As far as film noir's go, there is a wide range of styles and ideas, although it may seem like they are all the same to non-movie people. As we learned last week, classic film noir has a set of specifications they usually have to meet, however some directors change up the formula and test out different ideas. Double Indemnity was a pretty normal film noir, it was an ordinary film noir that everyone knows and loves. The Hitch-hiker (1953), however, was different.
Similarities:
Like any film noir both films had a dark atmosphere. Things happened during the day, sure, but it always felt dark. Both of the films also made good use of shadows, in The Hitch-hiker the most prominent use of shadows was in the scene when the Hitch-hiker first enters Roy's car and leans forward into the light to expose his face. Also the lead character in each, and the murderer, are males. Finally, both films had a crime committed and have a group of people trying to figure it out. All of these things are aspects that most film-noir's have.
Differences:
One of the biggest differences between the Hitch-hiker and Double Indemnity, and most other film noir's for that matter, is the lack of any sort of female character. In most noir's, there is a female lead that makes the male do something crazy and/or gets them in trouble. In the Hitch-hiker, however, there are no females shown fully besides the little girl in the bar scene. Maybe this is because of there being a female director, but who really knows. Also, a big difference is that the Hitch-hiker doesn't have any voice overs or narration. Most film noir's, including Double Indemnity, have a character narrating what is happening, but this movie did not have that. Finally, the main characters don't die. In Double Indemnity we assume that the main character dies after making his confession, but in the Hitch-hiker, although I assumed the two "good guys" would die, they made it out alive. Of course, they also didn't kill anybody, but it's a notable difference nonetheless.
Great post! I definitely agree with the "dark atmosphere" aspect of both of the films. I think the dark feeling that we get is an effect that is well done by both directors. I also like how you pointed out the differences in how these classic film noir's contrast due to their character differences. One thing in particular that I thought made Double Indemnity more clear was the voice over narration, it made the movie easier to follow. Ultimately I agree with your comparison of the two film noir's.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree that both films are very dark. There isn't a female character included in "The Hitch-Hiker" but the femme fatale characteristics are still shown through the killer and Collins in the movie. I also pointed out that the main characters get out alive. I definitely thought that they weren't going to make it, or that there might be a twist in the end.
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