Discussion: 13 Rue Madeleine; Call Northside 777

1. What are the similarities and differences between Rome, Open City and 13 Rue in both subject matter and style?

2. How do both films incorporate the tangible sense of actual time and place within the structures of their narratives?

3. How does 13 Rue convert the historical context of its story into the personal history of its characters?

4. What were “social problem” films, why did Hollywood studios produce them in the mid and late 1940s, and what was Twentieth Century-Fox’s (TCF’s) contribution to this kind of filmmaking?

5. How do the TCF films we’ve considered emphasize their documentary roots and materials?

6. How is this particularly important in Call Northside?

7. What are “warrants” and how do they appear and function in Call Northside?

8. How do these films incorporate important elements of melodrama?