Introduction Cinema/film has become a conspicuous form of mass entertainment whose popularity, influence, and proliferation have been phenomenal. Artistic expression and development via technological expediency have made it an unequaled facet of visual/fine arts since the inception of the 20 th century. A vast array of genres constitutes film – action, adventure, crime, horror, westerns, science fiction to name a few with setting, mood, theme, and format as its hallmark characteristics. Amongst this cadre is the film noir (French for black film ) genre. Italian-born French film critic, Nino Frank, is primarily credited with coining the term in his movie review article (“Un nouveau genre ‘policier:’ L’aventure criminelle,”/“A new police genre: the criminal adventure”) published in L’écran français (August 1946), a socialist-leaning film magazine. The review was on Hollywood stylish crime films (Maltese Falcon, Laura, Murder, My Sweet, Double Indemnity, etc.) shown in France after World War 2. Frank described them as “ dark films ” which steered away from the standard detective movie. This new form of “criminal psychology film” was void of “sentimental humanism” with a proclivity for the “social fantastic” and “dynamism of violent death” as well as “ pessimism and disgust for humanity .” Discussion The Hollywood classical film noir era spanned over twenty years commencing with the 1940 RKO low budget thriller, Stranger on the Third Floor starring Peter Lorre and co-written by US author, screenwriter and satirist, Nathanial West. Iconic filmmaker, Orson Welles’ Touch of Evil is considered by many critics as the last great film noir of this classical era. An offspring of the Hardboiled School of crime fiction which emerged in the U.S. during the Depression, film noir’s standard components evolve around setting, theme, mood, and format. Its utilization of these components is what makes it distinct for its visual aesthetics is deeply rooted in German expressionism cinematography. For economic reasons due to World War I, German filmmakers relied on basic settings/black and white lighting, etc instead of extravagant color features/locations providing a more simplistic/realistic appeal. Black and white cinematography is an essential ingredient used to enhance the dark mood/tone of film noir dramas. As film critic Robert Ottoson asserts, the tone is generally downbeat and “ overwhelmingly black .” Low key lighting schemes which produce dramatic shadow patterning and stark light/dark contrast coupled with low-angle shots, wide-angle lenses as well as Dutch angles contribute to the disorientation allure of film noir. Large urban settings (Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, etc.) are a consistent feature as well as usage of real time and remembered time or flashbacks and voice over narration, most characteristically by the protagonist. Subjective in nature with a circuitous plot, the film’s hero/ protagonist are always morally questionable, flawed, and frequently doomed be they the fall guy or the fem Fatale. They are often alienated and existentially bitter. Such characters are engrossed in moral quandaries that transcend beyond simple black and white decisions in which the e