From which movies does the stereotypical b/w film noir voice-over introduction originate?
When doing stereotypical film noir style stories they always have the hard boiled black and white detective narrating to himself with smooth jazz playing while it is raining, like in the first minute of Dan vs The Catburglar.
I have been trying for several hours but I cannot find any movies with a main character that matches that kind of description, yet it seems to be such a common scene construction to immediately evoke references to film noir. What movies actually follow this style and what movie did this originate from?
To clarify I want something black and white, has narration from the main character, lots of smooth jazz, rain, and the stereotypical intro as mentioned above. Has this even appeared in this exact form in any specific movie(s) or was this rather born after the fact and has established itself as a trope without being from a specific movie at all?
Best Answer
At the time, they wouldn't have yet been known as Film Noir, they would have just been Melodrama.
Contenders might be…
- Rebecca [1941] has voiceover.
- The Maltese Falcon [1941] has the detective
- Double Indemnity [1944] Has the detective, voice-over which starts as a letter dictation then transitions into narration…
- The Big Sleep [1946] has no voiceover, but it does have the hard-boiled detective & a lot of rain.
The genre-defining voiceover is actually in the movie trailer..
But still no Jazz until… 1951
According to All About Jazz Crimejazz: The Sound Of Noir the first movie to feature a jazz score was A Streetcar Named Desire [1951]
They also credit Earle Hagen's "Harlem Nocturne" as being the prototype piece from which the 'crimejazz' genre was derived.
Here, by Johnny Otis, featuring Rene Bloch on alto sax
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Where did film noir originated?
Film noir is a stylized genre of film marked by pessimism, fatalism, and cynicism. The term was originally used in France after WWII, to describe American thriller or detective films in the 1940s and 50s.What movement does film noir derive from?
The shadowy noir style can be traced to the German Expressionist cinema of the silent era. Robert Wiene's Das Kabinett des Doktor Caligari (1920; The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari) contains one of the best early examples of the lighting techniques used to inspire the genre.What movie is considered the first film noir?
Edeson later photographed The Maltese Falcon (1941), widely regarded as the first major film noir of the classic era.When did noir films begin as a recognizable style?
It was beginning in the early 1940s, that film noir, such as The Maltese Falcon and Laura, began to appear. The films of the 1940s reflected the disillusionment felt in the country, especially with the soldiers returning home and women losing their jobs at the end of the war.Defining Film Noir
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Answer 2
I would say that Double Indemnity and Sunset Boulevard are the two greatest examples of the Noir Voice-Over. Though it shouldn't be pointed out that neither of the films feature a detective protagonist. But Sunset Boulevard in particular has that really iconic style of Voice-Over that I believe you're referring to.
Also I would like to add that you probably won't find all the elements you're looking for in one film. "I want something black and white, has narration from the main character, lots of smooth jazz, rain, and the stereotypical intro" That's a result of self-awareness of the art, and a probably came about from parody's. You will find these individual elements in various films, but no one Noir that has it all. I really think Sunset Boulevard or Double Indemnity is what you're looking for.
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