Hollywood Noir's Women Performers

Julie Grossman is professor of English and Communication at Le Moyne College. Her books include Rethinking the Femme Fatale: Ready for Her Close-Up (2009, 2012); Twin Peaks (with Will Scheibel, 2020); The Femme Fatale (2020); Penny Dreadful and Adaptation: Reanimating and Transforming the Monster (co-edited with Will Scheibel, 2023); and Screening Contemporary Irish Fiction and Drama (co-edited with R. Barton Palmer and Marc C. Conner, 2022). An updated edition of her book Ida Lupino, Director: Her Art and Resilience in Times of Transition (with Therese Grisham) was just published in 2026. She is (with R. Barton Palmer) the founding co-editor of the Palgrave Studies in Adaptation and Visual Culture book series. R. Barton Palmer is Calhoun Lemon Professor of Literature Emeritus at Clemson University. He is the author, editor, or general editor of many books including Hollywood’s Dark Cinema: The American Film Noir (1994), After Hitchcock: Influence, Imitation, and Intertextuality (2006), and A Little Solitaire: John Frankenheimer and American Film (2011). He is the series editor for EUP’s traditions in World Cinema, Traditions in American Cinema and International Film Stars series, and he is co-editor of five recent EUP books: Michael Mann, George Cukor, Film Noir, International Noir and The Other Hollywood Renaissance.

• Preface1. Introduction2. Barbara Stanwyck3. Joan Crawford4. Ida Lupino5. Loretta Young6. Bette Davis7. Joan Bennett8. Joan Fontaine9. Claire Trevor10. Theresa Harris11. Rita Hayworth12. Gene Tierney13. Shelley Winters14. Gloria Grahame15. Lauren Bacall16. Marilyn Monroe