Film noir the most influential of the early noirs. A slew of now-renowned noir "bad girls" followed, such as those played by Rita Hayworth in "Gilda" (1946), Lana Turner in "The Postman Always Rings Twice" (1946), Ava Gardner in "The Killers" (1946), and Jane Greer in "Out of the Past" (1947). The iconic noir counterpart to the femme fatale, the private eye, came to the fore in films such as "The Maltese Falcon" (1941), with Humphrey Bogart as Sam Spade, and "Murder, My Sweet" (1944), with Dick Powell as Philip Marlowe. The prevalence of the private eye as a lead character declined
Lana Turner credits film noir "The Postman Always Rings Twice" (1946) advanced her career significantly and established her as a dramatic actress. She later appeared in the drama "The Bad and the Beautiful" (1952) opposite Kirk Douglas. Throughout the 1940s and 1950s, she also co-starred opposite Clark Gable in a total of four films, including "Slightly Dangerous" (1942), "Somewhere I'll Find You" (1943), and "Betrayed" (1954). After the critical and commercial failure of "Diane" (1956), MGM opted not to renew Turner's contract. At the time, her films with the studio had collectively earned over $50 million (). In 1957, she took a leading