ABSTRACT
Throughout this book I’ve listed the screenwriters of each film. Screenwriting
is an art in and of itself, even when the script is an adaptation. While the
majority of noir movies had plots and characters taken directly from their
source book or story, the screenwriters had to create screen dialog. As noted
earlier, Raymond Chandler was proven right when he argued with Billy
Wilder that the dialog in a novel doesn’t work for a screenplay. It’s meant to
be read rather than spoken. So besides condensing the mystery story down
from around 200 pages to under 90 for a screenplay, the Hollywood staff
writers had to also create dynamic dialog that furthered the plot, revealed
character and added to the pace and rhythm of each scene. Like everyone
else, most writers were under contract at a studio. They reported to work
every day, went into their office and worked on a screenplay either alone or
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very often with another studio writer off whom they could bounce ideas
and dialog.
