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Music in the Shadows: Noir Musical Films Paperback – February 25, 2014

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Sheri Chinen Biesen (Author)
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4.3 out of 5 stars 4 customer reviews
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A collection of short, sharp essays by New York Times bestselling author Ben Greenman, organized around a thematic playlist of songs. Learn more
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Product Details

  • Paperback: 224 pages
  • Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press (February 25, 2014)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1421408384
  • ISBN-13: 978-1421408385
  • Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.5 x 9 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #879,564 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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2.0 out of 5 starsA Promising Concept Betrayed
By Michael Samerdyke on October 11, 2014
Format: Paperback
Opera is sometimes defined as an art form where someone is stabbed and then sings an aria. Noir musical, perhaps, might be where someone is shot and then sings.

This was a frustrating book. It could have been very good, because Biesen points out how flexible noir is as a category, and how closely it connects with the musical. (Many noirs take place in nightclubs and have characters who are musicians, for instance.) Music is an important part of film noir.

However, the book struck me as very badly organized. Parts of it read like a pure history of film noir in general or even how Hollywood itself changed over the decades. Some films were very thoroughly discussed, such as "Blues in the Night," which seems to have been the inspiration for this book. Other films received perfunctory treatment. Surely a book on music in film noir needs a detailed discussion of the "jazz nightmare" scene in "Phantom Lady." Biesen breezes over that film and instead discusses "The Red Shoes" as a film noir. While there is definitely a tragic element to "The Red Shoes," that movie has never struck me as film noir.

In her last chapter, Biesen talks about dark musicals that came out after "West Side Story" (which she also seems to consider noir) but she never mentions the neo-noirs of this era, whereas earlier she had always linked dark musicals to film noir. I just found this chapter very unbalanced.

This book needed a strong editor. (One little thing that bugged me. Biesen said Winston Churchill died in 1955. He did not; he left office that year. Why would Churchill even be mentioned in a book on film noir in the first place?) Ultimately, the book felt like Biesen was mashing a lot of her research together between one set of covers. This could have been so much better.
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5.0 out of 5 starsCouldn't Wait to Read This!
By OpenBookSociety dot com on June 1, 2014
Format: Kindle Edition
Brought to you by OBS reviewer JoAnne

Since I am a huge classic film – especially noir – lover; I couldn’t wait to read this book. Ms. Biesen has written an outstanding book on the use of music in film noir, and the impact it makes. Drawing upon such films as Gilda, Young Man with a Horn, Blues in the Night, Double Indemnity, and even The Major and the Minor - a film which uses the song “A Woman’s a Two Face” sung by a cadet to Ginger Rogers (masquerading as a teenager, believe it or not) – she has written a comprehensive and extensive work that is well-written and fascinating to read.

Anyone who is interested in film noir would find this indispensable as a reference – after all, who can forget Dooley Wilson in Casablanca crooning ‘As Time Goes By?’ She covers both well-known and not so well-known films - Christmas Holiday being one of my favorites – Gene Kelly and Deanna Durbin in a dark noir film, both playing against character (I suggest you try to find a copy; it will definitely be worth your while) – and offers a description of the Musician’s Strike of 1942, which has long since passed into history, yet spawned some of the greater singers of the century (Frank Sinatra among them).

A highly recommended book for both film fans and music lovers alike; after all, who can go wrong with a book that has the sultry Rita Hayworth as Gilda on the cover?

Visit OpenBookSociety for this review and more!
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5.0 out of 5 starsexcellent ground-breaking noir musical study
By Walter Neff on May 17, 2014
Format: Kindle Edition Verified Purchase
Another outstanding book by Biesen, the first work on noir musical films, a fascinating under-studied hybrid of film noir and dark jazz musicals. An extraordinary follow-up to Biesen's first book, Blackout: World War II and the Origins of Film Noir. Really interesting read, original scholarship with extensive primary archival research. Major films include Blues in the Night, To Have and Have Not, Phantom Lady, Gilda, The Red Shoes, Road House, The Man I Love, Black Angel, A Star Is Born, Young Man With a Horn, Young at Heart, Love Me or Leave Me, West Side Story, New York, New York, Cabaret, All That Jazz, Round Midnight, and many more. Well written film history, accessible to students, scholars, and movie buffs.
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5.0 out of 5 starsNoip Musical--On time and On the Mark!
By Dr. Ronald Schwartz on December 19, 2015
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
An excellent read from the author, Arrived yesterday, Dec. 18. Carefully wrapped..
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