GANGSTERS, GUN MOLLS AND FILM NOIR

GANGSTERS AND GUN MOLLS

Vol. 1 No. 1

September 1951

Avon Periodicals, Inc. (Avon Comics)

Editor: Sol Cohen

Cover: ? (painted cover)

Pages: 36

Cover price: 10 cents

No matter how violent or bloody, crime has always been a big draw in the media and entertainment industry. When gangsters and organized crime rose in the 1920's and '30's, many of the worst criminals were considered folk heroes and often sheltered from the police by their families or local citizenry. Who says crime didn't pay? Ultimately, though, these same criminals eventually experienced the end of their days on the street riddled with bullets or in the electric chair.

On the heels of the frenzy whipped up by the newspapers, the pulps soon teemed with crime, mystery and detective magazines, even crossing over frequently into the horror titles. Comic books followed with hundreds of issues that featured murder, assault, and tommy guns blazing. Along with horror comics, crime comics took the brunt of Dr. Fredrick Wertham's successful campaign that ended those wildly-popular types of titles as we knew them in 1954.

Avon Books came late to the party, but still managed to release a few crime-themed comics. One of them, GANGSTERS AND GUN MOLLS, became very collectible on the market as it was at one time considered hard to find. It ran for four issues and shown today is the first in the series.

The painted cover was lifted from one of Avon's paperback books, “Four Boys, a Girl and a Gun” by Willard Weiner. As with numerous other Avon comic book titles, the writers of the stories have yet to be identified. The inside front cover was drawn by Wally Wood (another reason for the value of the book). Other art was by Leonard Starr (who created the MARY PERKINS, ON STAGE newspaper strip, and drew for EC, ACG and DC), Manny Stallman and John Giunta. The splash page of the last story looks like it may have been influenced by Will Eisner, and the humorous tone of the story is also Eisner-esque during his days drawing THE SPIRIT strip.

Following the comic is an article from another evolution of crime in popular culture. Film noir is characterized by, among others, a moody atmosphere, disillusionment, voice-over narration, flashbacks and an overwhelming sense of anxiety. Visual tropes abound, such as deep shadows and chiaroscuro, tilted camera angles, waving tendrils of cigarette smoke, wet sidewalks and stark, flashing neon. Noir was highly-stylized and the bleak stories were filmed by some of the most famous directors in the business, among them Orson Welles, Billy Wilder, Fritz Lang, Jaques Tourneur, Robert Aldrich and Stanley Kubrick. Many of the biggest stars in Hollywood found themselves in film noir roles and the genre flooded movie screens for about two decades.

The article lists "The 15 Best Film Noir Movies of All Time". As with other lists of this type, the selection can be subjective at times and I would at least replace one with Edward G. Ulmer's DETOUR from 1945. In any event, the list provides a good sense of the bedrock movies of this intriguing genre.

15 Best Film Noir Movies Of All Time

Hardboiled detectives and stunning femme fatales come together in the influential film noir genre, some of which rank among the best movies ever made.

By Stephen Holland | February 7, 2024 |Screenrant.com

The darkest, grittiest, and most memorable movies of Hollywood’s Golden Age have come from the film noir genre which produced some of the best movies of all time. Featuring corrupt cops, cunning criminals, darling dames, and frantic femme fatales, film noirs were generally stylistic Hollywood crime dramas with a much darker twist that pushed the boundaries of contemporary filmmaking starting in the 1940s. Led by massive movie stars, such as Humphrey Bogart and Robert Mitchum, the film noir genre was categorized primarily by black and white movies with dynamic cinematography.

There was no one defining factor that made a movie a film noir, but they all shared a common aesthetic and sense of style. Encompassing a wide range of plot points from private investigators looking into mysterious murders, to law-abiding citizens drawn into complex conspiracies, the best film noirs have left a lasting impact on modern filmmaking. With contributions from iconic directors like Billy Wilder and Stanley Kubrick, although the genre peaked more than 50 years ago, that did not stop the greatest film noirs from being some of the most important and influential films ever made.

