| Lust & Larceny: Film Noir 12th
Annual Festival
This is an Egyptian Theatre Exclusive!
Presented in collaboration with Film
Noir Foundation.
The venerable NOIR CITY film festival returns to the Egyptian Theatre for its 12th
year, presenting an astonishing array of rarities available ONLY on the big screen!
We’ve scoured studio archives to assemble a feast of film noir that can only be
consumed in its original 35mm format, in the glorious darkness of a vintage movie palace!
This year’s program features the Los Angeles premiere of the Film Noir
Foundation’s restoration of CRY DANGER, a must-see for noir fans and lovers of
old Los Angeles locales; unearthed gems from William Castle’s pre-1950s resume; a
queasy quartet of Gothic noirs; a George Raft tribute double bill; two new prints from THE
WHISTLER film series; stunning femmes fatales (Rhonda Fleming, Claire Trevor,
Geraldine Fitzgerald, Hedy Lamarr, Laraine Day, Cleo Moore, Anne Baxter); an amazing
assortment of noir heavies (plenty of pre-Perry Mason Raymond Burr and William Talman);
and the long-awaited reappearance of one of the most sought-after "lost" films
in the noir canon: NEW YORK CONFIDENTIAL! This may be the last chance to ever see
these extraordinary films on a big screen - don’t miss a single one!
Join as a new member (or purchase a gift membership) during Film Noir and take home a
goodie bag with DVDs and other surprises, including a Sony Film Noir new release. Ask at
the box office. Supply limited so don't delay!
Plus, all audience members will have a
chance to win a pair of tickets to the Geffen
Playhouse's production of NIGHTMARE ALLEY!
You can also enter a drawing to
win tickets to UCLA Live's evening of Organ
and Film celebrating the work of Alfred Hitchcock and famed composer Bernard Herrmann.
Organists Christoph Bull and Stephen Tharp perform live on Royce Hall's Skinner organ
to scenes from Psycho, Vertigo and the early silent classic, The Lodger.Visit uclalive.org for more information.
Silent Auction:
Cinematheque Member Helen Garber donated a photograph for a silent auction. Bid on the
photo in the Egyptian Lobby through April 18.
This evocative "noir" inspired photo is a selenium toned silver
print photograph, numbered 3/20. Beautifully framed, "Pier Fog II"
is a 20 x 24 print valued at $2,250. It is in the permanent collection of corporations and
museums and was in the inaugural juried show for the Annenberg Community Beach.
Friday, April 2 – 7:30 PM
Bill Bowers Tribute Double Feature: New 35mm Restored
Print! CRY DANGER, 1951, Paramount, 79
min. Dir. Robert Parrish. One of the most wicked and witty revenge yarns of the original
film noir era is also an amazing tour of mid-century downtown Los Angeles. Screenplay by
Bill Bowers, based on Jerome Cady's story. A new restoration courtesy of the Film Noir
Foundation and the UCLA Film and Television Archive. NOT ON DVD Trailer
TIGHT SPOT, 1955, Sony Repertory, 97 min. Dir. Phil
Karlson. Screenwriter Bill Bowers is back, providing a whip-crack rendition of Leonard
Kantor’s stage play about a tough dame (Ginger Rogers) being squeezed by the DA
(Edward G. Robinson) to testify against a mob boss. NOT ON DVD Rhonda
Fleming and Richard Erdman in person! Clip | Buy Tickets
Saturday, April 3 – 7:30 PM
George Raft Tribute Double Feature:
RED LIGHT, 1949, Warner Bros., 83 min. Dir. Roy Del Ruth. San
Francisco truck company owner Johnny Torno (George Raft) seeks revenge on the killers of
his priest brother, who left a clue to the culprit’s identity in a missing Bible. NOT ON DVD
JOHNNY ANGEL, 1945, Warner Bros., 79 min. Dir. Edwin L.
Marin. Ship captain Raft plays straight man to a cast of colorful actors - Claire Trevor,
Signe Hasso, Hoagy Carmichael, Marvin Miller and Margaret Wycherly – as he pursues
his father’s killer through a backlot New Orleans demimonde cunningly photographed by
Harry Wild. NOT ON DVD Buy Tickets
Sunday, April 4 – 7:30 PM
William Castle Tribute Double Feature: HOLLYWOOD STORY, 1951, Universal, 76 min. Dir. William
Castle. Richard Conte plays a wannabe independent producer who buys a vacant studio lot
and gets embroiled in the mystery of a film director murdered there many years before. NOT ON DVD
UNDERTOW, 1949, Universal, 71 min. Director William Castle
brings panache to this impoverished B-production, enlivening a fairly routine tale of a
framed ex-con (Scott Brady - Lawrence Tierney’s "little" brother) looking
for revenge in the Chicago underworld. Hot dishes Dorothy Hart and Peggy Dow complicate
matters in time-honored tradition. NOT ON DVD Special guest
appearance by actress Julie Adams!! Buy Tickets
Wednesday, April 7 – 7:30 PM
Andrew Stone Tribute Double Feature: JULIE, 1956, Warner Bros., 99 min. Dir. Andrew L. Stone. The
husband-and-wife team of Andrew and Virginia Stone created this suspenseful 1950s version
of GASLIGHT as a vehicle for Doris Day. Here, the vehicle is a jet airliner in which
stewardess Day is trapped by her psychotic husband (a truly scary Louis Jourdan). A wild
"woman in jeopardy" film, nominated for an "Original Screenplay"
Oscar! NOT ON DVD
BLUEPRINT FOR MURDER, 1953, 20th Century Fox, 77
min. Dir. Andrew L. Stone. When his niece dies, Whitney Cameron (Joseph Cotten) suspects
the widow (Jean Peters) of his late brother is bumping off family members for financial
gain. A deadly cat-and-mouse game ensues, climaxing with all the players on an ocean
liner. Trailer | Buy
Tickets Discussion between films with
actress Ann Robinson.
