Didn’t the term Film Noir come about when American crime/detective films of the 1940s began to be shown in France after the liberation? French critics noticed that they had a dark almost pessimistic mood and they coined them Film Noirs. There is a debate which continues to this day, is Film Noir a genre or a style?
The Big Sleep directed by Howard Hawks and starring Humphrey Bogart is a great Film Noir. Humourous (dark/almost pessimistic?) and sexy with it, watch the bookstore scene.
