Question

Which of the following is an example/are examples of noir, popular both as fiction and film?

• A. The Big Sleep
• B. Murder on the Orient Express
• C. The Maltese Falcon
• D. Fargo

Hint:

Classic noir usually originates in hard-boiled crime fiction and is later adapted into films with similar themes and visual style.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is A, C

Step 1: Understanding noir as a genre.
Noir is a genre characterized by crime-driven narratives, morally ambiguous characters, cynicism, urban settings, and a dark, pessimistic tone. It became especially prominent in both fiction and cinema during the mid-twentieth century.
Step 2: Examining the options.
The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler is a classic hard-boiled detective novel featuring Philip Marlowe and is a landmark work in noir fiction, later adapted into a famous film noir.
The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett is another foundational noir text, central to both literary and cinematic noir traditions.
Step 3: Eliminating incorrect options.
Murder on the Orient Express is a detective novel by Agatha Christie but belongs to the classical whodunit tradition rather than noir.
Fargo, though influenced by noir aesthetics, is primarily a neo-noir film and does not originate as a noir fiction text.
Step 4: Conclusion.
Only The Big Sleep and The Maltese Falcon clearly qualify as noir works popular in both fiction and film.
Final Answer: (A) and (C)