Crime Scenes: Movie Poster Art of the Film Noir : The Classic Period : 1941-1959 (Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

One film genre that only seems to get more popular over the years is film noir--the hard-bitten, cynical, murder-and-a-two-timing-dame yarns that Hollywood embraced in the 1940s and '50s. But even the biggest noir fans may not be aware of the incredible artwork involved in the films' original posters. L.A.-based film art buff Lawrence Bassoff has amassed a stunning collection, which has been lovingly compiled into this splendid coffee-table paperback. Included are posters and lobby cards--some extremely rare editions--for films like The Maltese Falcon, Out of the Past, and Double Indemnity. Interestingly, though nearly all the films were shot in severe black and white, many of the best posters--like one for Kiss of Death--are drenched in vivid, oversaturated, high-contrast color. Bassoff has also included price ranges for aspiring collectors; posters for the Dick Powell-Claire Trevor film of Raymond Chandler's Murder, My Sweet, for example, have fetched up to $1,800. Once you've sampled this outstanding collection, you may also want to check out Bassoff's other poster compilation, Errol Flynn: The Movie Posters. --Anne Hurley

Product Description

Crime novelists, movie stars and filmmakers have together created a shadowy celluloid underworld of desperate characters, violent passions and illicit schemes, dubbed by the French "film noir" ("black film"). This book traces the development and history of this movement, using original movie poster art from 100 vintage films. Covering the period from 1941 to 1959, the films include: "The Maltese Falcon", "This Gun for Hire", "Laura", and "The Postman Always Rings Twice". Originally displayed in movie theatres, the posters also illustrate the signature in-house movie poster styles and printing processes used by the major studios of the day.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 159 pages
• Publisher: Lawrence Bassoff Collection; 1ST edition (September 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1886310114
• ISBN-13: 978-1886310117
• Product Dimensions: 13.9 x 10.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,081,944 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb collection of film poster art, March 4, 1999

By A Customer

With the growth of interest in film posters and a subsequent similar growth in books on the subject, this book stands head and shoulders above most of the competition. Unlike similar books which are simply hodge-podge collections of poster images, Lawrence Bassoff has created a book that is nearly as much fun to read as it is to look at.Although lightweight on text, there is no padding in this book. The comments on the films themselves are incisive and knowing. By featuring posters from various countries, Bassoff allows the reader to see how different films have been sold in different countries. Part nostalgia trip, part reference work, part cinema graphics history and wholly entertaining, CRIME SCENES adds up to far more than the sum of its parts. After Bassoff's first book on the film posters for Errol Flynn films, CRIME SCENES can only make one wonder: what next from a such an obvious expert in the field? I loved it!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Film Noir brought to life through colorful posters, October 8, 2004

By	Dave (Tennessee United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This is an outstanding collection of film noir posters & is well-written. It starts out with an informative interview with the great director Robert Wise (Born to Kill, The Set-Up) & then has a brief section explaining exactly what film noir means. It has a great section on the antecedents of film noir: detective & crime novels, gangster films, German Expressionism, & Italian Neo-Realism. Next is my favorite part of the book: the "rogues gallery" of fifty film noir stars & their movie roles in the genre. I've turned to this section countless times when doing research, although I wonder why actors like Linda Darnell were included while well-known actors like Sterling Hayden (the Killing, the Asphalt Jungle, Naked Alibi) were left off. Finally, the book covers 36 famous film noirs & the posters of each movie. It includes the typical price range for the posters so this will be very helpful to collectors. Sadly this book has gone out-of-print but you should definitely look for a copy. It's a definite must-have for any serious film noir fan.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting and Informative, February 23, 1999

By A Customer

A nice coffee-table book with gorgeous photographs of classic movie posters. The text gives succinct information about the movies advertised and the value of some of the posters profiled. Also, a run-down of classic film-noir stars is included.