Film Noir is a term first used by some French critics to describe a group of American films made during and after World War II. The term Film Noir means black or dark cinema. Film noir is the classic period saying to have occurred between 1941 and 1958, beginning with John Huston's The Maltese Falcon and ending with Orson Welle's Touch of Evil. Film Noir is identified by its constant opposition of light and shadow, oblique camera angles, and the ways characters are placed in unconventional or awkward positions with particular shots. (Conrad, 2006, pp1-8)