THE NOIR CASEBOOK

The Noir Casebook is a documentary project by Roman Sierov about real American crime between the 1920s and the 1950s.

What draws me to this period is the whole picture: how people lived and dressed, what they valued, and the shadows that noir storytelling grew from.

Every episode follows one documented case, from gangsters and corrupt officials to unsolved deaths, presented as an illustrated noir casebook.

The research draws on the FBI Vault, the Library of Congress, period newspapers, court records and transcripts, historical studies, archival photographs and film, and surviving radio scripts such as Gang Busters. AI-assisted tools support research organization, narration and visual development, with editing in CapCut. Illustrations are artistic reconstructions; the facts rest on documents.

Real crimes. American shadows.