Announcing the Film Noir Blogathon Aug. 12-14

Attn:  The actual Blogathon link page is here if you want to check out the entries that have been posted.  Thanks!

Announcing the

Film Noir Blogathon!

hosted by The Midnite Drive-In

"Down these mean streets a man must go..."  Those words, penned by Raymond Chandler, serve as a backdrop to what I consider one of the best genres of cinema.  Film noir.  The term is French for dark film or black film.  It was coined by French critic Nino Frank to refer to (mostly) American films of the late 40's and 50's which shared a common denominator of characters with "cynical attitudes and sexual motivations" (quote from wikipedia article on "film noir").

I have always explained to others that in film noir even the good guys are not exactly saints.  No good guys in white cowboy hats, these.  Sam Spade was willing to do whatever was necessary, within reason, to avenge his partner's death in The Maltese Falcon.  Sometimes people are caught up in circumstances beyond their control and have to  do things the average person would hesitate to do.

If you are familiar with film noir, you know exactly what I mean.  Movies like Double Indemnity, The Postman Always Rings Twice, Sunset Boulevard, Key Largo: these were the typical film noir movies of the day.  Film noir movies were typically filmed in black and white and made extensive uses of shadows to highlight the film's theme.  The classic film noir period ran from about 1940-1959.  The movie that is usually acknowledged as the first film noir is Stranger on the Third Floor which was released in August of 1940 (hence the date of this blogathon.  It's kismet.)

For this blogathon you are encouraged to pick a film noir movie and write about it for your blog.  If you need suggestions, any movie in this link will most definitely be approved.  Film Noir  I would prefer to keep it in the classic noir category, but for those few who write on classic silent movies who would like to join the fun, there are a few proto-noir titles, (see the "precursors" section of the above link). If you think you can make a case for a particular silent film, then have at it.   Neo-noir movies will be allowed, but please, please try to find a classic one that appeals to you first.  

There are enough movies to go around, so please only one entrant per movie.  A remake is acceptable, however.  

How to enter this blogathon

Step 1:  Pick your movie (or movies) and post a message on this link.  Be sure to post your blog address in the message, since I may not be able to find it otherwise. 

Step 2:  Take a banner from below and link your blog to this post so others can join.    (Note:  I would like to profusely thank Connie over at Silver Scenes for her help in creating these banners.  Without her help, this would have been a dull blogathon indeed.  Visit her website frequently and often. ) 

Step 3:  Write your blog entry then message me again with the link so that I can counter-link to your blog from here.  You can write early, but I will only post links after the blogathon starts.

Step 4:  Have fun!

Quiggy

The Film Noir Blogathon Roll Call:

The Midnite Drive-In:  D.O.A. (1950) and The Hitch-Hiker (1953)

4 Star Films:  The Set-Up (1949)

Angelman's Place:  Gilda (1946)

"Anna, Look!"  Sorry, Wrong Number (1948)

Back to Golden Days:  Double Indemnity (1944)

BNoirDetour:  The Walking Hills (1949) and The Capture (1950)

Cabdrivers and Coffeepots:  The Lodger (1944)

Caftan Woman:  New York Confidential (1955)

Cinema Cities:  Kansas City Confidential (1952) and 99 River Street (1953)

Cinema Monolith:  Armored Car Robbery (1950)

Cinematic Frontier:  Suspicion (1941)

Cinematic Scribblings:  Shoot the Piano Player (1960)

Crítica Retrô:  The Reign of Terror (1949)

Defiant Success:  In Cold Blood (1966)

Define Dancing:  The Killers (1946) and The Killers (1964)

The Flapper Dame:  Laura (1944)

Great Old Movies:  The Treasure of Monte Cristo (1949)

Hamlette's Soliloquy:  The Blue Dahlia (1946) and The Glass Key (1942)

In The Good Old Days of Classic Hollywood:  Mildred Pierce (1945)

In The Good Old Days of Classic Hollywood:  Sudden Fear (1952)

It Came From the Man Cave:  Christmas Holiday (1944) and Jail Bait (1954)

