The ninth annual San Francisco film noir festival, Noir City 9, will run from Friday, January 21, through Sunday, January 30, at the historic Castro Theatre; 24 films noir, both celebrated and obscure, will screen.
A presentation of the Film Noir Foundation, this festival is the centerpiece of the organization's effort to find and preserve films in danger of irreparable damage. The foundation's advisory council includes best selling novelists James Ellroy and Dennis Lehane, actress Marsha Hunt and film historian/critic Leonard Maltin.
Film Noir Foundation founder and president Eddie Muller, known as "the czar of noir," is a writer and filmmaker who frequently speaks at noir screenings. Earlier this year he was a special guest at Robert Osborne's 2010 classic film festival in Athens, GA, where he introduced the screening of Double Indmenity. Muller has also provided commentary on noir DVDs (Fallen Angel, The Lineup, They Live by Night and many others).
The Film Noir Foundation also produces festivals in Chicago and Washington, DC.
Click here for screening times and pricing.
The Stranger on the Third Floor (1940) |
Friday Jan. 21
High Wall (1947), with Robert Taylor and Audrey Totter
The Stranger on the Third Floor (1940), starring Peter Lorre, considered "the first American film noir"
Saturday Jan. 22
Strangers in the Night (1944), directed by Anthony Mann
Gaslight (1944), with Ingrid Bergman, Charles Boyer and Joseph Cotten
Gaslight (1944), with Ingrid Bergman, Charles Boyer and Joseph Cotten
They Won’t Believe Me (1947), with Robert Young, Susan Hayward and Jane Greer
Don’t Bother to Knock (1952), with Richard Widmark and Marilyn Monroe
Sunday Jan. 23
A Double Life (1947), directed by George Cukor, with Ronald Colman (watch a clip featuring Colman's Oscar-winning performance below)
Among the Living (1941), with Albert Dekker, Susan Hayward and Frances Farmer
Among the Living (1941), with Albert Dekker, Susan Hayward and Frances Farmer
Monday Jan. 24
The Lady Gambles (1949), with Barbara Stanwyck
Sorry, Wrong Number (1948) directed by Anatole Litvak, with Barbara Stanwyck and Burt Lancaster
Tuesday Jan. 25
The Dark Mirror (1948) directed by Robert Siodmak , with Olivia de Havilland and Lew Ayres
Crack-Up (1947), with Pat O’Brien, Herbert Marshall and Claire Trevor
Wednesday Jan. 26
The Woman on the Beach (1947) |
Beware My Lovely (1952), with Ida Lupino and Robert Ryan
Thursday Jan. 27
The Two Mrs. Carrolls (1947), with Humphrey Bogart and Barbara Stanwyck
My Name is Julia Ross (1945), with Nina Foch and George Macready
Friday Jan. 28
Crashout (1955), with William Bendix, Arthur Kennedy and William Talman
Loophole (1953), with Barry Sullivan and Charles McGraw
Saturday Jan. 29
Blind Alley (1939) directed by Charles Vidor, with Chester Morris, Ann Dvorak and Ralph Bellamy
Secret Beyond the Door (1948) directed by Fritz Lang, with Joan Bennett and Michael Redgrave (this year’s “incomprehensible” film)
The Strange Affair of Uncle Harry (1945) directed by Robert Siodmak, with George Sanders, Geraldine Fitzgerald and Ella Raines
So Evil My Love (1948), with Ann Todd, Ray Milland and Geraldine FitzgeraldSunday Jan. 30
Angel Face (1952), directed by Otto Preminger, with Jean Simmons and Robert Mitchum
The Hunted (1948), with Preston Foster and Belita
looks good!! good choices!!
ReplyDeleteSF is one of my favorite cities. My wife and I were there in May last year and one of the things I wanted to see was the Castro Theater (I love old movie theaters). Did not get to go inside but I did photograph it.
ReplyDeleteI have seen about seven of the films on this list, especially interested in seeing the Mann and Lang films which I have yet to see.
I'm planning to see STRANGER ON THE THIRD FLOOR, STRANGERS IN THE NIGHT (Anthony Mann, one of my favorite noir directors), A DOUBLE LIFE (have never seen it), THE WOMAN ON THE BEACH and, hopefully, BEWARE MY LOVELY...will report back.
ReplyDeleteThe Castro hosts many festivals including SF's annual Silent Film Festival, a Berlin festival and is one of the venues for the Int'l. Film Festival. Also screens many classics. Love it.
Wish I lived close enough to attend! "A Double Life" features two things I love -- Othello and Ronald Colman. It is a marvelous movie. If you haven't seen it Eve, you have a real treat in store!
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