The Diversity of the Femme Fatale Character in Film

Abstract

This thesis will examine the diversity of the film archetype knows as the ?femme fatale? from her emergence in early noir film to her development in contemporary cinema. By tracing her appearance across a timeframe of eight decades, I will expose the diversity of her physical manifestations as well as diverse methods that she used in continual war against manhood. I will do so, by analyzing one prototype of the femme fatale followed by six other female characters, all of whom have been critically referenced as a ?femme fatale? or ?devil?s woman? within different film genres. These characters are LOLA-LOLA from the 1930 early German noir film Blue Angel as the prototypical femme fatale; BABY DOLL from the 1956 American black comedy of the same name; VARLA from the 1965 American exploitation film Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!; ANNIE WILKES from the 1990?s American thriller/horror Misery; LOLITA from the 1997 French-American melodrama of the same name; VERA from the 2007 Russian drama Banishment and LISBETH SALANDER from the 2011 American mystery film The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. The term ?femme fatale? will be examined for its origins and the development of this type of character will be examined from its early appearance to its manifestation in contemporary film. Attention will be paid to how the manifestation of the femme fatale reflects the time in which the film was produced.