Two major film genres emerged around the time of World War II: the bright-and-white Christmas Movie and the stark-and-dark Film Noir. On the surface, they would appear to be polar opposites—optimism vs. cynicism, redemption vs. damnation, love vs. sex—yet both reflected the hopes and fears Americans felt during those turbulent times.
Christmas stories focused on misguided individuals trying to understand the importance of life, while Film Noirs addressed ill-fated individuals resigned to life’s meaninglessness. From these disparate extremes, a few creative filmmakers would combine the themes of the two to create an unlikely new genre: the Christmas Noir.
Other than adaptations of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, there were few Christmas films before 1940. But as WWII neared, films like Remember the Night (1940) and The Shop Around the Corner (1940) emerged, ushering in what would be a golden age of holiday movies by war’s end, from Meet Me In St. Louis (1944) and Christmas In Connecticut (1945) to iconic classics like Miracle On 34th Street (1947) and It’s a Wonderful Life (1947).
At the same time, as Brendon Sparks noted in his insightful “Have a Very Noir Christmas” essay, “Film noir movies like Christmas Holiday (1944), They Live By Night (1940), and Mr. Soft Touch (1949) were set during Christmas, making the holiday important to each of their stories. These dark stories contrasted with the happiness of Christmas, creating a subversive angle to the storytelling.”
But the Christmas Noir wasn’t confined to the ‘40s; the Christmas Neo-Noir continued in post-war films ranging from I, the Jury (1951) and L.A. Confidential (1997) to arguably every title in Shane Black’s filmography (Lethal Weapon, The Long Kiss Goodnight, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, and The Nice Guys are all set during the holidays).
Following is a list of five Christmas Noirs worth checking out this holiday season. The timing couldn’t be better, as we once again find ourselves in the midst of a world war—optimism this time against a pandemic.
Blast of Silence (1961)
Director Allen Baron’s low-budget nihilistic noir has been called the film for holiday haters. Baron plays lonely hitman Frank Bono who comes to New York to fulfill a contract. Set against Merrill Brody’s bleak black-and-white cinematography, the stripped-down plot is driven by veteran character actor Lionel Stander’s gritty internal monologues. The closing lines are arguably the grimmest in all of noir: “You’re alone now, all alone. The scream is dead. There’s no pain. You’re home again, back in the cold black silence.” Hard to believe that Baron would later flourish in romantic comedy, directing episodes of Love American Style and The Love Boat.
The Lady in the Lake (1947)
Though Raymond Chandler’s novel took place in midsummer, star and director Robert Montgomery set his revolutionary point-of-view film version at Christmas, all the better to contrast the dark overtones of a murder story with light-hearted holiday cheer—as exemplified in the clever opening credits, which are shown on a series of Christmas cards concealing a gun. The seasonal change is but one of many liberties Montgomery took, including wisely expanding the role of Adrienne Fromsett (the terrific Audrey Totter) as cynical private eye Philip Marlowe’s love interest.
L.A. Confidential (1997)
Curtis Hanson’s adaptation of James Ellroy’s novel starts out on Christmas Eve when a bunch of drunk cops start a race riot that will set in motion a series of coverups, scandals, and murders. Though idealistic “good” cop Ed Exley (Guy Pearce) tries to do the right thing, noir conventions insist that you can’t beat The Man or The System. This Hollywood Christmas remains all-too-white, though Tinseltown is splattered with crimson everywhere.
They Live By Night (1940)
Nicolas Ray made his directorial debut with this adaptation of Edward Anderson’s Depression-era novel Thieves Like Us (later remade under that title in 1974 by Robert Altman), starring Farley Granger and Cathy O’Donnell as ill-fated lovers Bowie and Keechie. Considered the prototype for later outlaw “couple on the run” films like Gun Crazy and Bonnie and Clyde, it toys with the promise of redemption when newlyweds Granger and O’Donnell try to start a new life at a remote mountain resort, only to have their plans spoiled when Granger’s criminal associate Chicamaw (Howard Da Silva) shows up over the holidays to coerce Bowie into a robbery caper. Keechie gives Bowie a wristwatch as an early Christmas gift, perhaps sensing that for him time is truly running out.
I Wouldn’t Be In Your Shoes (1948)
In this little-known adaptation of a Cornell Woolrich short story, directed by B-movie veteran William Nigh, Don Castle plays a tap dancer who throws his shoes out the window at a screeching cat, inadvertently leaving footprints at a murder scene. This being a noir film, the circumstantial evidence is enough for Castle to be found guilty of murder and sentenced to death, prompting his wife Ann (Elyse Knox) to go out around Christmas to try and prove his innocence. Reviewer Evelyn Rose calls it “one of the great B noirs, one of the great anti-Christmas movies, and, without question, the greatest shoe movie ever made.” Too bad one has to expend a lot of shoe leather trying to track it down; hopefully this lost Christmas Noir will someday see the light of an official DVD release.