Enter the world of film noir, a world of darkness, ambiguity, and moral corruption. Meet the cynical and obsessive heroes of film noir portrayed by actors like Humphrey Bogart, Peter Lorre, James Cagney, Joan Crawford, and Bette Davis. You may encounter a gun-toting gangster, a femme fatale wrapped in fur, a detective with the brim of his hat turned down, or a desperate murderer lurking in the shadows of a doorway. It's a world we all know - the seedy underbelly of the American Dream, and every bit as much a part of our culture.

This wonderfully exhaustive text - tallying more than three hundred thousand words with hundreds of film stills and photos new to the work - distills everything about the movement into one volume from movies to stars to themes and motifs, and brings us up to date with contemporary contributions to the movement. Now completely revised, expanded, and redesigned, this classic pioneering work is the final word on a dark subject.

Alain Silver has co-written and co-edited a score of books including The Samurai Film and The Noir Style. He holds a Ph.D. from UCLA. He lives in Los Angeles.

Elizabeth Ward has co-written and co-edited three books with Alain Silver. She is a freelance writer and lives in Los Angeles.

James Ursini has co-written and co-edited eleven books with Alain Silver. He lectures on filmmaking at UCLA and lives in Los Angeles.

Robert Porfirio has written in publications including Continuum and Sight and Sound. He holds a Ph.D. from Yale University.