The Maltese Falcon to Body of Lies: Spies, Noirs, and Trust

by Robert von Hallberg

Overview

Film noir is by definition dark, but not, this book argues, desperate. Examining twenty-eight great noir films from the earliest examples of the genre, including The Maltese Falcon, The Big Sleep, and Out of the Past, to such twenty-first-century spy films as The Good Shepherd, Syriana, and The Bourne Ultimatum, this study explores the representations of trust and commitment that noir and spy films propose. Through thorough examination, von Hallberg provides insights into the cultural history of film and our cinematic experience with the concept of trust.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780826351364
Publisher:	University of New Mexico Press
Publication date:	11/15/2015
Series:	Recencies Series: Research and Recovery in Twentieth-Century American Poetics
Pages:	232
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.20(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Robert von Hallberg is a professor of literature at Claremont McKenna College and a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He is the author of five books, most recently Lyric Powers.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments xi

Introduction 1

Part I Noirs

Chapter 1 Work 13

Chapter 2 Trust 35

Chapter 3 Alone 61

Chapter 4 Men You Can Trust 77

Chapter 5 Women You Can't 95

Chapter 6 Quick Change 123

Part II Spies

Chapter 7 State Service 145

Chapter 8 Privacy 167

Conclusion 193

Notes 201

Index 215

Editorial Reviews

"A compelling and marvelously personal essay on the psychology and morals of trust in the beleaguered world of noirs and spies, a world riddled by suspicion, shame, and guilt, yet not, it appears, without hope."—Maria DiBattista, author of Fast-Talking Dames

From the Publisher