Classic film noir is more than just a genre; it's a distinct mood of cynicism, corruption, and deception set in shadowy alleyways and smoke-filled rooms with questionable characters and stories seeping in crime, danger, and betrayal. The birth of the genre dates back to the late 1930s, when Hollywood started to capitalize on the public's growing interest in hardboiled crime fiction and detective novels by notable authors such as Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett, essentially laying the groundwork for classic film noir. By the 1940s, the genre had fully emerged and was popularized by classics such as The Maltese Falcon and Out of the Past, and flourished throughout the 1950s with iconic titles including The Killing and Touch of Evil.