Film Noir is the term used to describe the variety of grim, stylized crime dramas that were popular in Hollywood in the 1940's and '50s. It's mainly denoted by cynicism, low-lighted black-and-white cinematography, and an influence by the German expressionist visual style. The term wasn't coined, however, until the '70s - at the time these films were released, they were generally referred to as melodramas.
Some of the most well-known films of this style include:
- The Maltese Falcon (John Huston, 1941) - the debut film of director John Huston, considered highly influential to the style
- Shadow of a Doubt (Alfred Hitchcock, 1943) - the first of Hitchcock's four films that, it has been argued, can fit into this category (the others being 1946's Notorious, 1951's Strangers on a Train, and 1956's The Wrong Man).
- Sunset Boulevard (Billy Wilder, 1950) - Wilder's classic satire of Hollywood, widely praised by critics of the era.