PROGRAM NOTES FOR NOIR CITY 13, JANUARY 16-25, 2015
Friday, Jan 16, 2015 • San Francisco Honeymoon
WOMAN ON THE RUN
Scr. Alan Campbell, Norman Foster. Dir. Norman Foster. 1950, Fidelity Pictures. 77 min.
7:30 PM
San Franciscan Frank Johnson (Ross Elliot) disappears after witnessing a gangland killing. Police think wife Eleanor (Ann Sheridan) will lead them to her husband, but she never wants to see him again. Enter newspaperman Danny Legget (Dennis O'Keefe), who charms Mrs. Johnson with stunning results. This shot-on-location thriller is perhaps the best cinematic depiction ever of mid-20th century San Francisco.
WORLD PREMIERE FNF 35mm RESTORATION!
born to be bad
Scr. Edith R. Sommer. Dir. Nicholas Ray. 1950, RKO Radio Pictures. 94 min.
9:15 PM
A coterie of affluent San Franciscans is turned inside-out by the appearance of Christabel Caine (Joan Fontaine), a sweet and demure waif who turns out to be "about as helpless as a wildcat." In short order, she replaces her cousin (Joan Leslie) in the affections of a millionaire philanthropist (Zachary Scott) while carrying on a torrid affair with a bohemian novelist. Presented with the original ending, deleted prior to U.S. release!
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Saturday, Jan 17 • Matinée • Joan Fontaine Tribute
SUSPICION
Scr. Samson Raphaelson. Dir. Alfred Hitchcock. 1941, RKO Radio Pictures. 99 min.
1:30 PM
Joan Fontaine won a Best Actress Oscar® for her portrayal of spinsterish Lina McLaidlaw, who despite the warnings of friends and family, marries handsome rogue Johnnie Aysgarth (Cary Grant)—only to grow increasingly suspicious that Johnnie is only after her money and will stop at nothing—even murder—to get it. Is Lina right about Johnnie or she a victim of her own insecurities?
THE BIGAMIST
Scr. Collier Young. Dir. Ida Lupino. 1953, The Filmakers. 79 min.
3:30 PM
A San Francisco couple (Joan Fontaine and Edmond O'Brien) wants to bolster their unfulfilled marriage by adopting a child. But when a social worker (Edmund Gwenn) checks the husband's background he learns there's a second wife (Ida Lupino) in L.A.! This remarkable film uses a familiar noir framework to turn the genre's tropes inside-out, flipping gender roles and dissecting the pitfalls of buying into the matrimonial myth of "happily ever after."
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Saturday, Jan 17 • Evening Show • 'Til Death Do Us Part
IVY
Scr. Charles Bennett. Dir. Sam Wood. 1947, Universal. 99 min.
7:30 PM
Joan Fontaine obliterated her innocent screen persona with this portrayal of Ivy Lexton, an Edwardian femme fatale who beneath the bows and bustle is one of the most calculating bitches in the history of film noir. Sam Wood's stately direction is abetted by the bold production design of William Cameron Menzies and the dark shadows of Russell Metty's exceptional cinematography. Patric Knowles, Herbert Marshall and Richard Ney portray the hapless men in Ivy's life.
THE SUSPECT
Scr. Bertram Millhouser. Dir. Robert Siodmak. 1944, Universal. 85 min.
9:30 PM
Timid tobacconist Philip Marshall develops a friendship with a poor young woman, igniting his wife's shrewish jealousy. Despite the Edwardian era decorum, The Suspect is a classic noir—one of Siodmak's best—featuring Charles Laughton's memorable portrait of a repressed and lonely man who will do anything to protect the unexpected joy he's found too late in life.
Sunday, Jan 18 • Two Sinister Servings of Sirk
shockproof
Scr. Samuel Fuller and Helen Deutsch. Dir. Douglas Sirk. 1949, Columbia. 79 min.
2:00, 7:30 PM
Jenny Marsh (Patricia Knight) is paroled after serving five years for the "self-defense" killing of the man who tried to murder her lover. She's too sexy for her parole officer (Cornel Wilde), who impulsively marries the ex-con—only to learn that his bride's crooked boyfriend is still in the picture. Although diluted by Code-mandated changes, Fuller's script still packs a potent punch.
sleep, my love
Scr. St. Clair McKelway and Leo Rosten. Dir. Douglas Sirk. 1948, United Artists. 94 min.
4:00, 9:00
Alison Courtland (Claudette Colbert) awakens on a speeding train with no memory of how she got there. Once reunited with her husband (Don Ameche), he proposes a regimen of hypnosis to help uncover what's at the root of Alison's mental instability. Suffice to say, hubby isn't the altruistic partner he pretends to be. One of director Sirk's strongest 1940s pictures.
35mm RESTORATION!
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