Ep 14: Censorship, Noir, and Rock & Roll, with Steve Kronenberg NOIR TALK

The co-managing editor of the FNF's NOIR CITY e-magazine joins us to discuss some of his wide-ranging articles from the past few years. We start with how Steve started writing for the FNF alongside his brother Michael after many years of working together on the classic horror magazine Monsters From The Vault (1:30), and we take a look at noir-themed lyrics in songs from the 1950s-70s era of classic rock (8:20).

We discuss the career of one of noir's most accomplished cinematographers, Nicholas Musuraca, best known for Out Of The Past. We start with his early years as one of the founding craftsmen of RKO, groundbreaking expressionism in Stranger On The Third Floor, darkness and light in Val Lewton-produced classics including Cat People and The Seventh Victim, voyeurism in The Spiral Staircase, and panic and dread in The Hitchhiker (21:50).

Then we delve into the wild history of EC Comics, whose horror-themed titles such as Tales From The Crypt led to industry-wide censorship under pressure from Congress in the mid-1950s. EC migrated their grisly tales into "adult-themed" magazines that paralleled 1950s noirs such as While The City Sleeps and Kiss Me Deadly, before ultimately shifting their focus to producing one of the most successful humor magazines of all time! (41:25)

“Dancing in the Dark: Rock, Roll, and Noir” from NOIR CITY #15: http://www.noircitymag.com/noir_city_15.html

"Shoot Out The Lights: Nicholas Musuraca" from NOIR CITY #19: http://www.noircitymag.com/noir_city_19.html

“Two-Bit Crimes: How Comics Became ‘Adult Entertainment’” from NOIR CITY #8: http://www.noircitymag.com/noir_city_8.html

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Music: Theme from Wicked As They Come (by Malcolm Arnold). "Who Do You Love" (Bo Diddley), "Long Cool Woman In A Black Dress" (The Hollies), "We Gotta Get Out Of This Place" (The Animals), "Moonlight Drive" (The Doors).