Book excerpt: " ... The Dark Galleries deals with American (and some British) films of the 1940s and 1950s, in which a painted portrait plays an important part in the plot or the mise-en-scène. Particularly noir crime thrillers, gothic melodramas, and ghost stories feature painted portraits that seem to hold magical power over their beholders. In addition to an extensive introductory essay, this museum guide presents about one hundred entries on the artistic and cinematic aspects of noir and gothic painted portraits."--Page 4 of cover.