The film noir is the legacy of crime novels and gangster films. In the Twenties, Dashiell Hammett’s narrating of a criminal investigation showed more rhythm, syncopation and density, within an enigmatic atmosphere. Films, at the end of the Twenties, pursued this narrative style accelerating the action by editing-dynamics; from then on, films and crime novels both grew richer, each borrowing narrative techniques from the other.
Illustration by Loustal