Needing help with a Noir

[Ian Hedley-Wakefield]

Hi all, first off I'd like to say how much I've enjoyed The Fedora Lounge since I discovered it a few weeks ago.

I'm a film director and I am working with a few friends to put together a short Noir piece set in 1946, filled with double crossings, a femme fatale and a tommy gun murder in a dark alley.

I'm currently reading 'Dark City' and watching 'On Dangerous Ground' and am finding these both extremely useful resources

However I'm going to be filming in New Zealand and with little or no budget. If anyone has any references of 1940's fashion, hairstyles, hats, and also links to noir "era" photos would be hugely appreciated.

Any assistance will be greatly appreciated and will make this labor of love so much easier.

Ian

 

[Mr Vim]

Ian, I think you should start in the Big Sticky thread in the suit section, it has tons of catalog scans from various times in the golden era. It is a great source for men's fashion, as far as the ladies go, I cannot comment one way or the other, but then gals in the Powder room might have scans, I don't go there much.

There is also the Noir inspired photos thread, that's a fun one to look at, gives you an idea what other lougners are up to.

Oh and welcome to the lounge,
Vim

 

[Ian Hedley-Wakefield]

Thank you sir, you are a legend. I'll spend my bandwidth researching in the sections you mentioned.

Cheers
Ian

 

[The Wolf]

1946 is my favorite year.
Some good movies from 1946 to get the feeling for your movie are Dark Corner, The Blue Dahlia, The Killers, The Strange Love of Martha Ivers, The Postman Always Rings Twice, and of course The Big Sleep.
Keep us updated on your progress.

Sincerely,
The Wolf

 

[Ian Hedley-Wakefield]

Thanks for those movie references, I'll track em down over the coming week. As I mentioned I've been Dark City and I've noticed a few of those names so I'll definitely give them a watch.

In the name of shameless self promotion feel free to check out page on my website dedicated to this film project. There's not a lot up there as of yet as we are in very early days. http://www.hedleywakefield.com/projects/noir-short/

I knocked up a draft poster idea while I was on a sick day using free stock photos and whatnot.

Cheers
Ian

 

[Ian Hedley-Wakefield]

Just got through Dark Corner. Found it immensely helpful! Will crack out the others over the next few days.

 

[$ally]

"M" is probably the darkest of the noir. It was very low budget but extremely effective. A little earlier clothing and different plot than you are going for, but check it out. Peter Lorre played creepy like nobody else, plus it has the kind of suspense you are porbably looking for.

 

[John in Covina]

However I'm going to be filming in New Zealand and with little or no budget. If anyone has any references of 1940's fashion, hairstyles, hats, and also links to noir "era" photos would be hugely appreciated. Any assistance will be greatly appreciated and will make this labor of love so much easier. Ian

One resource you might like to look at on AMAZON is this book:
Everyday Fashions of the Forties As Pictured in Sears Catalogs.

It is a look at US fashions for the time period and with Sears as the source it may present more of an everyman view of fashion

Some books on Film Noir will have pictures from the films discussed. You may be able to use the library system there to get some of those.