Film Reviews 3/4- The Big Combo (1955)

Film noir (French for ‘black film) is a film genre which is distinctive through its low key lighting, urban settings, a femme fatal character, mystery etc. the genre has an artistic aspect as the films use the contrast of light and dark ‘chiaroscuro’ effect and use the lighting and shadows to express emotions. The genre’s style is particularly used in thriller’s, detective and gangster films.

The synopsis for ‘The Big Combo’ involves Police Lt. Leonard Diamond, who is on a personal quest to bring down the sadistic gangster Mr. Brown, whilst at the same time being obsessed with the gangster’s girlfriend Susan Lowell.

A conflict of good vs. evil is once again in the narrative. The shot above shows the conclusion of the film with its use of stereotypical film noir’s lighting effect. The single shot alone can tell a lot about the film such as use of fog in the background creates mystery and suspense, which is further reinforced by the audience not being able to see the characters close up .This in turn engages the audience during the film as the fog covers up what will happen next. Also stereotypical characters of film noir can been seen in the shot as well, the femme fatal and the detective.

My view is that the film is engaging and full of suspense particularly the torture scenes. John Alton really uses the lighting to great effect and are really good at adding emphasis to a scene such as the torture scene.