In the aftermath of the Second World War, when returning GIs found a changing America and the national psyche began to show pressure cracks, a new style of filmmaking was born. “Film noir” was the term which came to encompass the crime thrillers of the 1940s and 50s, with a unified aesthetic of cockeyed shadows and heavy contrast, nocturnal streets and urban alienation, hardboiled voiceover and tough poeticism.
Following the re-release of Gilda in November 2024, Under the Mink showcases four more film noirs from the heydey of Columbia Pictures – each with the theme of doomed romance at their centre.
Featuring a rich shared palette of stars - from Humphrey Bogart to Gloria Grahame - the noirs made by Columbia Pictures in this postwar period were low on budget but had heaps of style.
Under the Mink is a series of films curated by Christina Newland – lead film critic at the i paper.