Film noir is among the many most well-known and acclaimed cinematic classes. Although its legitimacy as a style stays a matter of debate amongst movie aficionados, noir remains to be a celebrated and outstanding a part of cinematic historical past, with the Golden Age offering a few of the best-known examples.
The femme fatale is arguably essentially the most recognizable factor of movie noir. Many well-known actors performed femme fatales throughout noir’s golden interval, from Barbara Stanwyck to Rita Hayworth. Femme fatales have a adverse fame, with many contemplating them harmful; nevertheless, not all femmes stay as much as the fatale a part of their names. And whereas some are undoubtedly deathly, others are much less deadly in these greatest femme fatale films.
Updated on May 6, 2023, by David Caballero:
As the femme fatale’s that means and portrayal proceed to alter within the twenty first century, it is attention-grabbing to delve into the assorted iconic ladies who’ve performed that function all through the a long time, and the way their performances have influenced cinematic historical past.
12 Jessica Rabbit – ‘Who Framed Roger Rabbit’ (1988)
Few noirs are as distinctive or groundbreaking as Robert Zemeckis‘ 1988 animated-live-action hybrid Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Starring Bob Hoskins and set in a model of Hollywood the place cartoons and people co-exist, the movie follows PI Eddie Valiant, who should assist exonerate Roger Rabbit from the homicide of the Acme Corporation’s proprietor.
Like each good noir, Who Framed Roger Rabbit has a femme fatale in Jessica Rabbit (voiced by Kathleen Turner), Roger’s spouse, who appears to be like like a fantasy drawn to life. The movie subverts noir’s tropes with a femme that’s all the pieces however fatale, providing an excellent commentary on the trope and the noir style itself. After all, Jessica is just not dangerous; she’s simply drawn that approach.
11 Gilda Mundson – ‘Gilda’ (1946)
There by no means was a lady like Gilda. The one and solely Rita Hayworth is the key behind Gilda‘s timeless high quality. The movie lives and dies together with her, and whereas the thriller that offers it its noir standing is participating, Hayworth is the rationale to remain to the top.
Gilda appears to be like and appears like a femme fatale, however she is not. The movie subverts noir expectations by that includes a cheerful ending that goes in opposition to all the pieces that got here earlier than. However, it will get away with it due to Hayworth’s complicated and layered tackle a femme fatale that refused to be boxed into one class. In the top, seems Gilda actually is respectable.
10 Judy Barton – ‘Vertigo’ (1958)
Alfred Hitchcock‘s noir-ish masterpiece Vertigo facilities on a PI who turns into obsessive about the girl he’s tasked with following. Blending parts of the psychological thriller with a few of noir’s most typical tropes, Vertigo is a timeless traditional elevated by a pair of stellar lead performances.
Kim Novak shines because the movie’s feminine lead and femme fatale. Playing twin roles in a narrative about obsession and trauma, Novak is saddled with the tough and treacherous process of embodying the unattainable idea of perfection. Ethereal and near-flawless below Hitchcock’s singular eye, the actor takes a lighter strategy to the femme fatale. Novak’s Barton is each perpetrator and sufferer and whereas she is way from the deathliest femme, she is not precisely guilt-free.
9 Brigid O’Shaughnessy – ‘The Maltese Falcon’ (1941)
Classic movie noir has quite a few femme fatales, however Brigid O’Shaughnessy is among the many most memorable. Played by the underrated Mary Astor, Brigid is the primary antagonist in John Huston‘s noir traditional The Maltese Falcon.
As one of many first noirs within the golden age, Astor’s O’Shaughnessy launched lots of the traditional femme fatale parts audiences would come to like. She lies, cheats, manipulates, and kills to get her approach, even when she has a delicate spot for the tortured main man. Still, Brigid O’Shaughnessy was the blueprint, a resilient and resourceful lady who, within the timeless phrases of Sam Spade, was good. Very good.
8 Norma Desmond – ‘Sunset Boulevard’ (1950)
The obsessed artist trope has been round for the reason that daybreak of movie, however few films pull it off as completely as Billy Wilder‘s noir masterpiece Sunset Boulevard. William Holden stars as Joe Gillis, a struggling author who enters an intense partnership with Norma Desmond, a fading silent-film star obsessive about making a comeback.
Gloria Swanson immortalized herself via the function of Norma. Delusional and with a rapidly deteriorating psyche, Norma is the final word tragic star, unable to let go of her previous. Unlike different femme fatales who flaunt their wickedness with satisfaction, the egocentric and deranged Norma is a prisoner of her thoughts. There’s an overt and operatic layer of distress to her tragedy, and even when she is Joe’s demise, she stays an interesting and tragic character.
7 Kitty Collins – ‘The Killers’ (1946)
Burt Lancaster made his movie debut in 1946’s The Killers reverse the now-iconic Ava Gardner. The timeless magnificence performs Kitty Collins, the lethal and shameless femme fatale on the middle of the movie’s motion.
