Jack,
Re your question below:
> But I can't think of and film with noir style
but
> not noir content. Can anybody out there think
of
> an example?
Using your definition, "screwed," for "noir content," then it
could reasonably be argued that the following films, since
they end on a positive note, are noir-style, but not noir
content.
MURDER, MY SWEET HE WALKED BY NIGHT THE NAKED CITY T-MEN THE
BIG HEAT THE BIG COMBO THE UNDERCOVER MAN TO THE ENDS OF THE
EARTH THE PORT OF NEW YORK THE WINDOW LAURA THE SPIRAL
STAIRCASE CORNERED CROSSFIRE CALL NORTHSIDE 777
BOOMERANG
Now, of course, in each of those films, SOMEBODY gets
screwed. Someone who is at least relatively innocent gets
killed, or at least victimized, notwithstanding the fact that
the character who meets this fate might be a less important
member of the cast. And, since the criminal is always caught
or killed at the end, the criminal inarguably gets screwed,
notwithstanding the fact that the criminal deserves it.
But both of those factors are true of even the coziest crime
fiction. "Screwed" seems to imply more than that someone,
anyone, gets screwed. My inference is that the person who
gets screwed is the protagonist
(or co-protagonist); that, to a degree at least, s/he doesn't
quite deserve the level of misfortune that befalls him (or
her); and, finally, that the story ends on a negative note
with the protagonist getting the screws applied to him (or
her).
However, this is your definition, so my application of it may
be wildly inaccurate.
JIM DOHERTY
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