SYLLABUS FOR PEL - FALL 1

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