Film Noir Office

(Forgive me if I am posting this in the wrong forum. It might belong in the film or home thread.)

I am looking for image or film recommendations for classic film noir detective's office. Big Sleep immediately came to mind, but those kind of work spaces tend to look less distinct/memorable and more genericlly business.

Any feedback is much appreciated. Thanks!

Link:
Film Noir Detective Offices

1946's "The Dark Corner" almost centers around the lead's - who is a private detective - office.

Full movie via youtube:

I'm curious, Fading Fast -- are you trying to recreate a Private Eye's office?

St. Louis said:

I'm curious, Fading Fast -- are you trying to recreate a Private Eye's office?

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Hi, I think you meant to direct that question to the opening poster of this thread. That said, we are slowing working on creating a home office (I work from home) that we want to have a film noir / detective office vibe, but definitely not a recreation. We accumulate things from Ebay and in other cost-conscious ways, so it's taking time, but we're getting there. Our next really big things will be a vintage desk lamp, a period appropriate club chair and some sort of small end table.

We got a bunch of these "barrister" bookcases - Globe Wernicke - seen in many of those offices in film noir movies (these shots are from the week we moved in - hence, the disarray)


And this is the desk we got - a 1913 Wage-maker


Since our apartment building was built in 1928 and it still has the original hardwood floor, doors, moldings and hardware - the general "feel" of the room is right. Like these push-button light switches and doorknobs:



And we've been accumulating period piece like this radio, calendar and card-file box:



Vintage fan, Big Ben time clock and the radio again


Just snapped these to show you some additions - the overhead light is original to the 1920s (note the cool ceiling beams - we purposely kept the wire to the light exposed for period feel), the shades are "National Park" green roller blinds with the very film noir "dingle dangle" pull:

FF, you have so many AWESOME vintage items! I love the radio in particular!

You really, really need to reverse-paint your name on the window in black block letters with a gilt outline.

AmateisGal said:

FF, you have so many AWESOME vintage items! I love the radio in particular!

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Thank you - he is really cool. We found him almost 20 years ago in a flea market for (I think) about $20, but have easily spent four or five times that over the years getting and keeping him running. But all worth it as his sound is incredible - deep, rich and able to fill a medium-sized room (certainly better than today's TVs do). What makes him particular special is that he is an original AM / FM which is hard to find in a bakelite of that style (most hew more toward the mid-century modern aesthetic).

Almost everything in there has been slowly acquired at very reasonable prices in a similar manner, except now the "flea market" is Ebay or other on-line site. If one is willing to spend the time getting up to speed on value (that takes some work) and even more time sourcing, watching, waiting and is willing to do some repair work - then great value can be had, but it does take work and patience. Something, fortunately, both my girlfriend and I are willing to do so the burden doesn't just fall on one of us.

We have done a lot of homework on a desk lamp - now we just need to find one in our price range which will happen, tomorrow or a year from now. As you can tell, we have a real passion for this stuff and enjoy learning about the history of the pieces - so the homework isn't really work.

LizzieMaine said:

You really, really need to reverse-paint your name on the window in black block letters with a gilt outline.

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Don't think the idea hadn't been discussed, but we decided to avoid a too-stylized or museum feel. While those types of rooms look great, after a lot of thought, we opted for this room - and the apartment overall - to feel very of the period, but not be a full-on reproduction or museum perfect.

That said, we love your idea and gave it real consideration. We also thought about doing wood blinds, but Holy Cats those are expensive - so green roller blinds it is. What's funny, while that was a budget choice, we now wouldn't swap them out for wooden blinds even if we got a great price on them: the roller blinds are just perfect in look and feel. And it's probably 2 out of 3 time that roller blinds show up versus wood blinds (or shutters) in film noir movie offices.

Jake Gittes' office in "Chinatown" (admittedly neo-noir rather than classic) has a built-in bar. Granted, Jake ran a detective firm employing several detectives. For those on a more modest budget, a bottle of rye in the bottom right-hand drawer will suffice. I don't believe I've ever seen a movie detective take a bottle from any other drawer.

This!

do you have a big black safe with brass wheel and handle...

I think you also need a trash-talking bottle blonde secretary with a heart of gold.

Fading Fast,
Thanks for sharing these photos! What a beautiful place you have! What resources
are you using for inspiration--films alone or other materials?
Thanks for the inspiration!

poetman said:

Fading Fast,
Thanks for sharing these photos! What a beautiful place you have! What resources
are you using for inspiration--films alone or other materials?
Thanks for the inspiration!

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It's funny, for most of the apartment - especially the kitchen and bathroom - we had (because we've always loved this stuff) and purchased several books either from the period on architecture or decorating (the "original source" material was important for getting a lot of details right) and a few modern "retrospective" books. The books were really, really helpful, but know that there was a randomness to it. For example, we might have found a great idea for a kitchen cabinet handle from one book (and that was all the value that book provided) and, then, a detail about a floor tile pattern from another.

There was no one "this is the book" book, but "Bungalow Kitchens" by Powell, "Bungalow Bathroom" by Svendsen and "The Pantry" by Pond were very helpful as we were creating the bathroom and kitchen from scratch and really wanted them to feel vintage. Also, the architect we worked with was into vintage homes and had some great architectural books from the '20s and '30s with detailed cabinet designs, etc.

I'd really encourage you to go to second hand book stores and look in the "decorating" "architecture" "vintage homes" or in whatever section a store keeps it old design / architecture books. These "vintage" books (which are usually very inexpensive) were incredibly valuable because they weren't filtered through a modern view, but were simply books of the day, so you get the vintage details right from the period.

We did also, as you note, get a lot of ideas and sometime specific details from movies which was fun as we had been looking at these details in movies for years. Even before we began our restoration project, we'd be geeky enough to stop a movie and admire the fireplace mantel or book cases in the background. This helped in two ways, one, we kinda had ideas and a period "feel" already in our heads and we would also stumble on details by chance in movies.

We also - less so for no particular reason today - used to go on a lot of historic house tours, etc. which gave us ideas and were fun. And, finally, today, the internet is a great random source as you can just search for something - "ovens from the '20s -" and lose hours and days doing fun research that way. Hope this helps.

I can't emphasize how this was fun for us, but also a lot of work. In truth, our natural interest / general hobbyist interest in old houses and vintage things gave us decades of background to draw upon (you probably have this too), but we spent well-over a year working on the details and plans before any work was started.

Anyone else feel bold enough to still contribute?

Found some behind-the-scenes shots from the Maltese Falcon

St. Louis said:

I think you also need a trash-talking bottle blonde secretary with a heart of gold.

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Agreed

For my money, I'd take Effie played by Lee Patrick in '41 Maltese Falcon over Mary Astor's Brigid O'Shaughnessy any day / every day.

I've already mentioned the bottom right-hand drawer for your bottle. The top right-hand drawer is for your handgun. If you're a smooth, Dick Powell-type detective it should be a Colt or Smith & Wesson snub-nosed .38, in its shoulder holster with the supporting straps wrapped around it. If you're seriously hard-core Mike Hammer type, a Colt mod. 1911 .45 automatic. No need for a holster, you can just stick it in your belt as you leave the office.