Marriage occupies an uneasy place in film noir. What appears to be a stable partnership often conceals resentment, financial dependence, deception, or unspoken desire. Husbands and wives become accomplices, adversaries, or strangers whose shared lives unravel under the pressure of temptation and mistrust. Rather than celebrating domestic security, noir frequently portrays marriage as another arena in which power is negotiated and loyalty tested. The essays gathered here explore films in which the institution of marriage becomes inseparable from crime, compromise, and tragedy.

Niagara (1953)

Pitfall (1948)

Tension (1949)

The Lady from Shanghai (1947)

Gun Crazy (1950)

Ivy (1947)

Scarlet Street (1945)

Sorry, Wrong Number (1948)

The Killing (1956)

The Long Good Friday (1980)

The Man Who Wasn’t There (2001)