Friday, February 21, 2014

Schedule Preview of Noir City 16 in Hollywood

The schedule has been announced for the first two weeks of the 16th Annual Noir City Film Festival, and it's terrific!

The festival opens at the Egyptian Theatre on Friday, March 21st and runs through Sunday, April 6th.

Opening Night features a tribute to the one and only Dan Duryea. On the schedule that night: a brand-new restoration of a Duryea film I've not yet seen, TOO LATE FOR TEARS (1949), and one I enjoyed a lot, LARCENY (1948). TOO LATE FOR TEARS costars Lizabeth Scott, with John Payne and Joan Caulfield costarring in LARCENY.

The next evening, March 22nd, the festival pays tribute to the late Joan Fontaine, with the delicious BORN TO BE BAD (1950) alongside a not-on-DVD film I've never seen, IVY (1947). BORN TO BE BAD has a great cast of Robert Ryan, Joan Leslie, Zachary Scott, and Mel Ferrer, while IVY costars Patric Knowles and Herbert Marshall.

Sunday, March 23rd, is a day of "French noir" with TWO MEN IN MANHATTAN (1959), also known as DEUX HOMMES DANS MANHATTAN, and the classic RIFIFI (1955), directed by Jules Dassin.

The festival resumes on Wednesday, March 26th, with an evening of 1947 "British noir," IT ALWAYS RAINS ON SUNDAY (1947) with Googie Withers and BRIGHTON ROCK (1947) with Richard Attenborough.

On Friday, March 28th, there's a French film, JENNY LAMOUR (1947), titled QUAI DES ORFÈVRES in France, paired with the unusual ANGELS OVER BROADWAY (1940). ANGELS OVER BROADWAY stars Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and Rita Hayworth.

March 29th is the evening I look forward to most after Opening Night, a fantastic "B" double feature of "L.A. Noir" with a brand-new restored print of Don DeFore as a G-man in SOUTHSIDE 1-1000 (1950). SOUTHSIDE 1-1000 will be shown along with Charles McGraw in ROADBLOCK (1951). What a fantastic double bill!

March 30th is another "can't miss" date, with a tribute to the late Audrey Totter. It will feature the excellent TENSION (1949), costarring Richard Basehart, Barry Sullivan, and Cyd Charisse, and a not-on-DVD Ray Milland film I'm really looking forward to seeing, ALIAS NICK BEAL (1949).

The final weekend of the festival hasn't yet been announced, but according to the Egyptian website it will include a tribute to another great actress we lost in December, Eleanor Parker, featuring her Oscar-nominated performances in CAGED (1950) and DETECTIVE STORY (1951).

I'll post additional updates on the final weekend when more information is available.

Update: The final week's schedule is now available, along with info on the Eleanor Parker tribute!

The above-mentioned Eleanor Parker tribute will take place the second week of the festival, on Thursday, March 27th.

The final week gets underway with OSSESSIONE (1943) on Wednesday, April 2nd, and a Hugo Fregonese double bill on April 3rd, consisting of HARDLY A CRIMINAL (1949) and ONE WAY STREET (1950).

I'm very excited at the prospect of seeing NIGHTFALL (1957), one of my "Favorite Discoveries" of 2013, on a big screen. It's being shown on April 4th with AND HOPE TO DIE (1972), which sounds unusual -- a French film with Robert Ryan and NIGHTFALL star Aldo Ray!

On April 5th there's just one film, DETOUR (1945), along with the closing weekend party.

The final night of the festival, April 6th, features the 1951 remake of M and THE HITCHHIKER (1951), with Ida Lupino directing Edmond O'Brien, Frank Lovejoy, and William Talman.

When the Noir City Festival ends, there are still great movies ahead here in Southern California, as the TCM Classic Film Festival will open on April 10th and run through April 13th.

March 20th Update: Susan King of the Los Angeles Times interviews Eddie Muller and Alan K. Rode about the festival.

Posts on past Noir City Festivals: A Visit to the Noir City Film Festival (2010); A Visit to the 13th Noir City Film Festival (2011); First Preview of 14th Annual Noir City Film Festival; Schedule Announced for Noir City 14 in Hollywood; Final Week of Noir City 14 Schedule Announced; A Visit to the 14th Annual Noir City Film Festival (2012); Schedule Announced for Noir City 15 in Hollywood; A Visit to the 15th Annual Noir City Film Festival (2013).

Update: A Visit to the 16th Annual Noir City Film Festival (2014).

6 Comments:

Blogger john k said...

Hi Laura,

Nice to see you mention LARCENY a favorite of mine and pretty near
the top of the list of films that I want to see on DVD.
To see it on the big screen would be more than wonderful.
IT ALWAYS RAINS ON SUNDAY is one of the best British films ever in
fact I'm hard pressed to think of a better one.
In fact in one of my recent visits to London I arranged my own
mini Noir festival.
A couple that I know in London have one of those gizmos that project
DVDs/Blu Rays onto their living room wall which is a brilliant movie
at home experience.
A group of us often get together and suggest themed evenings from our own
collections.
Anyway I wanted to do a "Noir Evening" with a choice of films;one of which
I insisted was Louis King's superb PERSONS IN HIDING just to introduce
the audience to the wonderful Patricia Morison.
The "main feature" was a choice of several (including CRY VENGEANCE) but
when put to the vote they chose IT ALWAYS RAINS ON SUNDAYS possibly because
several members of the audience that night have Jewish family roots in London's
East End. They all loved those lovely Yiddish words like "shiksa" (which
I know) and "meshugener" (which I don't) It's a new word to me and I LOVE it!
Anyway IT ALWAYS RAINS ON SUNDAYS is wonderful and an experience not to be
missed.

