ABSTRACT
Urban and domestic spaces are at the core of the American film noir developed in the 1940s and 1950s. The connection between such spaces and noir cannot simply be considered as motivational – an association between city and crime – or protective – a separation between home and violence – but as part of American spatial culture of the time, as well as an imagination of it. This chapter discusses the urban and domestic dimensions in several classical noirs by addressing four major interconnected topics or scales: territory, city, surroundings and homes. Touch of Evil, a late noir that reflects upon the genre in a postmodern fashion, demonstrates the conscience of the border and its relation to1950s' criminality. There are several surroundings within which the characters of these films circulate, live and die. As exemplified by The Asphalt Jungle, they are often what Emanuel Levy calls "typical settings", "shabby offices of private eyes, sleazy salons, sinister cocktail lounges, third-rate hotels".
