The Left-wing politics of the 1920s and 30s had a major impact on noir lore. Dashiell Hammett of course was a dedicated social activist who was among the blacklisted, but the history goes much deeper than that. Here is a smattering of imagery that all seems to go very well together: Artwork from the Daily Worker by William Gropper, The Big Clock by Kenneth Fearing, cover of New Masses magazine, classic shot of The Naked City which was written by Albert Maltz and directed by Jules Dassin. Between the 20s and early 50s, the Communist Partys cultural commission was widespread and some of the greatest writers, artists, musicians, actors and dancers were associated in the extensive arts programming. Many of the writers on the Left used urban struggle to create the noir novels and then the films followed through the vision of these writers and others as well as associated actors and directors. Not everyone involved with noir was a communist or even a radical or a liberal fellow traveler, but most were this was a perfect genre in which to illustrate the plight of average people in the face of a powerful corporate machine, a corrupt police dept or just a series of events we can fall deep into. Many of these writers also wrote regularly for New Masses or the Daily Worker or Partisan Review. But in the end, they laid down the foundation for the amazing dark cinema world with a jazz score and thrown shadows.....
Posted on: Sat, 20 Sep 2014 03:58:45 +0000
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