Woman in Distress vs. Femme Fatale

Introduction

The table below is based on the filmographies in the following three books. This means that the films that are cited are crime noirs; spy noirs aren’t represented. The number of film noirs in each of these three books is enormous, although their respective filmographies are not at all uniform.

Michael F. Keaney, Film Noir Guide: 745 Films of the Classic Era, 1940-1959 (McFarland & Company, Inc., 2003)

Spencer Selby, The Worldwide Film Noir Tradition (Sink Press, 2013); 796 films

Andrew Spicer, Historical Dictionary of Film Noir (The Scarecrow Press, 2010). In his filmography, there are eight films for which he gives two titles, such as “Gangs Inc. (aka Paper Bullets).” By counting those films only once, his total is also 796.

The table demonstrates that the outstanding refutation of the legitimacy of the hardboiled paradigm rests on the equal if not greater presence of the woman in distress compared with the femme fatale in American film noir.

On the other hand, the success of the hardboiled paradigm in dominating the literature, to say nothing of public consciousness, about film noir is shown by the absence in the published literature of any studies of the woman in distress in film noir. This is shameful. For my presentation on this topic, see the page Significance of The Woman in Distress.

The following 27 film noirs feature both a femme fatale and a woman in distress:

The Accused; Alias Nick Beal; The Blonde Bandit; Cop Hater; The Dark Mirror; The Glass Alibi; Hit and Run; Jealousy; Johnny Angel; The Last Crooked Mile; Lightning Strikes Twice; The Madonna’s Secret; Mildred Pierce; The Mysterious Mr. Valentine; Niagara; No Man’s Woman; Quiet Please, Murder; Railroaded!; Roadblock; Shadow on the Wall; Shock; Sleep, My Love; So Evil My Love; Strange Impersonation; The Last Crooked Mile; The Velvet Touch; Vertigo.

In Roadblock and Vertigo, the film begins with a woman who is a femme fatale and ends with her being a woman in distress. The opposite occurs in The Last Crooked Mile.

