stereotypes of a film noir

there are many stereotypes in a film noir, most of which i hope to include to really give the feel of then genre and that 1940's influence.

plot and settings

the plot for a film noir follows many stereotypes. the themes of the film useually revolve around a crime boss' greed or a characters jealously towards another characters standing, the characters are useually heavily flawed and not content with there lot in life. the protagonists are often double crossed or implicated in situations the villain has been involved in, there are false accusations and always a feeling of mistrust even amongst friends. amnesia is said to be the common cold of film noir as it is so heavily prevelant.
they are tales of deception played out in the seedy underworld of big cities, places assoicated with the mafia type characters, such as gambling dens, bars and city streets. they are city life dramas revolving around crime.

morality and tone

the general tone of a film noir film is downbeat and somewhat black, often pessismistic. the characters find themselves in unwanted situation which they have not caused themselves but are tasked with resolving. they face many problems throughout and often doomed to fail from the start. the outcomes of the film are useually bleak and do not have the happy ending feel. vice if often the theme of film noirs and seems to go unpunished often flaunted, they even have the protagonist have the same vices as villains, this shows a similarity between characters which blurs the line of morality and what is good and bad.  the overall tone of the film is that of hopelessness.