Film Noir Gets A New Reflection in Eddie Muller’s ‘Dark City: The Lost World of Film Noir’

From TCM’s “Noir Alley” host Eddie Muller comes “Dark City,” one of the most complete works of Film Noir ever written. With expanded new chapters and a fresh collection of restored photos, Muller covers all facets of the popular genre.

With chapter titles like Sinister Heights, The City Desk, The Psych Ward, Vixenville, The Precinct, and The Stage Door, the book shows some of the most popular movies ever made in the genre are explored, including “Pick Up on South Street,” “The Killers,” “Double Indemnity,” and “The Postman Always Ring Twice.”

The most interesting chapter in the book is the one featuring actress and director Ina Lupino. Lupino co-wrote and directed “The Hitchhiker.” The film was prominent at the time because Lupino was the only woman to direct the movie in the genre. The film had an all-male cast. In the end, Lupino proved to be as Muller named the “most multitalented woman in the history of Hollywood.”

In the synopsis for “The Hitchhiker,” Ray (Edmond O’Brien) and Gilbert’s (Frank Lovejoy) fishing trip takes a terrifying turn when the hitchhiker (William Talman) they pick up turns out to be a sociopath on the run from the law. He’s killed before, and he lets the two know that as soon as they’re no longer useful, he’ll kill again. The two friends plot an escape, but the hitchhiker’s peculiar physical affliction, an eye that never closes even when he sleeps, make it impossible for them to tell when they can make a break for it.
Genre: Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Director: Ida Lupino
Producer: Collier Young
Writer: Collier Young, Ida Lupino
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 7, 2015
Runtime: 1h 11m
Production Co: RKO Radio Pictures Inc.

A must-read for any film buff, “Dark City: The Lost World of Film Noir,” is an account of one of the most talked-about genres in movie history. Available wherever books are sold.