Presentation

Women in Distress	Date	Femme Fatales	Date
Abandoned	1949	Accomplice	1946
The Accused	1949	Affair in Havana	1957
Accused of Murder	1956	Alias Nick Beal	1949
An Act of Murder	1948	Alimony	1949
Act of Violence	1949	Angel Face	1953
Address Unknown	1944	Angela	1955
Affair in Trinidad	1952	Another Man’s Poison	1952
Alias Nick Beal	1949	Apology for Murder	1945
Allotment Wives	1945	The Bad Seed	1956
The Amazing Mr. X	1948	Bait	1954
Arch of Triumph	1948	Bewitched	1945
The Arnelo Affair	1947	Black Widow	1954
Arson for Hire	1959	Blackmail	1947
Assigned to Danger	1948	The Blonde Bandit	1950
Autumn Leaves	1956	Blonde Ice	1948
Baby Face Nelson	1957	A Blueprint for Murder	1953
Backlash	1947	Blues in the Night	1941
The Beast with Five Fingers	1946	Blowing Wild	1953
The Beat Generation	1959	The Bonnie Parker Story	1958
Bedlam	1946	Born to Be Bad	1950
Behind Green Lights	1946	Brute Force	1947
Betrayed	1954	The Burglar	1957
Betrayed Women	1955	Calcutta	1947
Between Midnight and Dawn	1950	Calling Dr. Death	1943
Beware, My Lovely	1952	Chain of Evidence	1957
Beyond a Reasonable Doubt	1956	City of Shadows	1955
Beyond the Forest	1949	City that Never Sleeps	1953
The Big Bluff	1955	C-Man	1949
The Big Combo	1955	The Come On	1956
The Big Heat	1953	Cop Hater	1958
The Bigamist	1953	The Counterfeiters	1948
Black Angel	1946	Crack-up	1946
Black Magic	1949	Crime of Passion	1957
Black Tuesday	1955	Criss Cross	1949
The Blonde Bandit	1950	The Crooked Web	1955
The Blue Gardenia	1953	Cry Danger	1951
Bluebeard	1944	Cry of the City	1948
Bodyguard	1948	Danger Zone	1951
The Boss	1956	The Damned Don’t Cry	1950
Breakdown	1952	A Dangerous Profession	1949
The Brighton Strangler	1945	The Dark Mirror	1946
A Bullet for Joey	1955	Dark Passage	1947
Bullet Scars	1942	Dead Reckoning	1947
Bunco Squad	1950	Death in Small Doses	1957
Bury Me Dead	1947	Decoy	1946
Caged	1950	Detour	1945
Canon City	1948	Dillinger	1945
The Capture	1950	Double Indemnity	1944
Casablanca	1942	Drive a Crooked Road	1954
Cat People	1942	The Falcon in San Francisco	1945
Caught	1949	Fallen Angel	1946
Cause for Alarm!	1951	The Fallen Sparrow	1943
The Chase	1946	The File on Thelma Jordan	1950
The Checkered Coat	1948	Flaxy Martin	1949
Chicago Confidential	1957	Framed	1947
Chicago Syndicate	1955	The Glass Alibi	1946
Christmas Holiday	1944	The Glass Web	1953
Citizen Kane	1941	The Great Flamarian	1945
City for Conquest	1940	Guest in the House	1944
Clash by Night	1952	Guilty Bystander	1950
The Company She Keeps	1951	Gun Crazy	1950
Cop Hater	1958	Hangover Square	1945
Count the Hours	1953	Hell’s Island	1955
Crack-up	1946	Hideout	1949
Crime Against Joe	1956	Highway Dragnet	1954
Crime Wave	1954	Highway 13	1948
Criminal Court	1946	Hit and Run	1957
Crisis	1950	House on 92nd. Street	1945
The Crooked Way	1949	The Houston Story	1956
Cry Baby Killer	1958	Hunt the Man Down	1950
A Cry in the Night	1956	I, the Jury	1953
Cry Terror!	1958	Impact	1949
Cry Tough	1959	Inferno	1953
Cry Wolf	1947	Ivy	1947
The Curse of the Cat People	1944	Jealousy	1945
Daisy Kenyon	1947	Jigsaw	1949
Danger Signal	1945	Johnny Angel	1945
Dangerous Crossing	1953	The Killers	1946
Dangerous Intruder	1945	The Killing	1956
Dangerous Mission	1954	Kiss Me Deadly	1955
The Dark Mirror	1945	The Lady from Shanghai	1948