5:48 AM  
Blogger john k said...

Further to my previous post I thought that I must mention
Googie Withers great performance in IT ALWAYS RAINS ON SUNDAYS.
I guess most people would call the film a Noir these days
especially with it's central theme of supressed sexual desire
but the film is also a crackerjack crime thriller as well
as it's social comment subtext.
Saw another great Withers performance the other night as I
caught up with NIGHT AND THE CITY for the first time I'm ashamed
to say. This is another wonderful London based film with
brilliant performances from Withers,Richard Widmark,Francis L
Sullivan and Herbert Lom.
Sadly,and my only minor complaint is that Gene Tierney and
Hugh Marlowe have very little to do in the film
BTW Laura,did you see my comment over at Toby's that Warner
Archive are currently remastering THE COUNTERFEIT PLAN a film
that we spoke about earlier. Really looking forward to that one!

6:02 AM  
Blogger john k said...

Oh! I do go on don't I.
It's just that I cannot believe that it's taken me so long to
catch up with NIGHT AND THE CITY.
Had I known the film had so much going for it I would have made the
effort far earlier. I guess there are always films that sort of
go "off radar"
The film almost entirely takes place at night apart from the striking
final moments and a wonderful scene with Widmark and Francis L
Sullivan filmed in Trafalgar Square among "real" crowds.
What I loved about the film was the way two worlds collide;the
well-heeled patrons of the "clip joints" and private drinking clubs
alongside Dickensian down and outs,beggars and vagrants.
What an atmosphere soaked,different London Director Jules Dassin
gives us. If I had to use one word to describe his Noirs I would
have to say "intense"
Another Noir that knocked me out recently was HIGHWAY 301 (out as
a Warner Archive DVD) I have watched it 3 times recently and seemed
to enjoy it more each time. A most diverting cast too!
BTW Laura,IT ALWAYS RAINS ON SUNDAY stands up on repeated viewings
too,I saw the "restored" version at the National Film Theatre in
2012 and enjoyed it just as much on my friends huge screen.
Do try to catch this film Laura,it's a winner all the way.

7:10 AM  
Blogger Laura said...

Hi John!

Thank you so much for your detailed notes which are always greatly enjoyed.

I'm very much looking forward to seeing LARCENY in a nicce print! I hadn't initially planned to get up to Hollywood mid-week in order to see IT ALWAYS RAINS ON SUNDAY but your glowing review of it is certainly going to cause me to reconsider, if it becomes possible to do so. Since I love London, seeing aspects of the city on film is always of interest to me as well. I have also not caught NIGHT AND THE CITY although I do have the Criterion DVD thanks to a kind friend who shared a surplus copy with me!

You also have me intrigued by PERSONS IN HIDING. I looked it up on IMDb and see my favorite of George O'Brien's leading ladies, Virginia Vale, has a small role in it.

Your movie evenings with your friends sound like such fun! I loved your description of it and wished I had been there too. :)

I'm heading straight over to Toby's to check out the comments there -- THE COUNTERFEIT PLAN sounds like movie bliss for me, Peggie Castle *and* Zachary Scott! :)

I'd love to know more about HIGHWAY 301. I find I tend to enjoy the movies Andrew L. Stone wrote and directed, I've seen several but still have a number to watch. Somehow HIGHWAY 301 had escaped my notice but Virginia Grey is a big favorite and I like Steve Cochran too. Might need to get this in the next Warner Archive sale!

Thanks, as always, for sharing your enthusiastic news and takes, John!

Best wishes,
Laura

11:23 PM  
Blogger Jerry E said...

Belatedly (having trouble with Google blogger), I would like to add my support to John K's recommendation of "It Always Rains On Sunday", one of my favourite movies.
Produced by Ealing Studios London, close to where I was born and brought up,the studio was best known (rightly) for their comedies but they covered a wide range actually and this noir (1947) and "Pool Of London" (1950) evoke a London that John and I will remember but one that is largely gone now.

I guess, Laura, you are familiar with the other film in the double, "Brighton Rock" from the classic novel by Graham Greene. It was filmed on location in Brighton in 1949/50 and is a fine adaptation.

A great double bill that would be worth catching, if you can sqeeze it in!!

3:59 AM  
Blogger Laura said...

Hi Jerry! I'm belatedly replying as my work schedule last week left me with little time for blogging. Thanks for adding your thoughts on IT NEVER RAINS ON SUNDAY, I'm certainly intrigued by the high praise it's received here.

I actually haven't seen BRIGHTON ROCK yet, but having spent a day in Brighton years ago that film would be of interest as well.

I enjoyed your reminisces very much, as always!

Best wishes,
Laura

11:51 PM  

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