Friday, Jan 20 — SAN FRANCISCO NOIR
DARK PASSAGE
1947, Warner Bros. 106 min.
7:00 PM
We kick off this year's festival with Bogart & Bacall's darkest duet, a bizarre ramble through nocturnal 1940's San Francisco, as an escaped con pursues the real culprit in his wife's murder. Startling use of the subjective-eye camera focuses on the mid-20th century city in all its noir glory. A 10th anniversary encore of NOIR CITY's inaugural Opening Night film. Screenplay and direction by Delmer Daves, based on the novel by David Goodis.
THE HOUSE ON TELEGRAPH HILL
1951, 20th Century-Fox, 93 min.
9:30 PM
A WWII concentration camp survivor (Valentina Cortese) trades identities with a doomed camp-mate and winds up living a luxurious lie in a mysterious mansion above North Beach. Her romantic attachments soon turn suspicious, sinister, and deadly. A classic "woman in jeopardy" thriller, shot entirely on location in the city, and a time capsule of postwar San Francisco. Screenplay by Elich Moll & Frank Partos, from a novel by Dana Lyon. Directed by Robert Wise.
Saturday, Jan 21 Matinee — PROTO-NOIR RARITIES!
OKAY, AMERICA
1932, Universal, 78 min.
1:00, 4:00 PM MATINEE
A hugely popular radio "columnist" (Lew Ayres), clearly based on the legendary Walter Winchell, uses his influence to manipulate both sides of the law while investigating a kidnapping that leads all the way to the White House. A wildly entertaining Pre-Code exposé on the greasy relationship between politicians, organized crime, and the burgeoning American media. Screenplay by William Anthony McGuire. Directed by Tay Garnett.
NOT ON DVD!
$10 double feature shows start at 1:00 and 2:40.PM
AFRAID TO TALK
aka THE MERRY GO-ROUND
1932, Universal, 69 min.
2:40 PM MATINEE
Gansgters and politicians, worried their allegiances will be revealed, conspire to destroy a innocent bellhop (Eric Linden) who witnesses a murder in the penthouse suite. A scathing, uncompromising, and still timely look at the corruption inherent in American big city politics. Indelible performances from a vast cast, headed by Louis Calhern and Edward Arnold. Screenplay by Albert Maltz and George Sklar, based on their play. Directed by Edward L. Cahn.
NOT ON DVD!
Saturday, Jan 21 Evening — TRIBUTE TO ANGIE DICKINSON! IN PERSON!
Angie Dickinson interviewed onstage by Eddie Muller between films.
THE KILLERS
1964, Universal, 93 min.
7:00 PM
This hard-hitting remake of Mark Hellinger's 1946 noir classic was intended as the first "made for TV" feature film, until network execs balked at the film's amorality and casual brutality. Lee Marvin and Clu Gulager play hit-men obsessed with discovering why their victim (John Cassavetes) accepted his death. The blood-spattered hunt leads through femme fatale Angie Dickinson to … Ronald Reagan! Screenplay by Gene L. Coon, based on the Hemingway short story. Directed by Don Siegel.
POINT BLANK
1967, MGM/UA, 92 min.
9:45 PM
A taciturn hitman is double-crossed and left for dead on Alcatraz. But soon he's relentlessly stalking his betrayers … or is he? One of the most stylish, inventive, and enigmatic films of the '60s, Point Blank is the high-water mark of existentialist crime cinema, and the greatest of Lee Marvin's memorable tough guy performances. Costarring Angie Dickinson at her sexiest! Screenplay by Alexander Jacobs, David & Rafe Newhouse. Directed by John Boorman.
Sunday, Jan 22 —Tribute to Writer Vera Caspary
LAURA
1944, 20th Century-Fox, 88 min.
3:00, 5:00, 9:00 PM
The most celebrated movie mystery of all time is, as a bonus, one of the most elegantly perverse films ever produced. Caspary's story, about a detective (Dana Andrews) who falls in love with a murder victim (Gene Tierney), becomes a lustrous banquet of great performances, direction, Oscar-winning cinematography, and one unforgettable theme song. Utterly mesmerizing. Screenplay by Jay Dratler, based on the Vera Caspary novel. Directed by Otto Preminger.
$10 double feature shows start at 5:00 and 7:00 PM
BEDELIA
1946, General Film Distributors | BFI, 90 min.
7:00 PM
Caspary's much-anticipated follow-up to Laura is hardly known, as the author's bitterness toward Hollywood led her to make the film in England. Margaret Lockwood, queen of British femme fatales, stars as a beguiling woman whom men will literally die for. The rare 35mm print of this neglected gem comes courtesy of the British Film Institute. Screenplay by Vera Caspary, Herbert Victor, Isadore Goldsmith. Directed by Lance Comfort.
NOT ON DVD!
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Whipple/Incite Design; Poster and logo
design:
Bill Selby; Poster and NOIRCITY photos: David M.
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