From Out of Town

Trump's election has sharpened one of the great American divides - between the small town and the big city. For BBC World News, historian Adam Smith explores this divide by going back to its modern origins in postwar America - as anatomised in classic film noir. Some noir movies show the innocent small town invaded by the big bad city. But others raise a more disturbing, subversive question. What if the corruption lurks in the 'heart' of 'real America' - in the small town itself? With their evocations of old-time community spirit - but also of hostility to outsiders, even violent bigotry - these films shed a revealing spotlight on values being stirred again today.