Monday, Jan 23 — RITA HAYWORTH & GLENN FORD: A 20-YEAR AFFAIR
GILDA
1946, Columbia, 110 min.
7:00 PM
Rita Hayworth created her Hollywood "Love Goddess" legend in this tailor-made romantic drama, first of several sex-charged pairings with costar Glenn Ford. The film's amazing sexual symbolism slipped past the censors (and most viewers) at the time; today the film is regarded as one of the greatest examples of a director "working around" the Production Code. Screenplay by Marion Parsonnet; adaptation by Jo Eisinger; story by E.A. Ellington. Directed by Charles Vidor.
THE MONEY TRAP
1965, MGM/WB, 91 min.
9:20 PM
Twenty years after steaming up the screen in Gilda, Glenn Ford and Rita Hayworth were reunited, poignantly, in this '60s-style homage to old-school film noir. Director Burt Kennedy gives a hard, jazzy edge to the proceedings, winking toward the film's 1940's roots, while giving the full '60s-style sex-bomb treatment to costar Elke Sommer. Screenplay by Walter Bernstein, from the novel by Lionel White.
FEATURED MUSICAL PEFORMANCE: David Olney & Sergio Webb at 6:00 PM.
Tuesday, Jan 24 — A NIGHT OF COMEDY NOIR
UNFAITHFULLY YOURS
1948, 20th Century-Fox, 105 min.
7:00 PM
As film noir swept over late '40s Hollywood, Preston Sturges created the full-length first parody of the style with this mordantly hilarious tale of a jealous orchestra conductor (Rex Harrison) envisioning plots to murder his supposedly unfaithful wife (Linda Darnell). Turning The Postman Always Rings Twice into uproarious comedy takes only a few tweaks and twists for this brilliant and genuine auteur. Written and directed by Preston Sturges.
THE GOOD HUMOR MAN
1950, Columbia [Sony], 80 min.
9:15 PM
Jack Carson stars as a driver for the Good Humor Ice Cream Company, in over his head when he tries to save a gal-pal from gangsters and ends up accused of murder. A typical thriller from ace noir scribe Roy (The Fugitive) Huggins—except the final screenplay is by comedy genius Frank Tashlin, whose hilariously inspired high-jinks play havoc with film noir conventions. Costarring Lola Albright, Jean Wallace, and George "Superman" Reeves. Directed by Lloyd Bacon.
NOT ON DVD!
Wednesday, Jan 25 — DOUBLE-BARRELED TRIBUTE TO SAMUEL FULLER!
HOUSE OF BAMBOO
(1955, 20th Century-Fox, 104 min.)
7:30 PM
An military investigator (Robert Stack) infiltrates a gang of American ex-GIs (led by menacing and sexually ambiguous Robert Ryan) muscling in on the Japan's Yakuza underworld. Fuller's re-do of Fox's The Street With No Name is a visual spectacle, with stunning Technicolor and Cinemascope giving extra dimension to the director's singularly no-holds-barred style. Re-written and directed by Samuel Fuller, from Harry Kleiner's original screenplay.
UNDERWORLD USA
1961, Columbia [Sony], 99 min.
9:20 PM
Young Tolly Devlin witnesses a trio of hoodlums murder his father's murder. As an adult ex-con, Devlin (Cliff Robertson) dedicates himself to exterminating the three culprits—now big-shot crime figures. One of Fuller's punchiest smash-mouth crime dramas, presenting the war between the law and organized crime as backdrop for a searing personal vendetta. Written and directed by Samuel Fuller.
Thursday, Jan 26 — MAKE WAY FOR THE BAD GIRLS!
NAKED ALIBI
1954, Universal, 86 min.
7:30 PM
A murder suspect (Gene Barry), released for lack of evidence, vows vengeance on the cops who brutalized him. When one of those cops turns up dead, his partner (Sterling Hayden) hunts down the "innocent" man to prove him guilty. Both end up in thrall to border town bad girl Gloria Grahame, whose unique sexiness is on full display in this ultra-rare potboiler! Screenplay by Lawrence Roman, from a story by Gladys Atwater & Robert Bren. Directed by Jerry Hopper. Brand New 35mm Print!
NOT ON DVD
PICKUP
1951, Columbia [Sony] 78 min.
9:20 PM
A simple but supremely smarmy slice of sleaze from 1950's sex-noir auteur Hugo Haas. He plays (as usual) an older man in thrall to a young hottie who spends all her time trying to murder him for what little money he has. A timeless tale, made unforgettable by the Amazon in the bullet-bra, slinging sass for all she's worth—Beverly (Wicked Woman) Michaels! Screenplay and direction by Hugo Haas, from a novel by Josef Kopta.
NOT ON DVD
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