Film noir was discovered and named by two French film critics in 1946. In fashioning film noir , Hollywood borrowed heavily from the expressionist film techniques and lighting used by German directors in the 1920s, including F.W. Murnau , G.W. Pabst , and Robert Wiene . Many others, such as the Austrian cameraman Karl Freund , came directly out of the German Weimar cinema to Hollywood. German and Austrian film stars, including Peter Lorre , Marlene Dietrich , Paul Henried , Conrad Veidt , and others, have literally played vital roles in film noir. In film noir, events often occur in the dark of night, and the characters also tend to have their dark side.
Wimpy women are out.
The classic period for film noir runs from 1940 to 1959. Film historians and critics have trouble agreeing on precisely what film noir is. Some say all three. Others claim it is definitely not a genre. Extreme definitions limit the film noir canon to fewer than ten films, while other listings include hundreds.