Setting and Costume in Film Noir

As film Noir started in the early 1950's, the settings and costumes used in the films tend to be quite old fashioned smart suits and hats, and old glowing lampposts and smart cars. With the costumes it helps to bring out the year, with the women wearing quite long silky dresses and having curly big hair, it fits in with the old fashion. And with the setting it tends to set the scene as a dark film, and show a sense of mystery which fits as most noir films tend to be about crime and investigation.

In this picture it shows the common clothes that a typical women would were in that time and in a noir film, the smart, white, silk dress with the women's long curly hairs represent that she could be quite an innocent character towards the story and would probably play the part of the victim in the story. the dress works well as it also shows the character as a wealthy person and could maybe play the part as an actress or movie star. in typical men wear, they would wear smart respectable suits and ties, and maybe even bowler hats for people with more power and money. the suits and hats are more for the working men in the films usually who play investigators or police as they have to look smart for the job.

The typical setting in a noir film would be like this road in the night, with maybe a few people talking anonymously under a glowing old fashioned lamppost  this setting or parts of it a commonly used in films to create a very dark shady scene which could be where the crime took place or is part of the mystery. the lamppost is a great part of the scenery as it can be used as the only light source in the shot so that you can easily manipulate the lighting so that you can make someone seem quite shady by not giving the much light, or can give someone a glow of light from behind them to amplify them and show that they have more power.