Film-206H – Film
Genres - Film Noir: America in Transition 1940-1960
PEL Fall I - 2014
Instructor: Tom
Hammond
Contact: hammontm@eckerd.edu, 813-900-4759
Office hours:
before and after class or by appointment
Classroom: Tampa
Course description: This course surveys the Classic Era of
American Film Noir, which lasted from 1941 to 1958. Study of this important period in cinema
history is primarily concerned with the nature of a growing darkness in subject
matter and a fatalistic outlook concerning narrative themes. Did this represent the introduction of a
specific and new genre of film or merely a stylistic trend? We will study the cultural, social and
political underpinnings of this movement and how they influenced not only this period
in motion pictures, but how the art, literature, music and philosophical ideas
of this era contributed to its development.
Our studies will also cover “Neo- Noir” of the modern period.
Text: More Than Night: Film Noir in its Contexts – James Naremore
Netflix Subscription: You will be required to view some films
outside of class. All of these
assignments will be streamable on Netflix.
A monthly subscription costs $9.
The first month is usually free.
Course Requirements:
One essay, a final exam, weekly summary papers, random quizzes, attendance and
participation.
A film journal and blog postings may be submitted for extra
credit.
Grade Distribution:
Essay - 30%
Final Exam - 30%
Att. & Part. - 40% (weekly summary papers included in this)
Extra Credit - (+10%)
Essay: You will write a paper (4-6 pages) on a film
adaptation of a literary source. You
will read a novel and then view the movie based on it. Discuss the nature and degree of success of
the adaptation and how it relates to areas of our studies. A list of subjects to select from is provided
in this syllabus under the heading: “The Hardboiled Tradition – Novels to Film”.
Final Exam
– A review of all materials will be conducted one week before the test.
Quizzes – Random
quizzes will verify your home viewing and reading assignments.
Attendance and Participation: Each week you will be assigned a film for
home viewing and a reading from the textbook.
Come to class with a one page paper containing your comments and any questions
you might have about the film. These
short papers will be used as an attendance record. Any pattern of absence will adversely affect
your grade. Come prepared to discuss your
viewings and readings.
Extra Credit Opportunities
– Journal & Blog
A journal of all your outside film viewings and readings,
other than those assigned, can be handed in at the end of the term.
-ALSO-
You will be invited to become an author on the class blog: www.filmnoirfan.blogspot.com. You can post on subjects covered in class and
comment on the postings of other students.
Film reviews, research, clips, trailers, stills and links of interest
all qualify for credit.
Disabilities Accommodations: If you have a disability or believe that you
qualify for accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act or other
laws, please contact Disability support Services at ext. 8248 or via email at dss@eckerd.edu as soon as possible. Appropriate accommodations can only be
arranged through that office, and may not be made retroactively.
Academic Dishonesty
Policy: students should
familiarize themselves with Eckerd College’s policy on academic
dishonesty. Information can be found at:
http://www.eckerd.edu/library/services/plagiarism/ec-policies.php
Class Schedule
(All readings are from “More Than Night: Film Noir in its
Contexts.”)
Week 1
Lecture subject: Discovery, Identification & Definitions
Introductory screening: “Film Noir: Bringing
Darkness to Light”
Class screening: “Out of the Past”
Viewing assignment: “Double
Indemnity”
Reading assignment: Naremore,
Chapter 1
Week 2
Lecture subject: German Expressionism: Noir & Horror
Class screening: “The Seventh
Victim”
Viewing assignment: “Scarlet Street”
Reading assignment: Naremore, Chapter 2
Week 3
Subject of the term paper is due for
approval.
Lecture subject: Pulp Fiction & The Hardboiled
Tradition
Class screening: “The Maltese Falcon”
Viewing assignment: “The Grifters”
Reading assignment: Naremore,
Chapter 3
Week 4
Lecture subject: Narrative & Visual Motifs in Film Noir
Class screening: “Touch of Evil”
Viewing assignment: “Raw Deal”
Reading assignment: Naremore,
Chapter 4
Week 5
Lecture subject: Society
& Politics
Class screening: “Chinatown”
Viewing assignment: “Devil in a Blue
Dress”
Reading assignment: Naremore,
Chapter 5
Week 6
Lecture subject: Existentialism
& Film Noir
Class screening: “Sunset Boulevard”
Viewing assignment: “Gun Crazy”
Reading assignment: Naremore,
Chapter 6
Week 7
Review for
exam
Lecture subject: Neo-Noir
Class screening: “Lost Highway”
Viewing assignment: “The Long
Goodbye”
Reading assignment: Naremore, Chapter 7
Week 8 – Final Exam
Research
Paper Due
Lecture subject: Neo-Noir
Class screening: “Dead Men Don’t
Wear Plaid”
The Hardboiled Tradition – Novels to Film
( ) denotes a different title for the film – or
– a particular version
Dashiell Hammett
·
The Maltese Falcon
·
Red Harvest (Yojimbo, A Fistful of Dollars, Last
Man Standing)
Raymond Chandler
·
The Big Sleep (1946 film version)
·
The Long Goodbye
·
Farwell, My Lovely (Murder, My Sweet)
James M. Cain
·
The Postman Always Rings Twice (2 film versions)
·
Double Indemnity
·
Mildred Pierce (1945 film version)
Cornell Woolrich (aka William Irish)
Black Alibi (The Leopard Man)
·
The Night Has a Thousand Eyes
Mickey Spillane
·
Kiss Me Deadly
Jim Thompson
·
The Grifters
·
The Killer Inside Me (2010 film version)
·
The Getaway (1972 film version)
Horace McCoy
·
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?
·
Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye
David Goodis
·
Dark Passage
·
Down There (Shoot the Piano Player)
William Lindsay Gresham
·
Nightmare Alley (1947 film version)
Barry Gifford
·
Perdita Durango (Dance With the Devil)
James Ellroy
·
L.A. Confidential
Film Noir – Required Viewings
The
Maltese Falcon – 1941
The Seventh
Victim - 1943
Double
Indemnity – 1944
Scarlet
Street – 1945
Out of
the Past – 1947
Raw Deal
– 1948
Gun
Crazy – 1950
Sunset
Blvd. – 1950
Touch of
Evil – 1958
The Long
Goodbye – 1973
Chinatown
– 1974
Dead Men
Don’t Wear Plaid – 1982
The
Grifters – 1990
Devil in
a Blue Dress – 1995
Lost
Highway – 1997
Film
Noir: Bringing Darkness to Light – 2006