The Big Heat (1953)

Directed by Fritz Lang

The icon of German Expressionism Fritz Lang, who had already delivered the sci-fi masterpiece Metropolis and film noir crime precursor M, produced a film noir classic with The Big Heat in 1953. Starring Glenn Ford as Dave Bannion, a homicide detective trying to take down the crime syndicate that run the city, The Big Heat featured all the tropes of an iconic film noir complete with a no-nonsense police officer, femme fatale love interest, and fast-talking, double-crossing, murder mysteries. A fun and engaging picture of tremendous excitement, The Big Heat stood as one of the great film noirs.

Kiss Me Deadly (1955)

Directed by Robert Aldrich

With a stylish and sinister aesthetic, Kiss My Deadly was a prime example of the film noir’s most gritty aspects and acted as a compelling mystery instigated after a detective picked up a female hitchhiker. Directed by Robert Aldrich, Kiss Me Deadly was an influential film that acted as a metaphor for the paranoia and fear viewers at the time were feeling toward an impending nuclear war with Russia. A nihilistic but frighteningly engaging movie, Kiss Me Deadly had a direct influence on Quentin Tarantino’s glowing briefcase in Pulp Fiction (via Far Out.)

The Long Goodbye (1973)

Directed by Robert Altman

The Long Goodbye was a satirical film noir that played with clichés and tropes of the genre and breathed new life into the Raymond Chandler character of Philip Marlowe. Led by an extraordinary performance by Elliot Gould, The Long Goodbye was a clever movie that paid homage to film noir classics of the past while showcasing the style still had something to offer amid the New Hollywood movement of the 1970s. The Long Goodbye was misunderstood when it was first released but has since gone on to achieve a cult following.

The Third Man (1949)

Directed by Carol Reed

Consistently ranking among the best British films of all time, The Third Man featured Joseph Cotten and Orson Welles in an expressionistic murder mystery with exquisite use of lighting, camera angles, and music. A masterpiece of its era, The Third Man captured the ruined society of post-War Europe and the troubled trauma of its inhabitants. A success at the box office, The Third Man was the top film of 1949 in Britain (via The Courier-Mail) and to this day stands as a classic of the film noir genre.

The Killing (1956)

Directed by Stanley Kubrick

Legendary director Stanley Kubrick showcased his skill for the film noir genre with his first major Hollywood movie The Killing. A stylish story of a crook named Johnny Clay, The Killing followed a criminal group’s plan to execute a daring racetrack robbery that cemented Kubrick’s reputation as a major contemporary director at the time. With a low-budget aesthetic and raw uncompromising vision, The Killing was an underappreciated film noir triumphat the time that had it all, compelling characters, daring direction, and a strong script.

Sweet Smell of Success (1957)

Directed by Alexander Mackendrick

A snarky sense of cynicism was imbued into the film noir Sweet Smell of Success which showcased the darker side of the newspaper business. With strong lead performances by Burt Lancaster and Tony Curtis, Sweet Smell of Success was a controversial movie as its two stars disappointed audiences by playing against type. However, in the years since its release Sweet Smell of Success has gained a reputation as an acclaimed classic complete with strong performances, witty dialogue, and a compelling story.

Laura (1944)

Directed by Otto Preminger

While the majority of female characters in film noirs usually took a supporting role as an enticing femme fatale, Laura put a woman front and center in an exciting tale of deceit, love, and of course murder. Laura featured Gene Tierney as Laura Hunt and Dana Andrews as Mark McPherson, a detective investigating what he believed was Laura’s murder, and was told mostly through flashback as everyone who encountered Laura fell in love with her. A stylish film full of breathtaking black-and-white cinematography, Laura was a must-watch for any film noir connoisseur.

