Description: Although film noir is traditionally associated with the mean streets of the Dark City, this volume explores the genre from a new angle, focusing on non-urban settings. Through detailed readings of over 100 films set in suburbs, small towns, on the road, in the desert, borderlands and the vast, empty West, the author investigates the alienation expressed by film noir, pinpointing its motivation in the conflict between desires for escape, autonomy and freedom--and fears of loneliness, exile and dissolution.
Brief description: Imogen Sara Smith has written on topics ranging from photography and painting to the films of Buster Keaton. She is a performing arts librarian and lives in Forest Hills, New York.
Review Quotes: "The author masterfully sheds light on the 'dark passages' that lead away from the city into the woods, the wilderness and the unconscious of a changing American landscape of the community and of the mind."-popcultureshelf.com; "I'm very glad I finally purchased and read this important film noir history...highly recommended"-Laura's Miscellaneous Musings; "a useful guide"-Reference & Research Book News.