Film Noirs

I have been watching a lot of Film Noirs from the 40's. I started noticing the difference between the more expensive films ($14.99 each) and the cheaper films (18 for $20). The big budget Hollywood Noirs that have the big name actors are not as good as the low budget B Noirs. In the big budget films there is a lot of attention given to setting up the characters and the situation. They begin making sure that the stars are introduced and shot in a flattering manner. This is not necessary for the genre. The scripts are also more convoluted and the pacing is generally not as tight although the endings tend to be good. The low budget B noirs on the other hand are great, with the exception of some bad third-act twists. They are able to get right to the conflict and usually the main character is put in a predicament. Due to lower budgets, the film is reduced down to less characters, and more scenes cut together to tell the story rather than dialogue and expensive shots. The audience is engaged by putting the pictures together and extracting the story themselves.