From periphery to foreground: The representation of African Americans in film noir

This paper examines the representation of African Americans in classic American film noir, both in front of and behind the camera. Employing numerous film reviews and first-hand accounts, as well as a sample of 272 noirs, I discuss the production, content, and reception of Double Indemnity (1944), Crossfire (1947), Body and Soul (1947), No Way Out (1950), The Breaking Point (1950), The Phenix City Story (1955), Kiss Me Deadly (1955), Odds against Tomorrow (1959), and many other noteworthy noirs in the context of industry-wide political, economic, technological, and stylistic trends. While acknowledging that African Americans actors were absent from or relegated to marginal roles in the majority of noirs, I argue that the people behind many of these films contributed to and sometimes hastened gradual improvement in the representation of African Americans in Hollywood, not only as actors but as writers, composers, and producers.