Dark City Dames: The Wicked Women of Film Noir [Hardcover]

Eddie Muller (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 22, 2001

The emerging genre of film noir in the late 1940s was the dark, real-world underside of Hollywood's Golden Age, and it was noir that gave us the femme fatale--the first tough, independent icon in American popular culture. At a time when American was supposed to be all post-war peaches and sunshine, the film noir dame had a strong mind, a strong arm, trouble in her past and up ahead of her, legs a mile long and lipstick you could fall into. The Dark City Dames of the great film noirs--Force of Evil, The Narrow Margin, Kiss of Death, Out of the Past, The Killing, While the City Sleeps - were dangerous, sly, and always more urgent and powerful than the men who tried to possess them. These women were all brought to life by a group of extraordinary actresses - working women who embodied the sultry aftermath of the accidental gender-shifting brought about by WWII. Eddie Muller--author of Dark City, the definitive book on noir--has selected eight of these formidable figures, and in this book he traces their lives in two remarkable years: 1948-49, the make-or-break year for all these women's careers, and 1998-9, half a century later, which finds these women all still living within blocks of each other in Hollywood, some rich and well known, others scraping away just as their on-the-edge alter egos did all those years ago. He dogs their heels through the studio machinations, competition, and volatile affairs (featuring Howard Hughes, John Huston, Humphrey Bogart, Kirk Douglas, and others) of the 1940s, and watches them with equal fascination today, as they have the last laugh. This is a book of contrasts-between youth and age, toughness and weakness, fact and fiction, dreams and reality--but at its heart is a band of women who were in a rare place at a rare time--the women who became the Dark Queens of America and mid-century, and who remain bright, opinionated, self-reliant, proud, and sexy half a century later. Filled with unbelievable gossip and attitude, written and designed with style and wit, Dark City Dames will be that rare film book that breaks away from the pack and fascinates anyone interested in the American woman - past, present and future

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Penzler Pick, August 2001: Two years ago, I wrote a book titled 101 Greatest Films of Mystery and Suspense. In addition to watching every one of those movies again (not exactly a horrendous ordeal), I did tons of research, flipping through or reading more than a hundred books about film. The best book--the one with the most offbeat stories and anecdotes, the most accurate information, and the most entertainingly written--was Dark City by Eddie Muller. It was a fascinating study of the great films noir, and a page didn't go by without my learning something.

Now Muller is back with Dark City Dames. It's a very different kind of book, not offering the big-picture overview that Dark City did, but it's nearly as fascinating. It's a portrait of six of the greatest femme fatales of the wonderful black-and-white crime movies that filled the screens in the 1940s and '50s: Jane Greer (the star, with Robert Mitchum, of Out of the Past and The Big Steal), Marie Windsor (The Killing, The Narrow Margin), Ann Savage (Detour), Evelyn Keyes (The Prowler, Johnny O'Clock), Audrey Totter (The Lady in the Lake, The Unsuspected), and Coleen Gray (The Sleeping City, Kiss of Death, Nightmare Alley).

But these aren't rehashes of plots and quotes from the rave reviews of these stars. Muller personally interviewed each of them, and the second half of the book is a kind of "Where are they now?" Perhaps oddly--perhaps not--these wicked, lying, cheating, double-crossing, money-hungry temptresses of the screen turn out to be rather nice ladies, as normal as one could expect of beautiful movie stars, and Muller brings them fully to life.

There are regrets here, both on the part of the reader and of Muller, that space couldn't be devoted to many of the biggest female stars of film noir. There's no Barbara Stanwyck, or Gloria Grahame, or Veronica Lake, or Lisabeth Scott, or Claire Trevor, or Ida Lupino. Scott became a silent recluse, and the others had died. But that is only in real life. On the screen they will live forever, just as they do in Muller's marvelous love letter to them all. --Otto Penzler

From Publishers Weekly

Shot in stark black and white, dressed in negligees and toting pistols, the dangerous dames of film noir boldly linger in our minds. In this entertaining and often insightful look at noir starsMarie Windsor, Audrey Totter, Jane Greer, Ann Savage, Evelyn Keyes and Coleen GrayMuller recreates 1950s Hollywood, the heyday of film noir and B thrillers, and reports on these actors today. Combining interviews with his subjects, a comprehensive knowledge of Hollywood and an astute analysis of the social, political and economic pressures of the industry, Muller (Dark City: The Lost World of Film Noir) shrewdly documents the role of women (as characters and performers) in the genre and the industry. Muller delivers numerous impressive insider tidbitsGreer's secret pregnancy while filming The Big Steal; Totter's close friendship with bad girl Gloria Graham; Beatrice Pearson's on-set problems with her controlling lesbian lover while filming Force of Evil; and Keyes's struggles with husband John Huston's marijuana habit. The book's strength lies in Muller's portraits of these women today; all lead contented and productive lives and, aided by Muller's fluid narrative style, tell tales shimmering with mystique, absurdity, scandal or poignancy. While covering a specific slice of Hollywood and film historyprimarily the 1940s and '50sMuller's look at these noted female performers is an important addition to popular feminist and film literature.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Harper; First Edition edition (May 22, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060393696
• ISBN-13: 978-0060393694
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 7.5 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,644,893 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb biography of the queens of film noir, April 27, 2002

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Your librarian (St Louis) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dark City Dames: The Wicked Women of Film Noir (Hardcover)

Some 50 years ago, the women of this book worked in relative obsurity amidst the shadows of large studios during film noir's heyday. Now with the resurgent popularity of the film noir genre, these actresses are finally being recognized for the keen talent they possess and the effect they had on a generation of movies.

