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film noir

Film noir is defined as a genre of urban crime movies from the 1940s and 1950s with a melodramatic, bleak or cynical feel.

(noun)

An example of film noir is a Humphrey Bogart movie.

See film noir in Webster's New World College Dictionary

a type of film, esp. of the 1940s and 1950s, fatalistic, pessimistic, or cynical in mood and often dealing melodramatically with urban crime and corruption

Origin: Fr, lit., black film

See film noir in American Heritage Dictionary 4

noun

A movie characterized by low-key lighting, a bleak urban setting, and corrupt, cynical characters.
The genre or style of such movies.

Origin:

Origin: French

Origin: : film, film

Origin: + noir, black

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