Film noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of American film noir. Film noir of this era is associated with a low-key, black-and-white visual style that has roots in German Expressionist cinematography. Many of the prototypical stories and much of the attitude of classic noir derive from the hardboiled school of crime fiction that emerged in the United States during the Great Depression.
The following is an overview of 1923 in film, including significant events, a list of films released and notable births and deaths. This year saw the establishments of both Warner Bros. Pictures and Walt Disney Productions.
A gangster is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Most gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from mob and the suffix -ster. Gangs provide a level of organization and resources that support much larger and more complex criminal transactions than an individual criminal could achieve. Gangsters have been active for many years in countries around the world. Gangsters are the subject of many novels, films, and video games.
Pierrot le Fou is a 1965 French New Wave film directed by Jean-Luc Godard, starring Jean-Paul Belmondo and Anna Karina. The film is based on the 1962 novel Obsession by Lionel White. It was Godard's tenth feature film, released between Alphaville and Masculin, féminin. The plot follows Ferdinand, an unhappily married man, as he escapes his boring society and travels from Paris to the Mediterranean Sea with Marianne, a girl chased by OAS hit-men from Algeria.
Performance is a 1970 British crime drama film directed by Donald Cammell and Nicolas Roeg, written by Cammell and photographed by Roeg. The film stars James Fox as a violent and ambitious London gangster who, after killing an old friend, goes into hiding at the home of a reclusive rock star.
Frank Lucas was an American drug trafficker who operated in Harlem, New York City, during the late 1960s and early 1970s. He was known for cutting out middlemen in the drug trade and buying heroin directly from his source in the Golden Triangle in Southeast Asia. Lucas boasted that he smuggled heroin using the coffins of dead American servicemen, as depicted in the feature film American Gangster (2007), which fictionalized aspects of his life. This claim is denied by his Southeast Asian associate Leslie "Ike" Atkinson.
Cyril William North Raymond MBE was a British character actor. He maintained a stage and screen career from his teens until his retirement, caused by ill health, in the 1960s.
Flora Le Breton was an English silent film actress from Croydon, Surrey, England. She was a dainty blonde with dark blue eyes. In the UK she was called both the British Mary Pickford and the English Mary Pickford.
The Homecoming is a 1973 British-American drama film directed by Peter Hall based on the play of the same name by Harold Pinter. The film was produced by Ely Landau for the American Film Theatre, which presented thirteen film adaptations of plays in the United States from 1973 to 1975. The film was screened at the 1974 Cannes Film Festival, but was not entered into the main competition.
The British Board of Film Classification is a non-governmental organisation founded by the film industry in 1912 and responsible for the national classification and censorship of films exhibited at cinemas and video works released on physical media within the United Kingdom. It has a statutory requirement to classify all video works released on VHS, DVD, Blu-ray, and, to a lesser extent, some video games under the Video Recordings Act 1984. The BBFC was also the designated regulator for the UK age-verification scheme which was abandoned before being implemented.
The depiction of Colombia in popular culture, especially the portrayal of Colombian people in film and fiction, has been asserted by Colombian organizations and government to be largely negative and has raised concerns that it reinforces, or even engenders, societal prejudice and discrimination due to association with narco-trafficking, terrorism, illegal immigration and other criminal elements, poverty and welfare. The Colombian government-funded Colombia is Passion advertisement campaign as an attempt to improve Colombia's image abroad, with mixed results hoping for more positive views on Colombia.
Madame Louise, is a 1951 British comedy film directed by Maclean Rogers and produced by Ernest G. Roy and starring Richard Hearne, Petula Clark, Garry Marsh and Richard Gale. It is loosely based on the 1945 play Madame Louise by Vernon Sylvaine, which had featured Alfred Drayton and Robertson Hare, but was extensively reworked to suit the different stars of the film production.
When You Come Home is a 1948 British comedy film directed by John Baxter and starring Frank Randle, Leslie Sarony and Leslie Holmes. It had a larger production budget than Randle's previous films, which had been made in Manchester.
Charley's Aunt is a 1930 American comedy film directed by Al Christie and starring Charles Ruggles, June Collyer and Hugh Williams. It was an adaptation of the 1892 play Charley's Aunt by Brandon Thomas. It marked the film debut of Williams, who then returned to Britain and became a major star.
Hilda Christabel Bailey was a British theatre and film actress. On stage from 1913, she was in both stage and film versions of Carnival in 1918 and 1921, respectively; and in the controversial crime film Cocaine in 1922.
A Soul's Awakening is a 1922 British silent drama film directed by W. P. Kellino and starring David Hawthorne, Flora le Breton and Ethel Oliver. It was made at Lime Grove Studios in Shepherd's Bush. It is also known by the alternative title What Love Can Do.
Film Weekly was one of the leading popular film magazines published in the United Kingdom during the late 1920s and 1930s.
The Man Who Lived Twice is a 1936 American crime film directed by Harry Lachman and starring Ralph Bellamy, Marian Marsh and Thurston Hall. It was remade as Man in the Dark in 1953.
A gangster film or gangster movie is a film belonging to a genre that focuses on gangs and organized crime. It is a subgenre of crime film, that may involve large criminal organizations, or small gangs formed to perform a certain illegal act. The genre is differentiated from Westerns and the gangs of that genre.
A Gipsy Cavalier is a 1922 British historical drama film directed by J. Stuart Blackton and starring Georges Carpentier, Flora le Breton and Rex McDougall. It was one of three films made in Britain during the early 1920s by the British-born American founder of Vitagraph Studios. All involved elaborate sets, costumes and extras and set an example of showmanship to emerging British filmmakers. It was adapted from the novel My Lady April by John Overton.
