Nixjem
New Member
Ever hear of Film noir / Femme fatale
"During the film noir era of the 1940s and 1950s, the femme fatale flourished in American cinema. Examples include the overly-possessive and narcissistic wife Ellen Brent Harland, portrayed by Gene Tierney, in Leave Her to Heaven (1945), who will stop at nothing to keep her husband's affections. Another is Brigid O'Shaughnessy, portrayed by Mary Astor, who uses her acting skills to murder Sam Spade's partner in The Maltese Falcon. Yet another is the cabaret singer portrayed by Rita Hayworth in Gilda (1946),[9] who sexually manipulates her husband and his best friend. Another noir femme fatale is Phyllis Dietrichson, played by Barbara Stanwyck, who seduces a hapless insurance salesman and persuades him to kill her husband in Double Indemnity (1944).[9] In The Paradine Case, a Hitchcock movie from 1947, the character played by Alida Valli is a poisonous femme fatale who is responsible for the deaths of two men and the near destruction of another. One often referred to example is the character of Jane in 1949's Too Late for Tears, played by Lizabeth Scott. During her quest to keep some dirty money from its rightful recipient and her husband, she uses poison, lies, sexual teasing and a gun to keep men wrapped around her finger. In some situations, she uses lying or coercion rather than charm. She may also be (or imply to be) a victim, caught in a situation from which she cannot escape; The Lady from Shanghai (a 1948 film noir) giving one such example. Her characteristic weapon, if needed, is frequently poison, which also serves as a metaphor for her charms."
A bad actor is a bad actor but a female in the part does not betray the time or genre.
"During the film noir era of the 1940s and 1950s, the femme fatale flourished in American cinema. Examples include the overly-possessive and narcissistic wife Ellen Brent Harland, portrayed by Gene Tierney, in Leave Her to Heaven (1945), who will stop at nothing to keep her husband's affections. Another is Brigid O'Shaughnessy, portrayed by Mary Astor, who uses her acting skills to murder Sam Spade's partner in The Maltese Falcon. Yet another is the cabaret singer portrayed by Rita Hayworth in Gilda (1946),[9] who sexually manipulates her husband and his best friend. Another noir femme fatale is Phyllis Dietrichson, played by Barbara Stanwyck, who seduces a hapless insurance salesman and persuades him to kill her husband in Double Indemnity (1944).[9] In The Paradine Case, a Hitchcock movie from 1947, the character played by Alida Valli is a poisonous femme fatale who is responsible for the deaths of two men and the near destruction of another. One often referred to example is the character of Jane in 1949's Too Late for Tears, played by Lizabeth Scott. During her quest to keep some dirty money from its rightful recipient and her husband, she uses poison, lies, sexual teasing and a gun to keep men wrapped around her finger. In some situations, she uses lying or coercion rather than charm. She may also be (or imply to be) a victim, caught in a situation from which she cannot escape; The Lady from Shanghai (a 1948 film noir) giving one such example. Her characteristic weapon, if needed, is frequently poison, which also serves as a metaphor for her charms."
A bad actor is a bad actor but a female in the part does not betray the time or genre.