Dark Waters	1946	Lady in the Lake	1947
Date with Death	1959	The Last Crooked Mile	1946
Death of a Salesman	1951	Leave Her to Heaven	1945
Deception	1946	The Letter	1940
Deep Valley	1947	A Life at Stake	1954
Desert Fury	1947	Lightning Strikes Twice	1951
Desire Me	1947	Lonely Heart Bandits	1950
Destination Murder	1950	Loophole	1954
Detective Story	1951	The Louisiana Hussy	1959
The Devil’s Sleep	1949	Lust for Gold	1949
Dial M for Murder	1954	The Macomber Affair	1947
Dishonored Lady	1947	The Madonna’s Secret	1946
Doorway to Suspicion	1950	The Maltese Falcon	1941
Double Deal	1950	The Man Who Cheated Himself	1951
Double Jeopardy	1955	The Man with My Face	1951
A Double Life	1947	Mildred Pierce	1945
Down Three Dark Streets	1954	Mr. District Attorney	1947
Dragonwyck	1946	Murder, My Sweet	1944
East Side, West Side	1950	My Cousin Rachel	1952
Edge of Fury	1958	My Gun Is Quick	1957
The Enforcer	1951	The Mysterious Mr. Valentine	1946
Escape in the Fog	1945	Niagara	1953
Experiment Perilous	1944	Night and the City	1950
F.B.I. Girl	1951	Night Editor	1946
A Face in the Crowd	1957	Nightmare Alley	1947
The Fast and the Furious	1955	No Man’s Woman	1955
Female Jungle	1956	No Questions Asked	1951
Female on the Beach	1955	The Other Woman	1954
Fingers at the Window	1942	Out of the Past	1947
Five Steps to Danger	1957	The Paradine Case	1947
Flamingo Road	1949	Philo Vance’s Gamble	1947
Flight from Destiny	1941	Pickup	1951
Forbidden	1953	Pier 23	1951
Gambling House	1950	Please Murder Me	1956
The Gangster	1947	Port of 40 Thieves	1944
The Garment Jungle	1957	The Postman Always Rings Twice	1946
Gaslight	1944	The Price of Fear	1956
Gilda	1946	Pushover	1954
Girl in the Red Velvet Swing	1955	Queen Bee	1955
Girl on the Run	1953	Quiet Please, Murder	1942
The Glass Alibi	1946	Race Street	1948
Half Past Midnight	1948	Railroaded!	1947
Hangmen Also Die!	1943	Ramrod	1947
A Hatful of Rain	1957	Ride the Pink Horse	1947
He Ran All the Way	1951	Roadblock	1951
Hell Bound	1957	Roaring City	1951
Hell’s Five Hours	1958	Ruby Gentry	1953
Hell’s Half Acre	1954	The Scarlet Hour	1956
Hidden Fear	1957	Scarlet Street	1945
Highway 301	1950	Scene of the Crime	1949
Highway West	1941	Secret Enemies	1942
Hit and Run	1957	Secret of the Whistler	1946
Hitler’s Children	1942	Serenade	1956
Hold Back Tomorrow	1955	Shadow on the Wall	1950
Hollow Triumph	1948	Shadow of Fear	1955
Hong Kong Confidential	1959	Shed No Tears	1948
Hot Cargo	1946	Shock	1946
House Across the Bay	1940	Shockproof	1949
House by the River	1950	The Sign of the Ram	1948
House of Bamboo	1955	Sleep, My Love	1948
House of Horrors	1946	The Sleeping City	1950
House of Numbers	1957	So Evil My Love	1948
House on Telegraph Hill	1951	Southside 1-1000	1950
Human Desire	1954	Split Second	1953
The Human Jungle	1954	Station West	1948
Humoresque	1946	The Story of Molly X	1949
The Hunted	1948	Strange Bargain	1949
I Confess	1953	Strange Impersonation	1946
I, Jane Doe	1948	The Strange Love of Martha Ivers	1946
I Walked with a Zombie	1943	The Strange Mrs. Crane	1948
I Want to Live!	1958	Strange Triangle	1946
I Was a Shoplifter	1950	The Strange Woman	1946
I’ll Cry Tomorrow	1955	Strangers in the Night	1944
Illegal	1955	Street of Chance	1942
In a Lonely Place	1950	Swamp Fire	1946
Incident	1949	Temptation	1946
Inner Sanctum	1948	Tension	1949
