Noir Nook: No Femme Fatale Required

Noir Nook: No Femme Fatale Required

Film noir movies have numerous characteristics in common – voiceover narration, flashbacks, use of shadows and light, unusual camera angles, anti-heroes, and, of course, the ever-popular femmes fatales.

All noirs, of course, don’t have all of these traits – not even, contrary to popular belief, the femme fatale. In this month’s Noir Nook, I’m here to set the record straight by stating unequivocally that a film doesn’t have to have a femme fatale in order to be a noir – and I’m looking at five films that prove my point.

The Asphalt Jungle (1950)

This feature stars Sam Jaffe as Doc Reidenschneider, a recently released ex-convict who corrals a group of men to carry out an intricately designed jewel heist – only to see the scheme collapse like an ill-prepared souffle. The others involved in the plan include Dix Handley (Sterling Hayden), described as a “hooligan” and the muscles of the group; safecracking expert Louis Ciavelli (Anthony Caruso); Gus Minissi (James Whitmore), expert driver of the getaway car; and Alonzo Emmerich (Louis Calhern), the attorney charged with fencing the stolen jewels.

On the distaff side, there are several femmes in the film – but none are fatal. Doll Conovan (marvelously played by Jean Hagen) is Dix’s wish-she-was girlfriend. She accepts his off-handed treatment, but she’s unflaggingly loyal – it’s Doll who cares for Dix when he gets shot and risks her own safety to help him realize his dream of returning to his cherished home in Kentucky. Then there’s Angela Phinlay (Marilyn Monroe), the light-hearted girl-toy of Alonzo Emmerich (whose invalid wife serves as the film’s third female). Angela is harmless – she just wants to go to Cuba with her “Uncle Lon” and show off her new bathing suit.

…..

Shadow of a Doubt (1943)

Directed by Alfred Hitchcock (and, by all accounts, his favorite film), this feature centers on Charlotte “Charlie” Newton (Teresa Wright), who is languishing in the small town of Santa Rosa, California, bemoaning the fact that nothing exciting ever happens in her life. She gets more than she bargained for when her beloved Uncle Charlie (Joseph Cotten) comes to visit, and young Charlie becomes increasingly convinced that her relative is a murderer.

Loyal and trusting, but also smart and inquisitive, young Charlie is like a dog with a bone when it comes to ferreting out the truth. She’s fearless and outspoken, but she’s certainly not fatal. Aside from Charlie’s precocious younger sister (played by Edna May Wonacott who, as of this writing, is still with us), the only other female is Charlie’s mother, Emma Newton (Patricia Collinge), and she is nothing but sweet and loving, unable to see anything but good in her wicked brother.

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Key Largo (1948)

John Huston helmed this film, starring Humphrey Bogart as Frank McCloud, a WWII veteran who travels to the title town to meet James and Nora Templeton, the father (Lionel Barrymore) and widow (Lauren Bacall), of his deceased war buddy. He arrives at the hotel owned by “Dad” Templeton to discover that it’s been taken over by a trio of hoods led by the ruthless Johnny Rocco (Edward G. Robinson).

During the occupation of the hotel by Johnny’s gang, Nora displays numerous characteristics – she’s caring and thoughtful when it comes to her father-in-law, warm and welcoming to Frank, fearless and feisty with Johnny. But spitting in the face of a gangster does not a femme fatale make. Also in the cast is Johnny’s old flame Gaye Dawn (played by the Oscar-winning Claire Trevor). A former torch singer who’s now a little too fond of the drink, Gaye is a pitiable character, treated with disdain by Johnny at best, and unconcealed contempt at worst.

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Phantom Lady (1944)

Ella Raines stars as Carol “Kansas” Richman, loyal (and secretly lovestruck) secretary to engineer Scott Henderson (Alan Curtis), who’s accused, convicted, and sentenced to death for the murder of his wife. Henderson’s alibi is that he spent the evening in the company of a woman he met in a bar, who wore a large, distinctive hat, and whose name he never learned. Problem is, the woman can’t be found and everyone who saw the two together is emphatically denying it. It’s up to Carol to unearth the evidence to save her boss before it’s curtains for Mr. Henderson.

Carol is beautiful, intelligent, and persistent, and she doesn’t let anything stand in her way when it comes to proving her boss’s innocence. But that’s about it. Nothing nefarious here. An argument could be made that the “phantom lady” of the film’s title might be considered as the film’s femme fatale – but I would shoot that argument down like one of those clay targets after you yell, “Pull!” And the third female in the cast, Estela Monteiro (credited only as Aurora), is a singer who starred in the performance attended by Scott on the night of the murder, and who just happened to have a hat identical to the one worn by the mysterious phantom lady. Estela was no femme fatale – she was just petty (“No woman wears hats like mine!” she insists. “What woman besides Monteiro could wear those and not look ridiculous?”).

…..

The Big Combo (1955)

This late noir entry depicts a triangle between Mr. Brown (Richard Conte), a conscienceless mobster; police lieutenant Leonard Diamond (Cornel Wilde), who is determined to bring Mr. Brown to justice; and Susan Lowell (Wilde’s then-wife Jean Wallace), who is loved by both men. Despite her longtime relationship with Mr. Brown, it’s ultimately Susan who helps to topple his empire.

Fragile and suicidal, Susan is tortured by her relationship with Mr. Brown and her growing understanding of just how brutal he can be. And both Mr. Brown and Leonard seem completely incapable of rational thought when it comes to the beautiful blonde. But Susan is far too weak to ever be considered a femme fatale. Another female on the scene is Leonard’s part-time lover (Helene Stanton) who, as a burlesque dancer, certainly looks the part of a deadly dame, but is merely a tragic figure who loves wisely but not too well. And then there’s Mr. Brown’s ex-wife, Alicia (Helen Walker), who knows where the bodies are buried, but is really just another casualty of the cold-blooded mobster. No femmes fatales here.

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Don’t forget – there are no absolutes in film noir, even when it comes to fatal femmes. So, if you don’t see one in the area, don’t dismiss a movie from noir consideration.

Femmes fatales aren’t required.

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– Karen Burroughs Hannsberry for Classic Movie Hub

You can read all of Karen’s Noir Nook articles here.

Karen Burroughs Hannsberry is the author of the Shadows and Satin blog, which focuses on movies and performers from the film noir and pre-Code eras, and the editor-in-chief of The Dark Pages, a bimonthly newsletter devoted to all things film noir. Karen is also the author of two books on film noir – Femme Noir: The Bad Girls of Film and Bad Boys: The Actors of Film Noir. You can follow Karen on Twitter at @TheDarkPages.
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