Thursday, April 8 – 7:30 PM
Gothic Noir Double Feature: SO EVIL MY LOVE, 1948, Universal, 112 min. Dir. Lewis
Allen. A widowed missionary (Ann Todd) is befriended aboard-ship by a charming rogue (Ray
Milland) whom she takes in as a boarder. Gorgeous Geraldine Fitzgerald costars in this
perverse and disturbing melodrama of mind-control and madness. NOT
ON DVD
EXPERIMENT PERILOUS, 1944, Warner Bros., 91 min.
Dir. Jacques Tourneur. Fresh off his stunning work for Val Lewton, Tourneur (I WALKED WITH
A ZOMBIE, CAT PEOPLE) directed this challenging tale of a woman (the incandescent Hedy
Lamarr) who believes her husband (Paul Lukas) is plotting to drive her mad. Clip
| Buy Tickets
Friday, April 9 – 7:30 PM
Double Feature: THE
LOCKET, 1946, Warner Bros., 85 min. Dir. John Brahm. On his wedding day, a groom
(Brian Aherne) is told stunning tales regarding the troubled past of his bride-to-be
(Laraine Day), including her destructive affair with a tortured artist (Robert Mitchum).
This dazzling and dizzying psychodrama uses a web of interlocking flashbacks to show how a
woman’s childhood obsession with a prized locket dictates the course of her life. NOT ON DVD
BODYGUARD, 1948, Warner Bros., 62 min. Dir. Richard
Fleischer. Lawrence Tierney is an insubordinate copper who gets framed, turns in
his badge and goes undercover to expose corruption and murder in the meat-packing
industry. Helping him is beautiful Priscilla Lane. This early Richard Fleischer programmer
boasts a breakneck pace and a screenplay by Robert Altman! NOT ON
DVD Buy Tickets
Saturday, April 10 – 7:30 PM
Broderick Crawford Double Feature: NEW YORK CONFIDENTIAL, 1955, Kit Parker Films, 87
min. Dir. Russell Rouse. A mob kingpin (Broderick Crawford) runs the syndicate from a
Manhattan high-rise, assisted by a crew of plug-uglies (J. Carrol Naish, Onslow Stevens,
Barry Kelley and Mike Mazurki). Complicating matters: a newly imported hit man (Richard
Conte), a restless mistress (Marilyn Maxwell) and Brod’s beautifully fragile daughter
(Anne Bancroft). NOT ON DVD
HUMAN DESIRE, 1954, Sony Repertory, 91 min. Dir. Fritz
Lang. You can’t really call this a re-do of THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE because
it’s based on Emile Zola’s 1890 novel La Bete Humaine - but then,
tales of tortured lovers tempted to commit murder are timeless, aren’t they? Glenn
Ford and Gloria Grahame rekindle their flame from Lang’s 1953 smash THE BIG HEAT, and
Broderick Crawford plays the loutish cuckold they want to be rid of. Do we need to note
that things don’t go according to plan? Burnett Guffey supplies the wonderfully
atmospheric cinematography. NOT ON DVD Buy Tickets
Sunday, April 11 – 7:30 PM
It’s a Crooked World Double Feature:
DRIVE A CROOKED ROAD, 1954, Sony Repertory,
83 min. Dir. Richard Quine. Mickey Rooney is cast against type as a car mechanic whose
craving for fast cars and faster women steers him into a blind alley in which there are no
pit stops. Blake Edwards’ crackerjack script is given vivid life by Rooney’s
compelling characterization and a stellar supporting cast (Dianne Foster, Kevin McCarthy,
Jack Kelly). NOT ON DVD
WALK A CROOKED MILE, 1948, Sony Repertory, 91
min. Dir. Gordon Douglas. When a security leak at an atomic energy plant threatens the
safety of the free world, an FBI agent (Dennis O’Keefe) and a Scotland Yard inspector
(Louis Hayward) track the spy ring to - where else? - Commie-infested San Francisco. Hint
to the feds: Look for the big, shifty guy (Raymond Burr) with the Lenin look-alike goatee.