Inside Detroit	1956	They Drive by Night	1940
Inside Straight	1951	They Made Me a Killer	1946
Invasion of the Body Snatchers	1956	Three Bad Sisters	1956
The Invisible Wall	1947	The Tiger Woman	1945
Isle of the Dead	1945	To the Ends of the Earth	1948
Jealousy	1945	Tokyo File 212	1951
Jennifer	1953	Tomorrow Is Another Day	1951
Jeopardy	1953	Too Late for Tears	1949
Johnny Angel	1945	Two Dollar Bettor	1951
Johnny Eager	1942	Two O’Clock Courage	1945
Johnny Guitar	1954	Two of a Kind	1951
Johnny Stool Pigeon	1949	Undertow	1949
Julie	1956	The Unholy Wife	1957
Keeper of the Flame	1942	The Velvet Touch	1948
The Killer Is Loose	1956	Vertigo	1958
The Killer that Stalked New York	1950	Where Danger Lives	1950
Killer’s Kiss	1955	White Heat	1949
A Kiss Before Dying	1956	Wicked Woman	1954
Kiss the Blood Off My Hands	1948	Woman in the Window	1945
Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye	1950	A Woman’s Vengeance	1948
Ladies in Retirement	1941	World for Ransom	1954
Lady at Midnight	1948
The Lady Confesses	1945
The Lady Gambles	1949
Lady in the Death House	1944
Lady on a Train	1945
A Lady Without Passport	1950
Larceny	1948
The Las Vegas Story	1952
The Last Crooked Mile	1946
Laura	1944
A Life of Her Own	1950
Lighthouse	1947
Lightning Strikes Twice	1951
The Lineup	1958
The Locket	1946
The Lodger	1944
Lonelyhearts	1958
The Long Night	1947
The Lost Moment	1947
Love from a Stranger	1947
Love Letters	1945
Lured	1947
The Madonna’s Secret	1946
Make Haste to Live	1954
Man Bait	1952
The Man I Love	1947
Man in the Attic	1953
Man in the Vault	1956
The Man Is Armed	1956
Man of the West	1958
Man on the Prowl	1957
The Man Who Died Twice	1958
The Man with the Golden Arm	1955
Manhandled	1953
The Mask of Diijon	1946
Miami Exposé	1956
The Miami Story	1951
Midnight Manhunt	1945
Mildred Pierce	1945
Million Dollar Pursuit	1951
Ministry of Fear	1944
Missing Women	1951
The Mob	1951
Money Madness	1948
Monkey on My Back	1957
Monsieur Verdoux	1947
Moontide	1942
Moss Rose	1947
Murder by Contract	1958
Murder Is My Beat	1955
Murder Without Tears	1953
My Favorite Brunette	1947
My Forbidden Past	1951
My Name Is Julia Ross	1945
My Son John	1952
The Mysterious Mr. Valentine	1946
Mystery in Mexico	1950
Naked Alibi	1954
The Naked Street	1955
The Narrow Margin	1952
Never Trust a Gambler	1951
Niagara	1953
Night Has a Thousand Eyes	1948
The Night Holds Terror	1955
The Night Runner	1957
Night Unto Night	1949
Night Without Sleep	1952
No Escape	1953
No Man of Her Own	1950
No Man’s Woman	1955
No Down Payment	1957
No Way Out	1950
Nobody Lives Forever	1946
Nocturne	1946
Nora Prentiss	1947
Not Wanted	1949
Notorious	1946
On Dangerous Ground	1952
Once a Thief	1950
Open Secret	1948
The Outcasts of Poker Flat	1952
Outrage	1950
Outside the Law	1956
Outside the Wall	1950
Over-Exposed	1956
Paid in Full	1950
Paper Bullets	1941
Parole, Inc.	1949
Party Girl	1958
Payment on Demand	1951
Pete Kelly’s Blues	1955
The Phenix City Story	1955
Phantom Lady	1944
Pickup on South Street	1953
The Picture of Dorian Gray	1945
Pitfall	1948
A Place in the Sun	1951
Playgirl	1954
Portland Exposé	1957
Portrait of Jennie	1948
Possessed	1947
Post Office Investigator	1949
Power of the Whistler	1945
The Prowler	1951
Pursued	1947
Quiet Please, Murder	1942
Rage in Heaven	1941
The Raging Tide	1951