None of these women are household names because none of these women were given the star publicity treatment that Myrna Loy, Joan Crawford and others were givne during the same time period. But their stories are every bit as interesting and author Eddie Muller tells them wonderfully.

Muller is obviously a fan of folm noir, but does not let this color these biographies. Rather, Muller deftly allows the six actresses featured here to tell their own stories. The result is an honest, touching and insightful view into the Hollywood moviemaking era of the late 30s to early 50s.

Each actress' life is chronicled from the time she was born until the present. The personalities shine through as Muller shows the different ways in which each woman found a love for acting and was later "discovered" by Hollywood. The result is poignant. From the exhileration of the "big" movie to the sorrow at the death of a spouse, each life is fascinating. A great book!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Dark City Dames": not pretty faces , but a triumph!, May 29, 2001

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Vintage Film Buff (Hollywood, California) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Dark City Dames: The Wicked Women of Film Noir (Hardcover)

"Dark City Dames": The Wicked Women of Film Noir is a fascinating book about some extraordinary screen actresses from the "good old days" of Hollywood. Eddie Muller's unique work is definitely not the typical coffee table volume composed for Hollywood nostalgia addicts. His superbly researched profiles of six noted actresses from the film noir genre; Coleen Gray, Jane Greer, Evelyn Keyes, Ann Savage, Audrey Totter and Marie Windsor, create real life drama from the femme fatale images of the past. Mr. Muller cleverly organized his book with two chapters for each actress, past and present. In every instance, all of the profiled women freely share their triumphs and disappointments, their loves and heartbreaks. While many of the insider stories and tidbits offered by Mr. Muller will amuse and titillate the reader, it is the admirable spirit, determination and character of these women that truly touched my heart. A case in point was the late Marie Windsor, a prime example of a unique talent who never realized her supernova screen potential. Toward the end of her life, Miss Windsor was desperately ill, taking care of a sicker husband, supporting a stepson, managing a household and holding down an important position with the Screen Actors Guild. Through it all, she remained determined to perservere and was ever grateful for a good life fully lived. Mr. Muller adroitly weaves the central themes of film noir, Hollywood and the studio system through the book, but the actresses and their fascinating personal lives earn the deserved star billing. "Dark City Dames" is a must for the film noir buff, but is a terrific book for anyone who enjoys the indomitability and compassion of the human spirit. They don't make movies like they used to, because they don't have actresses like these six around anymore.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Then-and-Now Biographies of 6 Actresses of Classic Film Noir, December 29, 2004

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mirasreviews (McLean, VA USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Dark City Dames: The Wicked Women of Film Noir (Hardcover)

Author Eddie Muller proved himself adept at engaging readers with a lively tour of classic film noir in his popular book "Dark City: The Lost World of Film Noir". In "Dark City Dames", Muller presents then-and-now biographies of 6 actresses whose portrayals of femmes fatales will forever fix their images on the consciousness of film noir audiences. The first half of the book, entitled "Hollywood Midcentury", introduces us to these women, who came to Hollywood from a variety of backgrounds and locales, but all aspired to be movie actresses and were under contract to one studio or another in the late 1940s and early 1950s.

Jane Greer was brought to Hollywood from Washington, D.C. as a teenager under contract to RKO. She made "Out of the Past" and "The Big Steal", among others, before Howard Hughes vowed to end her career. Audrey Totter was straight-laced, professional, and ambitious. She acted in 6 film noirs, among them "The Lady in the Lake", "The Unsuspected", "Alias Nick Beal", and "The Set-Up" before remarkable coincidence began her married life and ended her film career, just as coincidence had launched it. Marie Windsor was the pride of Marysvale, Utah, who had dreamed of being an actress since childhood. Pragmatic and persistent, her dark hair made her the villain in "The Narrow Margin", "Force of Evil", and "The Killing". Evelyn Keyes was backwards and unworldly when Cecile B. DeMille signed her. But her persistent curiosity and independent nature inspired her to many Hollywood adventures. Her films included "Johnny O'Clock" and "The Prowler" , before she walked away from Hollywood after 13 years in the business. Coleen Gray was an insecure midwestern farmer's daughter, but you wouldn't know it from "The Sleeping City", "Nightmare Alley", or "Kiss of Death". Anne Savage was headstrong and vivacious, as her stage name implies. She will be best remembered for "Detour", which might have ended her decade-long acting career.

In the second part of "Dark City Dames", "Hollywood Fin de Siècle", we meet the 6 actresses today. Now in their 70s and 80s, the ladies of film noir tell us what happened as their film careers dwindled and what they've done since. It's interesting that the revived interest in classic film noir has brought these actresses a lot of unexpected attention and praise that was lacking when it would have helped their careers. Several of them lament the demise of the studio system that protected actors even as it limited them -and studio politics ended many careers prematurely. All of the actresses profiled cooperated with the author, so their stories are personal and very much their point of view. "Dark City Dames" doesn't actually say much about the films or the characters these actresses embodied. It's about the experiences of its 6 heroines, who, as young starlets in post-war Hollywood, probably aspired to be A-list stars, but became indelible vixens of film noir instead.