Karen Burroughs Hannsberry - Femme Noir: Bad Girls of Film

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGUING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA

Hannsberry, Karen Burroughs, 1962
Femme noir : bad girls of film / by Karen Burroughs Hannsberry.
p. cm.
Includes filmographies, bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-0-7864-4682-7

1. Motion picture actors and actressesUnited StatesBiography. 2. Film noir. 3. Femmes fatales in motion pictures. I. Title.
PN1995.9.W6H26 2010
791.43'028'082dc21 97-42496

British Library cataloguing data are available

1998 Karen Burroughs Hannsberry. All rights reserved

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Front cover: Ava Gardner in The Killers, 1946 (Universal Pictures/Photofest)

McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers
Box 611, Jefferson, North Carolina 28640
www.mcfarlandpub.com

For my family and friends
who never doubted,
always supported,
and continue to champion my dreams.

For taking the time to share with me their recollections of experiences from the golden age of Hollywood and the realm of the film noir, I offer my heartfelt thanks to Bruce Bennett, Rosemary DeCamp, Richard Fleischer, Sally Forrest, Coleen Gray, Jane Greer, Signe Hasso, Charles Korvin, Victor Mature, David Wilde, Marie Windsor and Robert Wise.

For their assistance with my research, I am most sincerely indebted to Alan David Burroughs, Theresa Henderson Burroughs, Rod Crawford, Stephan Eichenberg, Richard Hegedorn, Evelyn Mildred Henderson, Bob King, Janet Lorenz of the Margaret Herrick Memorial Library of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Doug McClelland, Randi Massingill, Paul Payne, Phillip Pessar, Bob J. Robison, Dan Van Neste, the staff of the Library of the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center in New York and the staffs of the Beverly Branch Library and the Harold Washington Library in Chicago, Illinois. Part of my research involved viewing each of the 149 film noir features in which the actresses appear, and for aiding me in acquiring these films, I extend great appreciation to Nick Lapetina, Jim Lindsay, and Dan Van Neste.

Finally, for assisting me in locating stills, I am especially grateful to T. Gene Hatcher and Manuel Nez, as well as Ed Colbert, Robert Pelot, Phil Petras, Carole York, Jim Yurchak, Metro Golden Memories in Chicago, Movie Star News in New York City, Cinema Memories in Key West, Florida, and Jim Shepard of Collectors Book Store in Hollywood, California.

I find more bitter than death
The woman whose heart is snares and nets
And he who falls beneath her spell
Has need of Gods mercy.
from Born to Kill (RKO, 1947)

What could be more unsettling than the statue-like cast of Gene Tierneys face as she coolly observes the drowning of her young brother-in-law in Leave Her to Heaven? Or the waves of horror that seem to ripple in Joan Crawfords eyes when she overhears her husband plot her murder in Sudden Fear? Or Barbara Stanwycks unflinchingly composed voice in Double Indemnity when she tells her lover that its straight down the line, for both of us in their scheme to murder her spouse?

These actresses are the femmes of film noirliterally translated as black filmone of cinemas most popular and widely imitated genres. The movies that fall into this category were initially identified in 1946 by French critics who noticed the darker mood that had begun to appear in films produced in America. Unlike the Western and gangster film genres, however, film noir cannot be unequivocally defined by setting or conflict, but instead is characterized by the more tenuous qualities of tone and mood. Produced primarily between the early 1940s and the late 1950s, these films depict a world of pessimism, corruption and hopelessness, and are distinguished by their dim, shadowy appearance and dark overtones.

Movies from the film noir era are notable for a number of recurring visual characteristics, including rain-swept streets, murkily lit rooms, mirror reflections, looming shadows and foggy nights. In terms of style and technique, these films abound with interior and exterior night scenes that suggest dingy realism, and feature unique lighting that emphasizes deep shadows and accents the mood of fatalism. Aside from visual characteristics, these films contain both heroes and villains who are cynical and disillusioned, inextricably bound to the past and ambivalent about the future.

In addition, most films noirs offer portraits of complex female characters who, to some degree, are fundamental to the development of the plot. Some exist as champions for the male protagonists, as in Phantom Lady (Universal, 1944), where the relentless determination of Ella Raines Carol lifts the protagonist from his state of inevitable doom and results in the exposure of the man who framed him for murder. In other noir films, the female is portrayed as an innocent victim, caught up in circumstances beyond her control, such as Keechie (Cathy ODonnell) in They Live by Night (RKO, 1948), who falls in love with a naive petty criminal. Then there are the femmes who are gutsy but sincere, as in High Sierra (Warners, 1941), where Ida Lupinos Marie is hard-boiled and implacable, but also possesses a deep sense of compassion and a propensity for true love.

Finally, there is the assortment of film noir females who use their wiles to get their way, as often as not at the expense of their male counterparts. The mystical French figure of la belle dame sans mercithe beautiful woman without mercyis personified by the femmes in these productions. In first-rate, often shocking performances, an array of talented actressesfrom such prominent stars as Barbara Stanwyck and Lana Turner, to lesser known actresses including Peggie Castle, Hope Emerson and Helen Walkerportrayed the dark side of the female; women who, in turn, could be avaricious, selfish, possessive, slovenly, calculating, masochistic and callous. While usually possessing a keen intelligence and shrewd cunning, these were women totally lacking in morals, bent on satisfying their own lustful, mercenary or violent desires, utterly aware of their unique feminine tools, and willing to capitalize on them whenever necessary.

I am several decades removed from the generation that witnessed the original release of the movies that feature these actresses, but my fascination with this era is nonetheless ardent and ongoing. I saw my first film noir at the tender age of 14; although the movie had been filmed nearly 20 years before my birth, it did not seem dated, but instead instantly drew me into its shadowy, mystifying world. It was Double Indemnity (Paramount, 1944), starring Barbara Stanwyck, Fred MacMurray, and Edward G. Robinson, a dark tale of murder and lust that offered spicy, rapid-fire dialogue, intriguing characterization and an intricate, engrossing plot. As my initiation into the realm of film noir, this movie will always have a special significance for me, for after viewing it, I instantly became, and have since remained, a staunch devotee of this unique era of filmmaking.

With startling clarity, I can remember sitting in front of the television set on the living room floor, an untouched bowl of popcorn in my lap, my rapt attention disrupted only by annoying commercial breaks. A number of the films subtle nuances did not become apparent to me until many years and many viewings later, but I can still recall the graphic impression of Barbara Stanwycks hardened beauty, her brassy blond hair offering a dramatic contrast to the gritty, somber look of the movie. I can still remember the atmosphere of sexual desire between Stanwyck and MacMurray, so tangible that the screen fairly crackled and burned. And I can still recollect the seething emotions of betrayal, greed and desperation that were interwoven throughout the gripping plot. The vivid images of this movie remained in my mind long after the pictures had faded from the screen, and have never quite been obliterated.