As a large majority of film noir is centred on crime, most frequently murder, male and/or heroes are commonly detectives, private eyes or policeman. Conventionally they are a flawed protagonist, lonely, introverted, troubled and pessimistic, not a run-of the mill hero but are defined in their ability to survive and restore normality.
In a world that’s been corrupted and lost its moral certainty, men/heroes in film noir are
seldom heroic at all, and more often than not become violent or corrupt also. Throughout their
quest they are repeatedly tested, interrogated, attacked, persecuted and betrayed and so tend to become amoral and frustrated, however even flawed the conventional film noir male/hero still sets to unravel the mystery set and re-establish good.
With twisting, non-linear and cryptic storylines, the role of a male/hero in film noir is that of a witty, razor-sharp protagonist. However strong the confident exterior underneath male/heroes of film noir is they are usually hiding a dark secret or a human weakness, which commonly drive them to commit past mistakes again.
A common word to describe a film noir male/hero is an “anti-hero”, which means that even though they set out to do good and make the world a better place, their character and goals are antithetical to traditional heroism. They are well-
known for a “shoot first and ask questions later” approach, and are more inclined to break the law to achieve their aims.
5 examples of a male/hero of film noir who shows these characteristics are private investigator Sam Spade, private-eye Philip Marlowe, police detective Mark McPherson, investigator Jim Reardon and chief officer Mike Vargas, who have all starred in famous examples of film noir.
5 websites I found useful in researching film noir are:
www.filmnoirstudies.com
www.imdb.com
www.wikipedia.org
www.screenpedia.org
www.filmsnoir.net
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