I'm in the middle of Gil Brewer's 13 French Street. The
narrator is torn between two women, his blonde girlfriend at
home and the dark haired wife of his old Army buddy. Brewer
really plays up her dark hair, clearly symbolic of a greater
blackness within her. It reminded me of what had been pointed
out to me in a college class on westerns, how the blondes
usually represent purity (for instance, Doc Holliday's
girlfriend back east in My Darling Clementine) and the fallen
women are dark haired (Holliday's Mexican girlfriend in
Tombstone). I must admit, I haven't really paid much
attention to the hair color of femmes fatales in vintage noir
lit, but Brewer makes suc a big deal about the contrast. Has
anyone else paid more attention? Is this typical? Seems to me
a lot of these femmes were blonde or redhaired in film.
Mark
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