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10 Film Noir quotes that best represent Film Noir
Film noir, as any pretentious film nerd *raises hand* will tell you, is more than just fedoras, cigarettes and shady businesses in dark alleyways. Film noir, at its core, is about the American Dream gone wrong. It’s about fallen heroes and heroines and the dreams they once had. It’s about the disillusionment with the world as they know it. That’s where the shady dealings and double-crossings come in. Because how else are you going to get through life and make a name for yourself in this hellhole, right? So for this year’s Noirvember article on Medium (check out The Old Hollywood Garden for more noir stuff this month!), we’re dealing with SOME of the quotes that I think best represent that world. The mystery, the despair, the lust, the depression… We’ve got ’em all here! Here we go:
‘Crime is left-handed form of human endeavor.’ The Asphalt Jungle (1950, dir. John Huston) — The wealthy, calculating lawyer played by Louis Calhern drops this pearl of wisdom about halfway through the film, probably thinking it justifies the massive double-crossing that goes on… The Asphalt Jungle is probably the greatest heist thriller of all time along with Jules Dassin’s Rififi (1955) and this line sums it all up.
‘Fate, or some mysterious force, can put a finger on you or me for no good reason at all.’ Detour (1945, dir. Edgar G. Ulmer) — B-movie extraordinaire Detour is the best representation of how futile life can be in film noir. The fate of Al Roberts (Tom Neal) is brutal and, like he himself acknowledges, unnecessary and for no good reason. There is, of course, the theory that he is an unreliable narrator (read my blog review here for more on that) but, for the moment, we’ll let the quote speak for itself.
‘She can’t be all bad. No one is.’ ‘Well, she comes the closest.’ Out of the Past (1947, dir. Jacques Tourneur) — Yes, she does. Kathy Moffatt (Jane Greer) is the baddest and the coldest of all femme fatales. And Jeff Bailey (Robert Mitchum) knows it. Out of the Past is pretty much the staple for a film noir if there ever was one, structurally and tonally, and the coolness oozing from its lines is part of it.
‘You know what he’ll do when he comes back? Beat my teeth out, then kick me for mumbling.’ The Big Sleep (1946, dir. Howard Hawks) — Not only is The Big Sleep the most…
