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 as an ingénue. During the early 1940s, Turner established herself as a leading actress and one of MGM's top performers, appearing in such films as the film noir "Johnny Eager" (1941); the musical "Ziegfeld Girl" (1941); the horror film "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" (1941); and the romantic war drama "Somewhere I'll Find You" (1942), one of several films in which she starred opposite Clark Gable. Turner's reputation as a glamorous femme fatale was enhanced by her critically acclaimed performance in the film noir "The Postman Always Rings Twice" (1946), a role which established her as a serious dramatic actress.