Gender Studies Books

Below is a list of books that address themes in film noir related to the topic of gender studies. All are available in the UNC library system. Each book's call number is hypertext linked to its record in the UNC Libraries online catalog.

• Abbott, Megan E. The Street Was Mine: White Masculinity In Hardboiled Fiction and Film Noir.
  New York : Palgrave Macmillan, 2002.
  DAVIS PS374.D4 A23 2002
  This book analyzes the recurrent figure of the “tough guy” in American literature and film, focusing on characters in the works of hardboiled novelists Raymond Chandler and James M. Cain, as well as their popular film noir adaptations. The author focuses specifically on the way the tough guy negotiates racial and gender "otherness."
  
• Hannsberry, Karen Burroughs. Femme Noir: The Bad Girls of Film.
  Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2003.
  DAVIS and UL PN1995.9.W6 H26 1998
  This source provides biographical information for 49 female stars of classic film noir from the 1940s and 1950s. Each entry runs from ten to 15 pages and includes, in addition to a photograph, an excellent film biography of each star, concentrating on her roles within the genre. The entries all conclude with lists of additional secondary references.
  
• Kaplan, E. Ann, ed. Women in Film Noir.
  London: British Film Institute, 1998.
  DAVIS and UL PN1995.9.W6 W66 1998
  This collection of academic essays looks at film noir from a feminist perspective. It includes 80 black and white photographs.
  
• Krutnik, Frank. In a Lonely Street: Film Noir, Genre, Masculinity.
  New York: Routledge, 1991.
  DAVIS PN1995.9.F54 K78 1991
  This study argues for a reconsideration of the genre of film noir, focusing on the complex representation of masculinity in the "tough" thriller, and where and how gender interlocks with questions of genre.
  
• Maxfield, James F.The Fatal Woman: Sources of Male Anxiety In American Film Noir, 1941-1991.
  Madison: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 1996.
  DAVIS and UL PN1995.9.F44 M38 1996
  This book focuses on the obsession with dominance and resulting emotional vulnerability and self-destructiveness of the male characters in a number of classic film noir and neo-noir films.
  
• Muller, Eddie. Dark City Dames: The Wicked Women of Film Noir.
  New York: Regan Books, c2001.
  DAVIS and UL PN1998.2 .M854 2001
  This book profiles six actresses--Jane Greer, Evelyn Keyes, Ann Savage, Coleen Gray, Audrey Totter, and Marie Windsor--who starred in many of the classic film noirs of the 1940s and 1950s. The author combines interviews with his subjects and an astute analysis of the social, political, and economic pressures of Hollywood and the film industry.
  
• Wager, Jans B. Dangerous Dames: Women and Representation in the Weimar Street Film and Film Noir
  Athens: Ohio University Press, 1999.
  DAVIS PN1995.9.F44 W35 1999
  The author challenges the notion that film noir and Weimar Street films subliminally promote the repression of women. Rather, she asserts that women are captivated by the freedom enjoyed by the femme fatale character.