Film noir: a style or genre of cinematographic film marked by a mood of pessimism, fatalism, and menace. The term was originally applied (by a group of French critics) to American thriller or detective films made in the period 1944–54 and to the work of directors such as Orson Welles, Fritz Lang, and Billy Wilder.

I love film noir. Maltese Falcon and Double Indemnity are my favorites. Though I do not like the modern "neo-noir" films.