Working-class Paris and Post-War Noir: Les Portes de la nuit

International audienceLes Portes de la nuit/Gates of the Night represents something of a paradox in the history of Paris on film: limited research exists on this famous work, which remains little known as a result. Produced in 1946, the film ushered in ‘dark realism’, a style that was permeated with a sense of gloom and continued the pre-World War Two tradition of French film noir, in which Marcel Carné had been the central figure during the late 1930s. While this dark tale oscillates between tragic populism and socio-political commentary, its interest also lies in its mix of ‘very French’ images and a number of American traces. This chapter will examine these juxtapositions between past and present, France and the USA, bringing together film analysis and historical perspective to shed light on them