The 11th annual NOIR CITY: Hollywood festival, held April 2-19 at the legendary Egyptian Theatre, demonstrated once again that vintage noir on the big screen continues to be a big draw in the City of Angels. Patrons of this annual fest (some of whom have been regulars since the event debuted in 1999) repeatedly expressed their gratitude for the rare films presented by the co-programming triumvirate of the American Cinematheque’s Chris D., FNF president Eddie Muller, and Alan Rode. . Of the 22 films screened over 12 days, 14 had never before been viewed on the Egyptian’s big screen . . . or anywhere else in recorded memory. Special thanks go out to dedicated volunteer Andie Childs, who ably managed the FNF merchandise kiosk in the theater lobby. Highlights are below.
A well-attended Friday night reception hosted by the Cinematheque prior to a screening of Alias Nick Beal (1949, a gorgeous new print) and Robert Siodmak's ultra-rare Fly-by-Night (1942). The latter was easily sleeper hit of the festival, with one enthusiastic patron declaring it her "new favorite film!"
The double bill of Roses Are Red (1947) and Smooth as Silk (1946), two Bs that hadn’t been theatrically screened in Hollywood since the late 1940s. A large crowd of cinephiles and writers came out for these, including Los Angeles Times film critic Kevin Thomas and Cinecon chairman Bob Birchard.
A tribute to the late actor-director Joseph Pevney, with screenings of Six Bridges to Cross (1955) and Nocturne (1946) and a Q&A with the ever-lovely Julie Adams. Pevney’s daughter Jan was in attendance.
Ann Rutherford as the guest for a screening of Two O'clock Courage (1945). She told me just before the film started that she had never seen it! "RKO didn't do premieres," she explained. Rutherford loved it and afterward held the audience spellbound with stories about 1920s Hollywood, Gene Autry, Metro-Goldwyn Mayer, and her work in Gone with the Wind.
The Fritz Lang / Dana Andrews double bill of While the City Sleeps (1956) and Beyond a Reasonable Doubt (1956), with Andrews's granddaughter in attendance, introduced to a surprisingly large Easter Sunday audience by FNF director Foster Hirsch.
The four-hour memorial tribute to departed noir icon Ann Savage, hosted by Eddie Muller. An array of film clips assembled by Savage’s close friend Kent Adamson showed of the breadth of her work during the 1940s. Remembrances were delivered by Kent, fellow "Dark City Dame" Coleen Gray, film writer Lisa Morton, and Alan Rode.. The day also included screenings of Columbia’s Passport to Suez (1943), in which Savage played a devious spy opposite Warren Williams’s "Lone Wolf," and her final role as director Guy Maddin’s mother in My Winnipeg (2007).
The festival's final two films, the rarities Walk Softly, Stranger (1950) and Chicago Syndicate (1955). This tribute to the great character actor Paul Stewart had the die-hard crowd buzzing.