Touch of Evil (1958)

Directed by Orson Welles

After already starring in the film noir classic The Third Man some years before, Orson Welles took on directing, writing, and acting duties for the iconic film noir masterpiece Touch of Evil. With a complex production history, Touch of Evil was dismissed by film critics when it was first released due to its unconventional editing style, but has since been reappraised as a classic of the genre. Starring Charlton Heston, Janet Leight, and Welles, Touch of Evil was a compelling story of murder, kidnapping, and corruption.

In a Lonely Place (1950)

Directed by Nicholas Ray

There was a dark, sinister, and foreboding sense of dread hidden just beneath the surface of Nicholas Ray’s In a Lonely Place. Starring Humphrey Bogart in one of his best performances, In a Lonely Place followed the troubled and violent screenwriter Dixon Steele as he became worringly obsessed with the beautiful Laurel Gray, played by Gloria Grahame. In a Lonely Place was a complex thriller that was hard to categorize and has grown in reputation over the years due to its mature themes and unusual depth for a film noir of its time.

Chinatown (1974)

Directed by Roman Polanski

Chinatown, starring Jack Nicholson, was a classic film noir mystery that was produced with just enough distance from the golden age of film noirs to pay homage to the conventions of the style while simultaneously bringing something new to it. Featuring the visual style, hard-boiled protagonist, and femme fatale archetype of the best film noirs, Chinatown had a cynical and gritty sense of realism as Jake Gittes found himself further embroiled in a criminal conspiracy involving the California water supply. A triumph of filmmaking, Chinatown has regularly been placed among the best films ever made.

The Night of the Hunter (1955)

Directed by Charles Laughton

A suspenseful film noir thriller, The Night of the Hunter told the story of a serial killer pursuing two children in an attempt to steal $10,000 hidden by their late father. An unusually dark story for its time, The Night of the Hunter was such a failure upon release that its director Charles Laughton never made another film after it. However, it has retrospectively been deemed an undisputed classic of the film noir genre and its slow-building tension, eerie atmosphere, and unforgettable villain made The Night of the Hunter a true cult classic.

Sunset Boulevard (1950)

Directed by Billy Wilder

Billy Wilder’s hilarious film noir comedy Sunset Boulevard delivered one of cinema’s most unforgettable quotes with its closing line: “All right, Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close-up.” However, Sunset Boulevard was so much more than one famous sentence and featured a classic Hollywood story of a struggling screenwriter drawn into the world of a fading silent film star. An important and influential film, Sunset Boulevard would act as the final collaboration between Wilder and writer Charles Brackett, who made 16 movies together.

The Maltese Falcon (1941)

Directed by John Huston

One of the most important film noirs ever produced, The Maltese Falcon stands as not just as one of the defining movies of its genre but also one of the most memorable movies of Hollywood’s Golden Age. Led by strong performances from Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, and Peter Lorre, The Maltese Falcon featured just the right mix of compelling characters, an engaging storyline, and a tense entertaining atmosphere. With action, mystery, and humor, The Maltese Falcon truly was the stuff that dreams are made of.

The Big Sleep (1946)

Directed by Howard Hawks

The Big Sleep was the quintessential film noir movie. Based on a hardboiled crime novel by Raymond Chandler and featuring Humphrey Bogart as Detective Philip Marlowe, The Big Sleep ticked all the boxes of an engaging film noir propped up by iconic performances from Bogart and his wife Lauren Bacall. Starting with blackmail and ending in murder, The Big Sleep was slick, stylish, and substantial and has managed to remain as engaging today as when it was first released in 1946.

Double Indemnity (1944)

Directed by Billy Wilder

The absolute best film noir has to be Billy Wilder’s unmatched achievement Double Indemnity. A plot about crime told from the perspective of the criminal, Double Indemnity set the standard for all subsequent film noirs and was groundbreaking for its expert use of cinematography, lighting, and shadows. The enduring power of Double Indemnity and its deepening scheme of insurance fraud was so strong that it impressed director Alfred Hitchcock to the point that he was quoted as stating: “Since Double Indemnity, the two most important words in motion pictures are 'Billy' and 'Wilder’” (via The Independent.)

Sources: Far Out, The Courier-Mail, The Independent