Noirvember: Columbia Noir

In the aftermath of the Second World War, when returning GIs found a changing America and the national psyche began to show the pressure cracks, a new style of filmmaking was born. “Film noir” was the term which came to encompass the crime thrillers of the 1940s and 50s, with a unified aesthetic of cockeyed shadows and heavy contrast, nocturnal streets and urban alienation, hardboiled voiceover and tough poeticism. Such is their never-ending appeal to contemporary audiences that an entire month of film noir-themed viewing, known as Noirvember, has grown in popularity at repertory cinemas today. So in time for this annual celebration of the femme fatale and the Dutch tilt, Park Circus presents UNDER THE MINK: FILM NOIR AT COLUMBIA PICTURES, a selection of film noirs from the heyday of the studio, with the theme of doomed romance at their centre. Featuring a rich shared palette of stars, from Humphrey Bogart to Rita Hayworth, the noirs made by Columbia Pictures in this postwar period were low on budget but had heaps of style.

With their slinky femme fatales and dimestore pulp source material, Columbia noir has proven endlessly popular over the decades, perhaps because their existential despair and geometric visual style never feel antiquated. But even beyond their shadowy aesthetics, UNDER THE MINK: FILM NOIR at COLUMBIA PICTURES is chock- full of curdled optimism and exquisite fatalism; men and women regard each other with suspicion. That fact of life - as of cinema - may never go out of style.

One winner will be chosen at random. You must live in the UK, be over 15 and have an email address attached to your GFT account in order to be eligible for this competition. Prize winners will be contacted by email and the prize will be available for collection from the GFT Box Office.