byMark A. Vieira

You know film noir when you see it: the shadowed setting; the cynical detective; the femme fatale; and the twist of fate.Into the Darkcaptures this alluring genre with a cavalcade of compelling photographs and a guide to 82 of its best films.
Into the Darkis the first book to tell the story of film noir in its own voice. Author Mark A. Vieira quotes the artists who made these movies and the journalists and critics who wrote about them, taking readers on a year-by-year tour of the exciting nights when movies likeDouble Indemnity,Mildred Pierce, andSunset Boulevardwere sprung on an unsuspecting public. For the first time, we hear the voices of film noir artists speak from the sets and offices of the studios, explaining the dark genre, even before it had a name. Those voices tell how the genre was born and how it thrived in an industry devoted to sweetness and light.
Into the Darkis a ticket to a smoky, glamorous world. You enter a story conference with Raymond Chandler, visit the set ofLaura, and watchDetourwith a Midwest audience. This volume recreates the environment that spawned film noir. It also displays the wit and warmth of the genre’s artists. Hedda Hopper reports onCitizen Kane, calling Orson Welles Little Orson Annie. Lauren Bacall says she enjoys playing a bad girl inTo Have and Have Not. Bosley Crowther calls Joan Crawford inPossesseda ghost wailing for a demon lover beneath a waning moon. An Indiana exhibitor rates the classicMurder, My Sweeta passable program picture. Illustrated by hundreds of rare still photographs,Into the Darkconveys the mystery, glamour, and irony that make film noir surpassingly popular.