M

Its hard to pick between two different genres, melodrama or horror, for the film M. I personally was not able to figure out which genre this movie would be categorized in modern time but if I had to pick, I chose melodrama. The reason behind that is throughout the film, its not clear which character to follow but it is clear that certain scenes emotions are exaggerated to emphasize the plot. Although you don't have connection to one particular character, this is can still be considered a melodrama because of the different vocal and facial expressions are noticeable and distinctive. Some may argue that film's genre is horror and not melodrama because the plot follows a serial killer. Even though there is a killer in the movie, the plot isn't portrayed to be scary or shocking like most horror films. The last scene in the movie helps me believe this film is melodrama over horror. The endings in most horror movies are more suspenseful then what happened. Yes justice was served to the killer  but the criminal world has its own set of rules. Instead of taking the killer the police, they take it to a vote to see what everyone wants to do about the killer. All the criminals may do various acts of injustice but seems that they have a code that the killer broke. As a group they charge the killer and kill him but are stopped by the law. In the end the mother will never get her child back due to the murderer.

Sherlock Jr 1924

I've never watched a silent film before but Sherlock Jr. was a great way to be introduced to this genre. Before watching the movie I thought the film would be dull and not entertaining but I was wrong. This silent film does a great job capturing the audiences attention with the different acts performed. One scene I found interesting and a classic move was about 11 minutes into the film.

This scene starts off with a man and girl expressing their feelings towards each other with not words but actions. As soon as they hold hands, another man appears and takes the girl to the back room, away from the first man. The man sits there awkwardly not knowing what to do but realizing another person is flirting with the girl he likes. As he goes in to intervene, the other man slyly gives him a banana to be distracted with. Initially he eats the banana but also lays down the peel in a strategic manner to make the other guy fall. After placing the banana peel on the ground, he looks up to see the other man kissing the hand of his girl and jumps up in excitement and runs over the banana peel and falls over.

This was just one scene that stuck out to me because of the use of the banana peel. Many people have seen this stunt on various shows and movies but the true comedic effect was used perfectly in this silent movie. I was surprised at how entertained I was during this movie and enjoyed watching it. One particular aspect about the scene described above that I enjoyed was the way the camera captured the moment. The use of having both parties visible but having the main focus on the closer character gave us a main point to focus on but also a entertainment in the background.

The Hitch Hiker

The Hitch Hiker is the only classic film noir directed by a woman, do you see any difference in style from other film noirs?

There are differences between this film noir and other film noir's. These differences are because The Hitch Hiker was the only film noir directed by a female. Usually these types of films are directed by males and have the males views displayed throughout the movie but Lupino's process was much different. She was able to use the male characters and add feminine features into these characters to switch the gender roles. 

She was able to direct a film with some feminine characteristics with only all male characters. At this time masculinity wasn't the question or problem but the way women were viewed in there roles. Lupino's style of a slow paced film helped emphasize the characteristics and development throughout the film rather then focusing on the action of the killer. In other film noir, the female is feeling helpless and not in control because the man is always the leader. In this case, Lupino was able to make the men feeling helpless and not in control with a life or death situation. Their helpless feeling went along with the characters trouble of being trapped with a killer with no definite idea of what he is going to do with them. The slow paced build up went hand in hand with with the victims trouble of being trapped and built up to a slow suspenseful conclusion. 

Overall Lupino created a successful film that viewed the roles of the characters in a different way. Her take on reversing the roles of the men by adding some feminine characteristics along with a slow paced action, helped the viewers follow the characteristic changes rather then the action. This allowed her to change the characters from a positive sane pair to an emotionally distraught duo stuck with a killer, much like how many women were portrayed in films at this time. 

Film Noir: The double indemnity. 

The women in the film shows the typical characteristics of women and their manners. The two women that had a huge role in the movie were Lola Dietrichson and Phyllis. Their characteristics are portrayed differently. Lola is emotional and can not control her emotions without the help of men and Phyllis is portrayed as an deceptive woman. These roles are a bit sexist towards women but were the roles given at the time.

The entire plot consists with these two women. The first person is Lola which is emotionally crazy due to the deaths of her mother and father . The cause of those deaths are Phyllis and to cope with all of her emotional issues, she decides to go out with Walter. This goes back to how women are portrayed because Lola starts to get a grip on life once she was with a man. The sexism is clear because she wasn’t sane before she met a man. Phyllis’s character is the villain. She commits murder out of personal gain and sees no use for them. This is why her character is deceptive.

This movie shows the typical view on women by portraying them as either crazy or emotionally not stable. The roles did make the movie better but are not politically correct to society because women are independent and are equal to men. Yet these roles were necessary to make the movie fit the plot.