Victory was looking more and more likely in the final year of the Second World War. Americans’ attention began shifting to life in peacetime, and their support for the war began to wane.
The government wanted to remind them of the risks that their soldiers still faced and the need to continue buying war bonds. So government censors began allowing the media to show images of wounded and dead G.I.s, according to Richard Lingeman’s book, The Noir Forties. Hollywood began producing war movies that were more grim, brutal, and realistic, although the endings were nearly as happy as they’d been earlier in the war.
Out of this new sensibility came fiction and movies with a darker, more menacing side. At the same time that heartwarming films like It’s a Wonderful Life (1945) and Miracle on 34th Street (1947) were released, theaters were showing films with a more sinister air, like Double Indemnity (1944), The Big Sleep (1946), and Out of the Past (1947).
The Big Sleep Official Trailer (Uploaded to YouTube by Rotten Tomatoes Classic Trailers)
A French movie critic described this new look in movies with the French word for black – noir. It became a genre in film and fiction, an outgrowth of the gritty tales found in pulp fiction magazines.
Some of these atmospheric crime stories appeared in The Saturday Evening Post. And, as Bob Sassone says in his recent article in Noir City magazine, they were made into movies.
He mentions several artists of noir stories, including John Henry Crosman, who illustrated “Prescription for Murder.”
Another Post illustrator was William A. Smith, who was a veteran of the Office of Strategic Services and the president of UNESCO International Association of Art. He was considered a “serious” artist as well an illustrator, and his works are hung in several major galleries.
Austin Briggs illustrated advertisements for years until he got a chance to do magazine illustration. His work appeared in popular magazines like Colliers, Red Book, and The Saturday Evening Post. Briggs also drew the comic strip Flash Gordon.
Artist Perry Peterson was known for his illustration of mysteries.
The work of these illustrators marked a new era in the Post’s illustration of its fiction. From this point on, story illustration would show a new emphasis on drama and atmosphere.
Featured image: Perry Peterson illustration for “Stolen Goods” in the June 25, 1949, issue
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Comments
Dear Editor:
Until Jack Nicholson’s fabulous portrayal of a neurotic commanding , a film that I thought was also terrific, and, at least plausible, was the equally fabulous portrayal of neurotic commanding officer, was Humphrey Bogart’s of Captain Phillip Queeg in the “Caine Mutiny”.
To this day, I will never forget Queeg under pressure, and, bring out those roller ball bearing and begin to roll them in his hand.
The portrayal by Bogart was so realistic that it left you wondering at the end as to whether, Queeg was as incompetent as the crew contended.
Loved it until Nicholson came along, and, did nearly the same thing.
WOW Jeff! You’ve outdone yourself with this feature. All the dark shadows and shading in just the right places in these mostly black and white illustrations, with a little color here and there. You can really see that in the Austin Briggs 1948 story illustration here for “Murder for MIllions”. Look at that tie. Look at the perfect reflection in the mirror!
I love Perry Peterson’s and William A. Smith’s illustrations a lot too; especially the action ones. ‘Nightmare in Manhattan’ here is a perfect example. Men face slapping other men in a back-and-forth gestures wasn’t an uncommon punishment in mid-century film noir. This is featured in “The Garment Jungle” and “Sweet Smell of Success” I saw recently. In the latter. Tony Curtis was in the wrong place at the wrong time. ‘Sweet’ isn’t noir as such, but has elements of it.
Thanks for the links here. I want to see these films in the near future. Such great escapes from the awful present. Just watched ‘The Chase’ (’46) with Peter Lorre. He can really give ya the creeps, that’s for sure. ‘Wicked Woman’ from ’53 with Beverly Michaels is swell. ‘While the City Sleeps’ (’56) kind of previews ‘Psycho’ in some ways. ‘The Unholy Wife’ (’57) with Diana Dors is a film noir in color. I can’t believe the shade of blue she’s wearing in that sexy dress. ‘Vicc Raid’ (’59) with Mamie Van Doren is excellent. Another underrated actress.
The takeaway here? No need to waste your time on any present day films made by and for unintelligent people.