Where did the classic film noir, hard-boiled detective scene originate?

Question

The scene is of a rumpled detective sitting in a cluttered office. He is usually drinking and/or smoking. Some kind of jazz plays in the background as he narrates the stories in 1940's slang. He usually tells how the trouble started when a "dame" or a "skirt" walked. She is usually a "looker" with "gams that won't quit" or some such thing. She usually sobs as she tells her story and then pleasds for the private eye's help. I have seen this scene in several movies, tv shows and even commercials but I can't figure out where it first appeared. Does anyone know the name of the movie, tv show or possibly even radio show where this scene originated?

Answer 1

Sounds like the Sam Spade movies to me. They're based on Dashiel Hammett's stories. "The Maltese Falcon" with Bogie is the best known of these movies.

The other character that it could be is Philip Marlow. Those are based on Raymond Chandler stories.

Hope this helps. Good luck!!

Answer 2

You will probably find the first scenes of that kind - sobbing, beautiful woman asking seemingly strong man for help) in Dickens's (e.g. in the fragment Edwin Drood Mystery) or William Wilkie Collins's (Armadale) novels, although the 'detective' in the majority of cases isn't as hard-boiled as he pretends to be. Then in Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes novels - sobbing woman knocks at Holmes's door - he's not drinking, though but addicted to cocaine/heroine and plays the violin. No film noir hero without flaws! The jazz element enters the stage in Colonel Woolrich's and Dashiell Hammet's novels - there you can find the whole plot - sobbing georgeous shady beauty, hard boiled drinking detective, jazz in the background. Hollywood then turned it into movies. I think the first successful film of this kind (including the scene you described) was The Maltese Falcon, based on the Hammett novel, and, yes, it has Humphrey Bogart in it: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0033870/
For me the best movie of the genre will always be the 'latecomer' Kiss Me Deadly: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0048261/
Nat King Cole sings: 'I'd rather have the blues than what I've got...' Unbeatable!

Answer 3

i don't know, but it probably had Humphrey Bogart in it and probably directed by Orson Welles