The Dark Side of the Screen: Film Noir

Since the Dark Side of the Screen first appeared over two decades ago, it has become the essential guide to one of today’s most pervasive screen influences and enduringly popular genres. Covering over a hundred outstanding films and featuring nearly two hundred carefully chosen stills, it’s the most thorough and entertaining study available of noir—from the iconic performances of Burt Lancaster, Joan Crawford, and Humphrey Bogart to the camera angles, lighting effects, and story lines of directors Fritz Lang, Billy Wilder, and Orson Welles.

With the addition of a new epilogue that freshly examines the legacy of noir, as well as several recently rediscovered gems, Hirsch’s work remains an unsurpassed classic.