FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: March 11, 1999
Contact: Margot Gerber
Tel.: 323/466-FILM ext. 115
THE AMERICAN CINEMATHEQUE’S FIRST ANNUAL FESTIVAL OF FILM NOIR HIGHLIGHTED BY IN-PERSON APPEARANCES BY LEGENDARY FILM NOIR FEMMES FATALE AND THEIR DIRECTORS
Appearing in-person: Marie Windsor, Evelyn Keyes, Ann Savage, Coleen Gray, Audrey Totter, Lizabeth Scott and Rhonda Fleming, plus master directors Robert Wise, Budd Boetticher and Richard Fleischer
April 2 - 15, 1999
HOLLYWOOD – The American Cinematheque at the Egyptian presents SIDE STREETS AND BACK ALLEYS: THE FIRST ANNUAL FESTIVAL OF FILM NOIR (April 2 -15, 1999). This eight night series features special in-person appearances by legendary femmes fatale Marie Windsor (THE NARROW MARGIN), Evelyn Keyes (THE KILLER STALKED NEW YORK), Ann Savage (DETOUR), Coleen Gray (NIGHTMARE ALLEY), Audrey Totter (TENSION) and Rhonda Fleming (THE KILLER IS LOOSE), as well as master-directors Robert Wise (BORN TO KILL), Budd Boetticher (THE KILLER IS LOOSE) and Richard Fleischer (ARMORED CAR ROBBERY, VIOLENT SATURDAY). Also in attendance is Eddie Muller who recently published DARK CITY: THE LOST WORLD OF FILM NOIR (St. Martin’s Griffin Press), an analysis of one of the rare organic artistic movements in Hollywood history -- the doom-laden crime dramas that came to be known as film noir. On Saturdays April 3rd and 10th Muller will sign copies of his book which will be on-sale throughout the series. If you think you’ve mined all the jewels this classic era has to offer, think again, the Cinematheque has rediscovered a veritable gold mine of botched bank jobs and lethal love-nests, hidden away in long-forgotten alleyways and high-risk hotels. These jewels range from rarely-screened classics like BRUTE FORCE and NIGHTMARE ALLEY, to neglected gems by B-movie maestros Felix Feist, Cy Endfield and Russell Rouse. Other highlights of the series include screenings of such Noir classics as THE NARROW MARGIN with Marie Windsor in-person; DESERT FURY starring Lizabeth Scott; new 35 mm prints of Phil Karlson's 99 RIVER STREET and KANSAS CITY CONFIDENTIAL; ARMORED CAR ROBBERY and VIOLENT SATURDAY with director Richard Fleischer in-person; and Sabucat Films’ Ultra-Rare FILM NOIR TRAILER SHOW. [All films in 35 mm., except TOMORROW IS ANOTHER DAY, THE THIEF and THE UNDERWORLD STORY.
"Film Noirs were distress flares launched onto America’s movie screens by
artists working the night shift at the Dream Factory," says Eddie Muller in
his book, DARK CITY: THE LOST WORLD OF FILM NOIR. No one knows when it
began. Was it in the cruel shadows of Fritz Lang’s M? The expressionistic
paranoia of Boris Ingster’s STRANGER ON THE THIRD FLOOR? Or the hardboiled
duplicity of John Huston’s THE MALTESE FALCON? Erupting full-scale in the
late Forties and all but extinguished by the mid-Fifties (well before the
term film noir ever caught on in this country), Film Noir’s dark sorcery
lingers on, in works both revisionist (L.A. CONFIDENTIAL) and parodic (THE
BIG LEBOWSKI).
Friday, April 2, 1999
The Friday, April 2nd program begins at 7:00 PM with THE NARROW MARGIN
(1952, RKO (Warner Classics), 71 min.) and will feature an in-person
appearance to Marie Windsor. Directed by Richard Fleischer, this film always
receives its share of votes as one of the finest noirs ever made -- and the
spiciest of its many ingredients is the unforgettable Marie Windsor. She
and co-star Charles McGraw trade priceless putdowns as he ferries her across
the rails from Chicago to L.A., where she’s scheduled to testify in a
racket-busting trial. With excellent camerawork by George Diskant.
Discussion following with actress Marie Windsor, director Richard Fleischer
and producer Stanley Rubin. Following at 9:30 PM, is a Richard Fleischer
double feature. First is the noir master’s ARMORED CAR ROBBERY (1950, RKO
(Warner Classics), 67 min.). Sensational B-movie cops and robbers stuff in
which steely Charles McGraw tracks down the gang that killed his partner in
a daring daylight robbery outside Wrigley Field ballpark. Featuring the
stunning Adele Jurgens and an especially reptilian performance by noir
villain extraordinaire William Talman. A sturdy crime thriller without a
single wasted movement. Next on the same bill is a screening of a new 35 mm
print of VIOLENT SATURDAY (1955, 20th Century Fox, 91 min.), a vivid
adaptation of W.B. Heath’s classic caper novel. Film noir gets the full
mid-Fifties treatment -- lush color and Cinemascope -- in this Victor Mature
and Sylvia Sidney starrer. The terrific cast includes Lee Marvin in his
thuggish prime. This complex tale is about the build-up to a small-town bank
heist. Director Richard Fleischer to introduce screenings.
