Most of the volume treats these "bad boys" in depth, in A to Z entries ranging from five to twelve pages in length. Personal life stories are intermingled with discussions of films. 25 actors are given one-page treatments in the first appendix. Another appendix gives noteworthy lines, arranged by broad topic such as "Regarding Dames," "Sizing Up the Other Guy," and "Penetrating Put-downs" (e.g., Richard Widmark's line "I wouldn't give you the skin off a grape," from Kiss of Death). Following the general bibliography, an index lists titles, names, and awards.

numerous concise reviews of all the major (and many,
many minor) films noir