph H.

Lewis ( Gun Crazy ), Nicholas Ray ( On Dangerous Ground ), Samuel Fuller ( Pickup on South Street ), Stanley Kubrick ( The Killing ), and many others.

All films are available through major streaming platforms; the instructor will provide free viewing links when available.