Discussion between films with actor Paul Picerni. Mr. Picerni
also will have a book signing of his memoir Steps to Stardom before the films. NOT
ON DVD Buy Tickets
Wednesday, April 14 – 7:30 PM
Los Angeles Premiere! Neo-Noir EVE'S NECKLACE, 2009, Erickson Films, 80 min. Film noir
is a road regularly traveled by filmmakers, but never has a film noir exclusively
starred... mannequins! Director Daniel Erickson made the highly unusual and cost-effective
decision to shoot the film, originally conceived as live-action, with store-front
"dummies," for which he held an extensive e-Bay casting call. As dread builds in
the film, the impressive feat is achieved of turning an all-mannequin cast into a
sympathetic group of characters. "A killer bizarre mannequin film noir movie...one of
the strangest movies you’ll ever have the likelihood of ever seeing... a fascinating
experiment gone right." - Harry Knowles, Ain’t it Cool News. Discussion following with director Daniel Erickson. Official Website | Buy Tickets
Thursday, April 15 – 7:30 PM
Gothic Noir Double Feature: AMONG THE LIVING, 1941, Universal, 67 min. Dir. Stuart
Heisler. Albert Dekker stars as identical twins who stir up a Gothic whirlwind of
insanity, family skeletons and murder in a small town paralyzed by fear. Penned by Lester
Cole of Hollywood Ten notoriety and costarring a youthfully lush Susan Hayward, venerable
Harry Carey and pre-tragedy Frances Farmer.
DARK WATERS, 1944, Films Around the World, 90 min.
Dir. Andre de Toth. Travel down a dark Southern road of perversity as a distraught
shipwreck survivor (Merle Oberon) returns to her family’s estate near the Big Easy.
Can she trust the earnest doctor (Franchot Tone) who tries to shield her from some
exceedingly strange relatives (Fay Bainter, Thomas Mitchell and Elisha Cook Jr.)? Buy Tickets
Friday, April 16 – 7:30 PM FILM NOIR
Double Feature: CRASHOUT,
1955, Paramount, 89 min. Dir. Lewis R. Foster. William Bendix, Arthur Kennedy, Luther
Adler, Gene Evans, Marshall Thompson and William Talman (as a knife-chucking religious
fanatic) break out of the pen in pursuit of a stashed robbery payroll. Distracting from
their quest are leggy farm girl Beverly Michaels, wholesome Gloria Talbott and noir
favorite Percy Helton. NOT ON DVD
CRY VENGEANCE, 1954, Paramount, 82 min. Mark Stevens
(THE DARK CORNER) stars in and directs this brutal revenge melodrama in which a
psychically and physically scarred ex-cop (Stevens) hunts the killer of his family to the
wilds of Ketchikan, Alaska. NOT ON DVD Buy Tickets
Saturday, April 17 EGYPTIAN THEATRE HISTORIC TOUR
EGYPTIAN THEATRE HISTORIC TOUR & FOREVER HOLLYWOOD
10:30 AM Behind the Scenes Tour
11:40 AM FOREVER HOLLYWOOD
Saturday, April 17 – 7:30 PM
Co presented with the Roxie Theater: The Whistler Series
Double Feature: New Print! THE
POWER OF THE WHISTLER, 1945, Sony Repertory, 66 min. Dir. Lew Landers. From radio
to the silver screen and then television, The Whistler was the only episodic
mystery series that can accurately be labeled as film noir. Richard Dix stars as a man
suffering noir’s version of the common cold: amnesia. NOT ON
DVD
New Print! VOICE OF THE WHISTLER, 1945, Sony Repertory, 60
min. Richard Dix is a terminally ill man lured into marriage by a gold digger (Lynn
Merrick) with fatal consequences for all concerned. Written and directed by William
Castle, this is a must-see in a new 35mm print! Discussion in
between films with actor Robert Dix, son of Richard Dix. Robert Dix also will sign his
book Out of Hollywood: Two Generations of Actors in the lobby at 6:15 PM. NOT
ON DVD Buy Tickets
Sunday, April 18 EGYPTIAN THEATRE HISTORIC TOUR
EGYPTIAN THEATRE HISTORIC TOUR & FOREVER HOLLYWOOD
10:30 AM Behind the Scenes Tour
11:40 AM FOREVER HOLLYWOOD
Sunday, April 18 – 7:30 PM
Femme Fatale Double Feature: STRANGE FASCINATION,1952, Sony Repertory, 80 min.
The first of seven features produced, written and directed by low-rent auteur Hugo Haas
stars his fatale muse Cleo Moore. Haas plays a concert pianist led down the road to
perdition by bad girl Moore, with typically painful results. NOT
ON DVD.
THE COME ON, 1956, Paramount, 83 min. Dir. Russell
Birdwell. Anne Baxter pulls out all the stops in her performance as a fetching grifter
tying chump Sterling Hayden into knots in a complex affair involving her abusive
"husband," the suave but scary John Hoyt. NOT ON DVD
Discussion between films with actress Karen Sharpe Kramer (STRANGE FASCINATION). Buy Tickets |
