film noir

Where does the word "film noir" come from? It comes from French film noir, and was adopted directly into English (1950s).

Film noir’s story begins in French: film noir meant “black film.” The French critic Nino Frank coined it for the dark Hollywood crime films that reached Paris after the war. It reached English by 1950s as film noir. Taken up by film critics for the genre. Today, film noir means a style of dark, cynical crime film.

1. Stage 1 · French · 1946 film noir "black film", the French critic Nino Frank coined it for the dark Hollywood crime films that reached Paris after the war.
2. Stage 2 · English · 1950s film noir "dark crime film", taken up by film critics for the genre.