Film Noir Production

4The Femmes of Noir

They Aren’t Always Fatale

“She looked like a very special kind of dynamite, neatly wrapped in nylon and silk. Only I wasn’t having any. I’d been too close to an explosion already. I was powder-shy.”

(They Won’t Believe Me)

During the Second World War, women took over the jobs of men. They worked in the factories, drove cabs and even had a baseball league. They were left to make it on their own, becoming more confident, resourceful and self-reliant. For the men at home, this was a very different society, dominated by strong women who were out of the kitchen and fending for themselves. When the GIs returned, nothing was the same. While many women retreated from the workforce to the family home, others pursued careers. At the ...