Railroaded!	1947
Ransom!	1956
Raw Deal	1948
Rawhide	1951
Rear Window	1954
Rebecca	1940
The Reckless Moment	1949
The Red House	1947
The Red Menace	1949
Reign of Terror	1949
Repeat Performance	1947
The Return of the Whistler	1948
Ride Lonesome	1959
Ride the Pink Horse	1947
Road House	1948
Roadblock	1951
Rogue Cop	1954
Rope of Sand	1949
Ruby Gentry	1952
Ruthless	1948
Saboteur	1942
Saigon	1948
The Scarf	1951
The Scavengers	1959
Screaming Mimi	1958
Sealed Lips	1942
Second Chance	1953
The Second Face	1950
The Second Woman	1950
Secret Beyond the Door	1948
The Secret of Convict Lake	1951
The Secret Fury	1950
The Sellout	1951
Serenade	1956
711 Ocean Drive	1950
The Seventh Victim	1943
Shack Out on 101	1955
Shadow of a Doubt	1943
Shadow of a Woman	1946
Shadow of Fear	1956
Shadow on the Wall	1950
Shadow on the Window	1957
Shadowed	1946
The Shanghai Gesture	1941
Shock	1946
Shoot to Kill	1947
Short Cut to Hell	1957
Singapore	1947
Slander	1956
Slattery’s Hurricane	1949
Sleep, My Love	1948
Slightly Scarlet	1956
Smart Girls Don’t Talk	1948
Smash-Up, The Story of a Woman	1947
The Snake Pit	1948
The Sniper	1952
So Evil My Love	1948
Sorry, Wrong Number	1948
Specter of the Rose	1946
Spellbound	1945
The Spiral Staircase	1946
The Steel Jungle	1956
The Steel Trap	1952
Step by Step	1946
Step Down to Terror	1958
Stolen Identity	1953
A Stolen Life	1946
Storm Fear	1956
Storm Warning	1950
The Strange Affair of Uncle Harry	1945
Strange Fascination	1952
Strange Illusion	1945
Strange Impersonation	1946
Strange Intruder	1956
The Strange Mr. Gregory	1945
The Stranger	1946
Stranger on the Third Floor	1940
Street of Sinners	1957
Sudden Danger	1955
Sudden Fear	1952
The Sun Sets at Dawn	1950
Sunset Blvd.	1950
Suspense	1946
Suspicion	1941
Swamp Fire	1946
Sweet Smell of Success	1957
Take One False Step	1949
The Tattered Dress	1957
Teenage Doll	1957
Terror at Midnight	1956
They Live by Night	1948
They Won’t Believe Me	1947
The 13th. Letter	1951
This Gun for Hire	1942
This Side of the Law	1950
This Woman Is Dangerous	1952
The Threat	1949
Three Steps North	1951
Three Strangers	1946
Thy Neighbor’s Wife	1953
Tight Spot	1955
Timetable	1956
Tomorrow Is Forever	1946
Tomorrow We Live	1942
Touch of Evil	1958
Toughest Man Alive	1955
Track of the Cat	1954
The Trap	1959
Trapped	1949
Treasure of Monte Cristo	1949
The Two Mrs. Carrolls	1947
Under Capricorn	1949
Under the Gun	1951
Undercover Girl	1950
Undercurrent	1946
The Underworld Story	1950
The Unfaithful	1947
Unfaithfully Yours	1948
The Unguarded Moment	1956
Union Station	1950
Unmasked	1950
The Unseen	1945
The Unsuspected	1947
Valerie	1957
The Velvet Touch	1948
Vendetta	1950
Vertigo	1958
Vice Squad	1953
Violated	1953
Violence	1947
Violent Saturday	1955
Voice in the Wind	1944
Voice of the Whistler	1945
Walk Softly, Stranger	1950
Wetbacks	1956
When Gangland Strikes	1956
When Strangers Marry	1944
While the City Sleeps	1956
The Whip Hand	1951
Whiplash	1948
Whirlpool	1949
Whispering Smith	1948
Whistle Stop	1946
Wife Wanted	1946
Without Honor	1949
Without Warning!	1952
Witness to Murder	1954
The Woman from Tangier	1948
Woman in Hiding	1950
The Woman in White	1948
The Woman on Pier 13	1949
Woman on the Run	1950
A Woman’s Face	1941
A Woman’s Secret	1949
Women in the Night	1948
Women’s Prison	1955
The Wrong Man	1956