Cover -- Half-title -- Series-title -- Title -- Copyright -- Dedication -- Contents -- Illustrations -- Acknowledgments -- 1 The Problem of the Crime Film -- 2 Historical and Cultural Overview -- The Romance of the Silent Criminal -- Tough Guys -- The Crisis in Hollywood Crime -- Criminal Culture and Mass Culture -- The Establishment on Trial -- Criminal Anxieties, Criminal Jokes -- 3 Critical Overview -- Theories of Crime Fiction -- Hollywood Mythmaking -- Genre versus Auteur -- Thematic and Iconographic Analysis -- Structuralism and Beyond -- Feminist Critique -- Demystifications -- Personal Books and Reference Books -- 4 Fury and the Victim Film -- 5 The Godfather and the Gangster Film -- 6 Double Indemnity and the Film Noir -- 7 Basic Instinct and the Erotic Thriller -- 8 Murder on the Orient Express, Blue Velvet, and the Unofficial-Detective Film -- 9 Chinatown and the Private-Eye Film -- 10 Bullitt and the Police Film -- 11 Reversal of Fortune and the Lawyer Film -- 12 Fargo and the Crime Comedy -- 13 Conclusion: What Good Are Crime Films? -- Notes -- 1. The Problem of the Crime Film -- 2. Historical and Cultural Overview -- 3. Critical Overview -- 4. Fury and the Victim Film -- 5. The Godfather and the Gangster Film -- 6. Double Indemnity and the Film Noir -- 7. Basic Instinct and the Erotic Thriller -- 8. Murder on the Orient Express, Blue Velvet, and the Unofflcial-Detective Film -- 9. Chinatown and the Private-Eye Film -- 10. Bullitt and the Police Film -- 11. Reversal of Fortune and the Lawyer Film -- 12. Fargo and the Crime Comedy -- 13. Conclusion: What Good Are Crime Films? -- Selected Bibliography -- Filmography/Videography -- Producers -- Distributors -- Index.