Sunday, December 30, 2012

A Noir Year Begins...

January 2013 brings, at last, the much-anticipated Noir City XI, San Francisco's 11th annual film noir festival. Presented by the Film Noir Foundation at the city’s landmark movie palace, the Castro Theatre, the festival runs from January 25 – February 3 and will showcase 27 films!


Noir City XI begins with an opening night tribute to genre legend Peggy Cummins. Following Film Noir Foundation founder/author/film historian Eddie Muller’s onstage interview with Miss Cummins, Gun Crazy (1950), the noir classic that made her an icon, will screen. Other festival highlights include three world premiere restorations along with the U.S. premiere of 4K digital restorations of Sunset Blvd. (1950) and Experiment in Terror (1962). Also premiering will be 4K digital restorations of two of 1953’s first 3-D films, Inferno and Man in the Dark.

But wait, there’s more…

Returning with the 2013 festival will be the Noir City Nightclub event, set for Saturday night, February 2, at San Francisco's Regency Lodge. There'll be music - from jazz to noir-pop to the torch stylings of songstress Laura Ellis - and dancing and cocktails and a walk on the wild side courtesy of "international striptease sensation" Evie Lovelle.

Czar of Noir Eddie Muller, who not only founded the FNF in 2002 but also emcees the San Francisco festival (and nightclub), is also about to appear on Turner Classic Movies. Beginning at 8pm Eastern/5pm Pacific on Thursday, January 17, Muller will co-host "A Night in Noir City" with Robert Osborne. On the schedule are five films: Cry Danger (1951) starring Dick Powell and Rhonda Fleming, Phil Karlson's 99 River Street (1953) with John Payne and Evelyn Keyes, Tomorrow is Another Day (1951) with Steve Cochran and Ruth Roman, Michael Curtiz's The Breaking Point (1950) starring John Garfield and Patricia Neal and The Prowler (1951), directed by Joseph Losey and starring Van Heflin and Evelyn Keyes.


Robert Osborne and Eddie Muller, A Night in Noir City, January 17

In his 1998 book Dark City: The Lost World of Film Noir, Muller contended that among the many film varieties to come out of the studio era, film noir held up best: "Film noir pointed toward the black core of corruption in our "civilized" society and our primitive essence. The struggle of the individual to transcend or escape provided the emotional tension. That's the theme that makes noir so compelling for the contemporary crowd." Muller was onto something, for over time film noir has proven to be a genre of lasting appeal. With each successive year, the popularity of Noir City has grown, its program schedule has expanded and the Film Noir Foundation has been able to restore ever more films. Today, San Francisco's noir-fest is the kick off point for other film noir festivals around the country, with Noir City events following in Seattle in February, Los Angeles in April, Chicago in August and Washington, DC, in October.

Click here to learn more about Noir City
Click here to learn more about the Film Noir Foundation

Peggy Cummins and Eddie Muller backstage at TCM's 2012 Classic Film Festival
 

22 comments:

  1. Eve, it's times like this that I wish I lived in San Francisco instead of the winter wonderland that is NE PA! :-) I hope you have a blast at Noir City XI! I intend to pick up the slack by checking out as many of the scheduled film as TCM or the like will allow! :-) In the meantime, all of us here at Team Bartilucci HQ wish you and yours a Happy New Year, with many wonderful things in store for you in 2013!

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    1. Hi Dorian - and happy holidays!

      Noir City is my favorite of the annual film festivals here. It's quite an experience (the mood is close to revelry). This year I'm hoping to attend Opening Night and "San Francisco Noir" night - but the entire program appeals. I'm looking forward to noir night on TCM, too.

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  2. Thanks for bringing these great festivals to our attention Lady Eve. I'm a big fan of film noir, although my take on noir's social roots are a bit different than the Maestro of Noir's own views. I'll hope to catch one of these festivals.

    Happy New Year!

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    1. Happy New Year, Christian!

      I don't know if there are any noir fests in the San Diego area, but I do know of the annual Arthur Lyons Film Noir Festival in Palm Springs, set for May 16 - 19. The festival was founded in 2000 by the late Arthur Lyons, a mystery writer. My own views on the social origins of film noir are somewhat different from Eddie Muller's - he makes interesting points, though, on a fascinating subject.

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  3. After my husband retires, I hope to attend some of the Film Noir Festivals around the country.

    Also, I wanted to stop by and wish you a Happy New Year!!

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    1. I hope when your husband retires that you'll also attend TCM's annual festival in Hollywood. That's the one I'm willing to leave my comfort zone for. All the best to you in 2013, Dawn!