Few actors ever regarded so putting as Gardner in The Killers. The face, the hair, the costumes! Gardner’s Kitty is deadly however stunning, an irresistible lady everybody is aware of is harmful, however only a few can resist. Kitty Collins is an archetypical femme fatale, all the way down to her ultimate repentance, and Gardner offers one in every of her all-time greatest performances within the function. She packs extra uncooked magnetism in a single stroll than most individuals have of their whole our bodies; can anybody blame Lancaster for falling to her toes?
6 Kathie Moffat – ‘Out of the Past’ (1947)
Robert Mitchum, Jane Greer, and Kirk Douglas star in Jacques Tourneur‘s 1947 noir Out of the Past. The movie follows a PI who escapes to a rural city however cannot outrun his previous. Greer performs top-of-the-line femme fatales to ever femme fatale, the duplicitous Kathie Moffat.
Kathie is a murderous, mendacity, and conniving lady who’s all the time one step forward of everybody. Greer checks each field within the femme fatale kind after which some, creating some of the crafty characters in noir historical past. Kathie does not win – this was a traditional noir within the Nineteen Forties, in any case – however she nearly will get away with it and stays unrepentant. Now, that is a femme who lives as much as the fatale.
5 Emily Nelson – ‘A Simple Favor’ (2018)
Blake Lively arguably offers the perfect efficiency of her profession in Paul Feig‘s scrumptious black comedy thriller A Simple Favor. Anna Kendrick stars as Stephanie, an over-achieving stay-at-home mom who turns into shut mates with the elegant however mysterious Emily, performed by Lively. When Emily disappears, Stephanie begins to dig into her previous, realizing her buddy wasn’t who she pretended to be.
Wicked and hilarious, A Simple Favor is among the many greatest comedic thrillers of the twenty first century. Lively shines because the twisted and manipulative Emily, an unforgettable femme fatale with an equally iconic style sense. Hiding a hard-hearted persona beneath her seemingly flawless facade, Emily is a murderous and harmful lady who will go to any size to guard her secrets and techniques.
4 Jane Palmer – ‘Too Late for Tears’ (1949)
Too Late for Tears stars Lizabeth Scott as one in every of cinema’s final femme fatales, the (nearly) infallible Jane Palmer. The plot issues a ruthless and scheming lady who stumbles upon a suitcase stuffed with stolen cash. Driven by greed, she holds on to the suitcase and goes to excessive lengths to guard her new wealth.
Unique among the many parade of noirs from the 40s, Too Late for Tears places the femme fatale entrance and middle because the protagonist. Jane is an interesting character: resourceful and intelligent; there is no boundary she will not cross to safe her future. Too Late for Tears is not afraid to let Jane be as vicious as mandatory, creating top-of-the-line femme fatales in a decade stuffed with them.
3 Catherine Tramell – ‘Basic Instinct’ (1992)
Film noir developed into the so-called neo-noir revival of post-70s cinema. The late 80s and 90s supplied a few of the greatest examples of neo-noir, with Paul Verhoeven‘s 1992 erotic thriller Basic Instinct performing as top-of-the-line and most widely-known examples. The movie is a defining a part of neo-noir, primarily due to Sharon Stone‘s star-making efficiency as femme fatale Catherine Tramell.
Tramell is a best-selling and enigmatic author suspected of murdering her rockstar boyfriend. Stone is magnetic within the movie, taking “fatale” to the subsequent degree. A serial killer with a knack for toying together with her male targets, Tramell is a personality who takes parts from noir’s traditional femme fatale and mixes them with the psychopathic killers of the 80s and 90s, creating a very devious and terrifying creature.
2 Phyllis Dietrichson – ‘Double Indemnity’ (1944)
Arguably cinema’s most well-known and recognizable femme fatale, Barbara Stanwyck’s Phyllis Dietrichson can also be one of many medium’s most celebrated villains. A provocative, formidable, chilly housewife plotting in opposition to her unsuspecting husband, Phyllis embodies what mainstream audiences suppose the femme fatale is.
Stanwyck’s deliciously layered efficiency goes a great distance in creating Phyllis’ legend. The actor oozes confidence and attract, simply manipulating Fred MacMurray‘s simpleton Walter Neff into committing the homicide for her. Double Indemnity may be the noir by excellence, and Phyllis the final word femme fatale, a lady whose intelligence is barely outmatched by her deviousness.
1 Amy Dunne – ‘Gone Girl’ (2014)
Is Gone Girl a noir? Not fairly. It’s a psychological thriller with noir undertones. However, Amy Dunne, beautifully performed by Rosamund Pike, is an unforgettable femme fatale. Cunning, ruthless, and near-psychopathic, Amy is likely one of the smartest villains in film historical past.
Amy has no drawback killing anybody if it serves her function. She is a Machiavellian schemer who views all the pieces pragmatically; Amy does not kill out of spite, lust, or hatred however quite as a way to get what she needs. She inflicts psychological torture on her targets, manipulating them to do what she needs. Amy is an interesting character and one in every of cinema’s deadliest and handiest femme fatales.