A semidocumentary is a form of book, film, or television program presenting a fictional story that incorporates many factual details or actual events, or which is presented in a manner similar to a documentary.

Characteristics

Stylistically, it has certain similarities to Italian Neorealism, such as the use of location shooting and employing non-actors in secondary roles. However, the viewer is not intended to mistake a semidocumentary for a real documentary; the fictional elements are too prominent.

Background

One of the first films of this kind was

Henry Hathaway Henry Hathaway (March 13, 1898 – February 11, 1985) was an American film director and producer. He is best known as a director of Westerns, especially starring Randolph Scott and John Wayne. He directed Gary Cooper in seven films. Backgro ...

's '' The House on 92nd Street'' (1945). In the late 1940s, semidocumentary films were often associated with

film noir Film noir (; ) is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of American ' ...

thrillers, sharing a commitment to on-location shooting, gritty realism, and understated performances.

Decline

In the 1960s and 1970s, the semidocumentary style declined in feature films. The standard documentary had blurred the difference between itself and fiction so much that there was viewer confusion regarding what they were seeing.

Notable semidocumentary examples

*'' The House on 92nd Street'' (1945) *''

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'' (1946) *'' 13 Rue Madeleine'' (1946) *'' T-Men'' (1947) *''

Boomerang A boomerang () is a thrown tool, typically constructed with aerofoil sections and designed to spin about an axis perpendicular to the direction of its flight. A returning boomerang is designed to return to the thrower, while a non-returning b ...

'' (1947) *''

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'' (1947) *''

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'' (1947) *'' The Naked City'' (1948) *''

Call Northside 777 ''Call Northside 777'' is a 1948 reality-based newspaper drama directed by Henry Hathaway. The film parallels the true story of a Chicago reporter who proved that a man jailed for murder was wrongly convicted 11 years before. James Stewart star ...

'' (1948) *'' Canon City'' (1948) *'' He Walked by Night'' (1948) *'' The Street with No Name'' (1948) *''

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'' (1948) *'' The Asphalt Jungle'' (1950) *'' Armored Car Robbery'' (1950) *'' Mystery Street'' (1950) *'' Night and the City'' (1950) *'' Highway 301'' (1950) *'' Panic in the Streets'' (1950) *'' Side Street'' (1950) *'' The Racket'' (1951) *'' On Dangerous Ground'' (1952) *'' Walk East on Beacon'' (1952) *'' The Hitch-Hiker'' (1953) *'' Dragnet'' (1954) *'' The Phenix City Story'' (1955) *'' Man on a String'' (1960) *'' The Cool World'' (1963) *'' The Insect Woman'' (1963) *'' A Hard Day's Night'' (1964) *'' The Endless Summer'' (1966) *''

The St. Valentine's Day Massacre The Saint Valentine's Day Massacre was the murder of seven members and associates of Chicago's North Side Gang that occurred on Saint Valentine's Day 1929. The men were gathered at a Lincoln Park, Chicago garage on the morning of February 14, ...

'' (1967) *'' Night Flight from Moscow'' (1973)

Notable directors associated with semidocumentary

Richard Fleischer Richard O. Fleischer (; December 8, 1916 – March 25, 2006) was an American film director whose career spanned more than four decades, beginning at the height of the Golden Age of Hollywood and lasting through the American New Wave. Though h ...

* Louis de Rochemont * Gordon Douglas *

10 great New York noirs, BFI
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References