Description

Book Synopsis

Our of print for years and newly retitled and expanded, this deluxe new edition of Gifford''s celebrated handbook unlocks the secrets of noir movies and their relevance today

For a tour of noir cinema, No Daylight in this Face is the perfect companion, and Barry Gifford is an ideal guide. His choice selection of films exposes the menacing, moody, and oftentimes violent underbelly of this dark movie genre that occupies a favorite niche in American popular culture.
Some are classics, some are little known and seldom seen, but all, once viewed, are deeply remembered by aficionados of 
noir. Gifford''s roll call of unforgettables includes these, and more: The Asphalt JungleBody and SoulBody HeatCharley VarrickChinatownThe Devil Thumbs a RideD.O.A.Double IndemnityHigh SierraKey LargoKiss of DeathMean StreetsMildred PierceMr. MajestykOut of the PastThe Strange Love of Martha IversStrangers on a TrainWhite Heat, along with several noir classics from Europe―RepulsionThe Hidden RoomShoot the Piano PlayerThe 400 BlowsOdd Man Out.
Gifford identifies the directors and names the many 
noir stars, the greats and not-so-greats who were cast in the indelible roles of hoods, B-girls, psychopaths, grifters, gumshoes, waifs, tarts, femme fatales, mobsters, molls, and ex-cons.
In an introduction, novelists Edward Gorman and Dow Mossman collaboratively applaud Gifford''s selections and his insights: “The movies discussed here range from the lowest of the B''s to the biggest of the A''s, and this book is going to make you want to run out and locate every one of them (and good luck to you; finding 
The Devil Thumbs a Ride could take you a lifetime). Through Barry Gifford''s eyes, we begin to see their similarities and their value. What Andrew Sarris did for the mainstream film in The American Cinema, Barry does here for the crime film.”
With a connoisseur''s insight and an offbeat sensitivity perfectly tailored to his subjects, Gifford''s brief essays cover a hundred of the 
noir buff''s favorites. His highly polished impressions take the reader through five decades of noir to find both the heart and the art of the plotline.

No Daylight in That Face

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    £17.99

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    RRP £19.99 – you save £2.00 (10%)

    Order before 4pm today for delivery by Wed 10 Jun 2026.

    A Hardback by Barry Gifford

    4 in stock


      View other formats and editions of No Daylight in That Face by Barry Gifford

      Publisher: Rare Bird Books
      Publication Date: 1/20/2025
      ISBN13: 9781644284605, 978-1644284605
      ISBN10: 164428460X

      Description

      Book Synopsis

      Our of print for years and newly retitled and expanded, this deluxe new edition of Gifford''s celebrated handbook unlocks the secrets of noir movies and their relevance today

      For a tour of noir cinema, No Daylight in this Face is the perfect companion, and Barry Gifford is an ideal guide. His choice selection of films exposes the menacing, moody, and oftentimes violent underbelly of this dark movie genre that occupies a favorite niche in American popular culture.
      Some are classics, some are little known and seldom seen, but all, once viewed, are deeply remembered by aficionados of 
      noir. Gifford''s roll call of unforgettables includes these, and more: The Asphalt JungleBody and SoulBody HeatCharley VarrickChinatownThe Devil Thumbs a RideD.O.A.Double IndemnityHigh SierraKey LargoKiss of DeathMean StreetsMildred PierceMr. MajestykOut of the PastThe Strange Love of Martha IversStrangers on a TrainWhite Heat, along with several noir classics from Europe―RepulsionThe Hidden RoomShoot the Piano PlayerThe 400 BlowsOdd Man Out.
      Gifford identifies the directors and names the many 
      noir stars, the greats and not-so-greats who were cast in the indelible roles of hoods, B-girls, psychopaths, grifters, gumshoes, waifs, tarts, femme fatales, mobsters, molls, and ex-cons.
      In an introduction, novelists Edward Gorman and Dow Mossman collaboratively applaud Gifford''s selections and his insights: “The movies discussed here range from the lowest of the B''s to the biggest of the A''s, and this book is going to make you want to run out and locate every one of them (and good luck to you; finding 
      The Devil Thumbs a Ride could take you a lifetime). Through Barry Gifford''s eyes, we begin to see their similarities and their value. What Andrew Sarris did for the mainstream film in The American Cinema, Barry does here for the crime film.”
      With a connoisseur''s insight and an offbeat sensitivity perfectly tailored to his subjects, Gifford''s brief essays cover a hundred of the 
      noir buff''s favorites. His highly polished impressions take the reader through five decades of noir to find both the heart and the art of the plotline.

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