Transitional Noir, 1960s–Early 1970s

Abstract

The unique trait of Transitional Noir is its coexistence with the last films of classic film noir. Transitional Noirs coalesce into a consistent group because of their efforts to observe the purpose of neo-noir and to be different than their classic predecessors. The Killers (Don Siegel 1964) and Point Blank (John Boorman 1967), both starring Lee Marvin, serve as the examples of Transitional Noir and offer two different positions within Transition Noir, one at the beginning of the movement and the other at a more advanced moment. Transitional Noir reflects the tumultuous 1960s by calling reality into question—suggesting the questionable existence of characters or the world they live in.

Appendix

Transitional Noir Film List

The Last Classical Noirs

• Key Witness (1960), d. Phil Karlson

• Midnight Lace (1960), d. David Miller

• The Lawbreakers (1960), d. Joseph N. Newman

• Pay or Die! (1960), d. Richard Wilson

• Portrait in Black (1960), d. Michael Gordon

• The Pusher (1960), d. Gene Milford

• Seven Thieves (1960), d. Henry Hathaway

• The 3rd Voice (1960), d. Hubert Cornfield

• Why Must I Die? (1960), d. Roy Del Ruth

• Look in Any Window (1961), d. William Aland

• Blast of Silence (1961), d. Allen Baron

• Underworld U.S.A. (1961), d. Sam Fuller

• The Most Dangerous Man Alive (1961), d. Allan Dwan

• Experiment in Terror (1962), d. Blake Edwards

• 13 West Street (1962), d. Philip Leacock

• War Hunt (1962), d. Denis Sanders

• The Girl Hunters (1963), d. Roy Rowland

• Right Hand of the Devil (1963), d. Aram Katcher

• Shock Corridor (1963), d. Sam Fuller

• Thunder Island (1963), d. Jack Leewood

• The Naked Kiss (1964), d. Sam Fuller

• Kitten with a Whip (1964), d. Douglas Heyes

• Angel’s Flight (1965), d. Raymond Nassour and Kenneth W. Richardson

• Mirage (1965), d. Edward Dmytryk

• The Money Trap (1966), d. Burt Kennedy

• The Hostage (1967), d. Russell S. Doughten Jr.

Transitional Noir

• The Killers (1964), d. Don Siegel (also Remake Noir)

• The Hanged Man (1964), d. Don Siegel (also Remake Noir—Ride the Pink Horse [1947])

• Brainstorm (1965), d. William Conrad

• Mickey One (1965), d. Arthur Penn

• Who Killed Teddy Bear (1965), d. Joseph Cates

• Seconds (1966), d. John Frankenheimer

• Point Blank (1967), d. John Boorman

• Stranger on the Run (1967), d. Don Siegel

• Warning Shot (1967), d. Buzz Kulik

• The Split (1968)

• Bullitt (1968), d. Peter Yates

• Targets (1968), d. Peter Bogdanovich

• The Lost Man (1969), d. Robert Alan Aurthur (also Remake Noir—Odd Man Out [1947])

• Once You Kiss a Stranger (1969), d. Robert Sparr (also Remake Noir—Strangers on a Train [1951])