L.A. Explorer:  The Big Heat (1953)

Little Bits of Classics:  Sunset Boulevard (1950)

The Lonely Critic:  M (1931)

Meredy.com:  The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946)

Meredy.com:  The Stranger (1946)

Mildred's Fatburgers:  The Small Back Room (1949)

Moon in Gemini:  High Sierra (1941) and After Dark, My Sweet (1990)

Movie Movie Blog Blog:  Cry of the City (1948)

Ms Lake:  Shadow of a Doubt (1943)

Musings of a Classic Film Addict:  Criss Cross (1949)

Noirish:  Return from the Ashes (1965)

Old Hollywood Films:  Leaver Her to Heaven (1945)

The Old Hollywood Garden:  The Big Combo (1955)

Once Upon a Screen:  Pickup on South Street (1953)

Outspoken and Freckled:  Murder, My Sweet (1944)

Phyllis Loves Classic Movies:  Nobody Lives Forever (1946)

Phyllis Loves Classic Movies:  Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid (1982)

Pop Culture Reverie:  Somewhere in the Night (1946)

Radiator Heaven:  The Big Sleep (1946)

Realweegiemidget Reviews:  John Wick (2014)

Shadows and Satin:  The Damned Don't Cry! (1950)

Silver Scenes:  My Name is Julia Ross (1945)

Silver Scenes:  Beyond a Reasonable Doubt (1956)

Silver Screenings:  He Ran All the Way (1951)

Sleepwalking in Hollywood:  Niagara (1953)

Sometimes They Go to Eleven:  Where the Sidewalk Ends (1950)

Straw Cats:  Specter of the Rose (1946) 

Straw Cats:  Dementia (1955)

Thoughts All Sorts:  Memento (2000)

Vienna's Classic Hollywood:  The Enforcer (1951)

The Wonderful World of Cinema:  White Heat (1949)

Wide Screen World:  The Naked City (1948)

Wolffian Classic Movies Digest:  The Prowler (1951)

Update:  Response to this has been overwhelming and more than for which I could have hoped.  For your convenience (and mine) below is an alphabetical listing of the movies so far claimed.

99 River Street (1953)
After Dark, My Sweet (1990)
Armored Car Robbery (1950)
Beyond a Reasonable Doubt (1956)
Big Combo, The (1955)
Big Sleep, The (1946)
Blue Dahlia, The (1946)
Capture, The (1950)
Christmas Holiday (1944)
Criss Cross (1949)
Cry of the City (1948)
D.O.A. (1950)
Damned Don't Cry!, The (1950)
Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid (1982)
Dementia (1955)
Double Indemnity (1944)
Enforcer, The (1951)
Framed (1947)
Gilda (1946)
Glass Key, The (1942)
He Ran All the Way (1951)
High Sierra (1941)
Hitch-Hiker, The (1953)
In Cold Blood (1966)
Jail Bait (1954)
John Wick (2014)
Kansas City Confidential (1952)
Killers, The (1946)
Killers, The (1964)
Laura (1944)
Leave Her to Heaven (1945)
Lodger, The (1944)
M (1931)
Memento (2000)
Mildred Pierce (1945)
Murder, My Sweet (1944)
My Name is Julia Ross (1945)
Naked City. The (1948)
New York Confidential (1955)
Niagara (1953)
Nobody Lives Forever (1946)
Pickup on South Street (1953)
Prowler, The (1951)
Reign of Terror, The (1949)
Return from the Ashes (1965)
Set-Up, The (1949)
Shadow of a Doubt (1943)
Shoot the Piano Player (1960)
Small Back Room, The (1949)
Somewhere in the Night (1946)
Sorry, Wrong Number (1948)
Specter of the Rose (1946)
Strange Love of Martha Ivers, The (1946)
Stranger, The (1946)
Sudden Fear (1952)
Sunset Boulevard (1950)
Suspicion (1941)
Treasure of Monte Cristo, The (1949)
Walking Hills, The (1949)
Where the Sidewalk Ends (1950)
White Heat (1949)