Re George comments below:
> Okay, I'm only about a month behind in this
stream,
> but I thought I would throw in my two
cents:
>
> In hard-boiled fiction, the world is more or
less
> the
> same at the end of the story as it was in
the
> beginning. Some people may be better off,
some
> people
> are usually a little worse off (this often
includes
> the protagonist), but in general, order is
restored
> to
> the status quo ante.
>
> In noir, no one wins. If anyone is better off
at
> all,
> and there usually isn't anyone, it's the person
or
> persons least deserving of it. The world is
worse
> off
> at the end of the story than at the
beginning.
There are plenty of Cornell Woolrich stories in which the
good guys are better off at then end, but to say that
Wollrich isn't noir is clearly silly.
Upbeat endings or downbeat endings are not what define either
noir or hardboiled. Neither are the two mutually
exclusive.
Hardboiled is attitude.
Noir is atmosphere.
That which is tough and colloquial, whatever the ending, is
hardboiled.
That which is dark and sinister, whatever the ending, is
noir.
That which is tough and colloquial and dark and sinister,
whatever the ending, is both hardboiled and noir.
Hope I've made it clear. It's really not that
complicated.
JIM DOHERTY
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