By Wartime Noir I’m thinking of the first generation of what’s accepted as ’classic’ film noir--that is, the American noir movies made from 1942-1945. After the Humphrey Bogart features from 1941, The Maltese Falcon and High Sierra, we encounter noir masterpieces such as Laura, Mildred Pierce, and Double Indemnity.

While looping back to the ’30s murder mystery for plot devices, these wartime noirs certainly went beyond the parlor tricks of mansions and butlers to a more corrosive and psychological focus. Characters are more nuanced, and rarely divided into mere good and bad ’guys.’ The hero might be an Everyman, caught up in something overwhelming--usually over an obsessive love.