Editing

Editing

As the storylines of film noirs were twisting and non-linear, and rarely ran in chronological order, flashbacks were often used throughout to aid the storyline. These were filmed then edited into the film afterwards at the appropriate place. For example this was the case with the film D.O.A (1950) in which the start of the film was a clip from later on in the film, with a man walking into a police station and saying "I'd like to report a murder". The police officer asks who was murdered, and the man replies "I was." This immediately creates an enigma and makes the audience want to carry on watching.