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  4. Film noir is an engaging subject and San Francisco is the perfect place to attend a festival in celebration of it's timeless ability to fascinate. The roots of Noir and what it said about our society, and why it continues to resonate, are worthy of many discussions. I love the tough, sometimes poetic voiceovers from the hard-bitten leads. You still see takeoffs on this, even in something as 21st century as Robert Rodriguez's "Sin City". There probably are endless permutations to come from film noir. Happy New Year, Eve.

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    1. MCB - It was in the '70s, according to Eddie Muller, that film noir came under intense scrutiny in terms of what, specifically, constituted a noir film, when, exactly, such films were made, the origins of genre's roots, etc. Much argument ensued and continues today. But there are films made in more recent decades ("Chinatown" from 1974 and "Blade Runner" from 1982 come quickly to mind) that are distinctly noir in subject and/or tone - whether they are called "neo-noir" or viewed as homage. I'm sure your right, there are endless permutations on the horizon...

      Happy New Year to you!

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  5. Let us know how the festival is! Wish I could be there!

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    1. CFB - I'm looking forward to both attending and blogging on my nights in Noir City. As mentioned, there are Noir City events coming to other US cities later in the year. The films shown are generally the same (though perhaps a few less than in SF, where the festival runs over several days). If you are anywhere near Chicago, I hope you can attend - Noir City usually runs there in August at the Music Box Theatre.

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  6. Wow, am I jealous! And boy I wish I had a print of that gorgeous Noir City Nightclub poster -- now THAT'S red! I'm looking forward to reading your post-festival articles. Oh, and Eve, it's so GOOD to see you back! Missed you!

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    1. Hi Becky, At least everyone can enjoy "A Night in Noir City" on TCM - and it's possible the nightclub poster will be available through the Noir City/FNF website. I love kicking each new year off with the film noir festival, it's so much fun. I'm glad to FINALLY be back to blogging (I was beginning to wonder if and when)...Thanks!!

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  7. Eve,

    San Francisco is one of my favorite cities for many reasons, one of which is its film community. I can only wish I could be there. But I definitely will be checking out TCM's night of noir especially CRY DANGER and THE BREAKING POINT both of which I have not seen. I highly recommend THE PROWLER and 99 RIVER STREET to anyone who has not seen them. Great to have you back!

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    1. Thanks, John, and Happy New Year!

      THE BREAKING POINT is the only one of the films scheduled on TCM that I'm sure I've seen (I recommend it) and I'm looking forward to watching the others for the first time. I'm especially curious about THE PROWLER.

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    2. THE PROWLER is a must! Van Heflin is excellent as is Keyes who may have her best role ever in this film!

      In case you're wondering, I am no fan of GWTW! Melodramatic, overblown Southern soap operatic filled with schmaltz.

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    3. GWTW may be the most over-rated Hollywood movie ever. Selznick managed to hype it into immortality. "Rebecca" is my favorite from Selznick Int'l. Pictures...much as they had difficulty working with each other, Selznick and Hitchcock created a real classic together.

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  8. Sounds like a lot of fun, LE!
    Wish I could be there for Cry Danger!

    Wishing you the very best in 2013 and I'm sure I'm not alone in saying I look forward to what you have in store for us in 2013. Perhaps another clever series on a classic film?

    Page

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    1. Hi Page, The good news is that "Cry Danger" will be on TCM as part of its celebration of noir on the 17th (TCM is one of the Noir City sponsors and seems to be helping out to promote the event), so you'll have a chance to see it.

      I do have an idea for a series, but not quite sure how to put it together yet.

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  9. Lady Eve - great post, as usual. I am a little deficient in "noir," but have "Gun Crazy" on my DVR & can't wait to see it!

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    1. Ms. Chick, With all the gun craziness in the real world lately, I was hesitant to say much about that particular movie - terrible timing. But it's very worth watching - will be curious to hear what you think.

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  10. Eve two more films I would to " Modern Noir" are Dick Richards 1975 Farewell My Lovely, with Robert Mitchum and John Ireland . He does a great job making 19790's So Cal look like 1940's SO Cal (only blows it on one shot near the end of the film).it also features IMO the best score David Shire has ever composed. The second film is Twilight with James Garner, and Paul Newman,

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    1. I agree, Paul. Both are fine examples of newer noir. I have a particular fondness for the overlooked "Twilight" (the popular vampire franchise of the same title may doom it forever to obscurity) with its amazing cast including Gene Hackman, Susan Sarandon, Reese Witherspoon, Stockard Channing and Liev Shreiber. Garner has a great turn in a dark role.

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