ABSTRACT
This chapter outlines characteristics of the classic studio system and explains the Warner Bros studio style. It considers narrative, themes, and wider contexts relating to Casablanca, looks at film noir and representation of gender in relation to Double Indemnity, and considers melodrama and the woman’s film in relation to All That Heaven Allows. An initial starting place for the study of Casablanca is to produce a formal analysis of the way in which the film has been constructed with reference to its story and plot. Film noir can be interpreted as a distinct branch or sub-genre of the gangster and crime films of the 1930s as it differs from them in tone and characterisation. The woman’s film is a form of melodrama, which was at its peak of popularity in the 1940s with stars such as Bette Davis and Joan Crawford.
