“The collective sign of relief heaved on V-J Day
ought to have inspired
Hollywood to release a
flood of "happily ever
after" films. But some
victors didn't feel too good about their spoils.
They'd seen too much by then.
Too much warfare,
too much poverty, too much greed, all in the
service of rapacious progress. A bundle of unfinished
business lingered from the Depression — nagging
questions about ingrained venality, mean human nature,
and the way unchecked urban growth threw society
dangerously out of whack. Writers and directors
responded by delivering gritty, bitter dramas that
slapped our romantic illusions in the face
and put the boot to the throat of the smug
bourgeoisie. Still, plenty of us took it — and liked it.”
~ Eddie Muller, Dark City: The Lost World of Film Noir
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