Film noir classic is a genre of crime films that emerged in the 1940s and 1950s. The term 'film noir' is French for 'black film.' Classic films of this genre include 'Laura, ' a 1944 American film noir directed by Otto Preminger and starring Gene Tierney, Dana Andrews, and Clifton Webb; 'DOA, ' a 1950 American film noir directed by Rudolph Mate and starring Edmond O'Brien and Pamela Britton; and 'The Maltese Falcon, ' a 1941 American film noir directed by John Huston and starring Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, and Peter Lorre.