Detnovel.com on the Origins of Film Noir

Many thanks to the ubiqutious Dark City Dame for bringing a compelling resource to my attention.

Dr William Marling, Professor of English at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, has on the detnovel.com film noir portal gathered an impressive collection of his essays on noir and its origins in German expressionism and hard-boiled fiction of the 20s and 30s.

In his introductory essay he reminded me that German expressionism as manifested in films like The Cabinet of Dr Caligari was not only about chiaroscuro lighting, but also that (my emphasis):

Expressionist movie-makers liked to employ extreme camera angles, tight close-ups, very slow dissolves, fast cutting and fast motion – anything that emphasized subjectivity.