Film Noir

The term film noir, French for "black film", first applied to Hollywood films by French critic Nino Frank in 1946, was unknown to most American film industry professionals of the classic era.

Film noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, in particular, films that deal with cynical attidues or sexual motivations. This would normally be played by the beautiful female character.Hollywood's classic film noir period is generally regarded as stretching from the early 1940s to the late 1950s. Film noir of this era is associated with a low-key black-and-white visual style that has roots in German Expressionist cinematography. Many of the prototypical stories and much of the attitude of classic noir derive from the hardboiled school of crime fiction that emerged in the United States during the Depression.

This photo is an iconic description of film noir, the mist across the whole screen and the silhouette in the middle of the screen. This is very common of Film Noir to do so, because it gives a sense of secrecy in the film/scene and even with the street light on above him, he still remains without any light on him whatsoever, because the director doesn't want the audience to know who it is.