1st Edition
Film Noir Production The Whodunit of the Classic American Mystery Film
Introduction
Chapter 1: Noir Comes to Light (The Maltese Falcon)
Chapter 2: The Noir Hero (Murder My Sweet)
Chapter 3: The Noir Anti-Hero (This Gun for Hire)
Chapter 4: The Femmes of Noir: They Aren’t Always Fatale (Double Indemnity)
Chapter 5: Directors and Noir: A Dark Relationship (Laura)
Chapter 6: The Noir Cast (The Big Sleep)
Chapter 7: Noir Themes (Macao)
Chapter 8: Noir Style; Cinematography, Sets, Costumes and Music (The Big Combo)
Chapter 9: Noir Speak: Dialog and Narration (Kiss Kiss Bang Bang)
Chapter 10: Noir Today, Noir Tomorrow: Noir’s Rebirth, Neo Noirs and Noir Influence (House of Games)
Appendix 1: Suggested Noir Films
Appendix 2: Books on Film Noir
Bibliography
Film Glossary
Index
Biography
David Landau is an award winning mystery playwright with seven works published by Samuel French including his internationally produced play Murder at Cafe Noir, a comedy tribute to the film noir movies of the 1940s, which would be performed in theaters across the United States and Canada for the following six years. His noir play Deep Six Holiday, inspired by the work of James Cain, has won several theater awards, and his noir short film Joker’s Wild, (written and photographed by David) was featured on A&E Short Subjects, Cinemax, and won several film festival awards. David holds a Masters of Fine Arts in screenwriting from Goddard College, has published a dozen articles on screenwriting in such magazines as Screenwriter’s Monthly and Script Magazine, has won several screenwriting awards and has had several scripts optioned. As a full professor at Fairleigh Dickinson University, David teaches film, cinematography, screenwriting and film noir. He is a member of the Mystery Writers of America, the Dramatists Guild, the University Film & Video Association and IATSE local 52 as a gaffer.
"’The stuff that dreams are made of.’ What Sam Spade said in The Maltese Falcon definitely applies to Film Noir Production. If you truly want to learn how the dark dreams of these films were conceived and written, let alone produced, David Landau’s book is a must read."
–David Carren, screenwriter, Silver Palm Award winner, Writer’s Guild Award nominee
"Film Noir Production is a breezy yet informative look at the content and making of Film Noir. If you weren't a fan of the genre before, you will be after reading this book!"
–Peter Kiwitt, Associate Professor, Rochester Institute of Technology, Director member, Director's Guild of America