Saturday, April 3, 1999 at 5:30 PM
Booksigning with Eddie Muller - author of DARK CITY: THE LOST WORLD OF FILM NOIR [Egyptian Theatre Lobby]. No charge to attend.
Saturday, April 3, 1999
The Saturday, April 3rd program begins at 7:00 PM with THE KILLER THAT
STALKED NEW YORK (1950, Columbia, 79 min.).Star Evelyn Keyes will appear
in-person. Radiant Keyes glows with something deadly in this underrated tale
of a jewel-smuggler spreading smallpox throughout the Big Apple. Earl McEvoy
directs this classic noir tale of infidelity and deceit played out against
the escalating panic of a city-wide epidemic. The vertiginous climax is a
noir classic, heightened by Joseph Biroc’s moody cinematography. Discussion following with actress Evelyn Keyes. Following
at 9:30 PM is a Phil Karlson double feature beginning with the screening of
a new 35 mm print of 99 RIVER STREET (1953, U.A., 83 min.). An aspiring
actress (Evelyn Keyes again!) gets entangled with a washed-up boxer (John
Payne) framed for his trampy wife’s murder. They’ve only got a few hours to
hunt down the real killer. Nobody crafted rugged crime dramas better than
director Phil Karlson, and this is one of his best. Keyes lights up the
screen in her breathless "confession" scene, and crooner Payne is a
convincing noir nighthawk. Next on the same bill is a screening of a new 35
mm print of KANSAS CITY CONFIDENTIAL (1952, U.A., 98 min.) in which bitter
ex-con John Payne vows vengeance on the mastermind who set him up as the
patsy in a daring Kansas City robbery. When the gang meets later in a
Mexican fishing resort to split the spoils, the double-crosses fly fast and
furious. The indelible cast includes Preston Foster, Coleen Gray, Lee van
Cleef, Neville Brand and Jack Elam.
Tuesday, April 6, 1999
The Tuesday, April 6th program begins with a screening of BORN TO KILL
(1947, RKO (Warner Classics), 92 min.) featuring an in-person appearance by
director Robert Wise (who at the other end of the spectrum directed THE
SOUND OF MUSIC). Unquestionably the most depraved picture made in Hollywood
in the 1940’s, BORN TO KILL stars Lawrence Tierney (the meanest man in noir)
as a homicidal social climber who meets his match in debased San Francisco
socialite Claire Trevor. He marries her wealthy half-sister (Audrey Long),
but carries on his torrid affair with Claire while tenacious detective
Walter Slezak hunts him down. This murderous, panting pair make MacMurray
and Stanwyck in DOUBLE INDEMNITY, pale in comparison. Elisha Cook Jr. is
Tierney’s justifiably nervous pal. Discussion following with director
Robert Wise. Following at 9:30 PM is a Director Jules Dassin double feature
beginning with BRUTE FORCE (1947, 98 min.), an extremely intense, violent
and nihilistic prison drama. Burt Lancaster plots a breakout for the
inmates of Cell R-17, so that they can escape the inhuman sadism of jailer
Hume Cronyn. The climactic prison break was a shocker for its time, as the
bust-out erupts into full-throttle warfare. Still the most unforgettable
men-behind-bars picture ever made -- courtesy of noir-legend Dassin (NAKED
CITY, NIGHT AND THE CITY.) Next on the same bill is a screening of a rare 35
mm print of THIEVES’ HIGHWAY (1949, Fox, 94 min.) in which tough-as-nails
Richard Conte returns from the war to find his trucker-father crippled by a
shady "accident" and heads straight for San Francisco to take his revenge on
corrupt produce broker Lee J. Cobb. Complicating matters even more, he must
choose between cool blonde WASP Barbara Lawrence and earthy European refugee
Valentina Cortesa. Director Jules Dassin’s leftist leanings (which would
lead to his ouster from Hollywood) found their most subtle outlet in this
fabulous noir, written by A.I. Bezzerides (ON DANGEROUS GROUND, KISS ME
DEADLY). Print courtesy of the UCLA Film & TV Archive
Wednesday, April 7, 1999
The Wednesday, April 7th program begins at 7:00 PM with a screening of
DETOUR (1945, PRC (Wade Williams), 69 min.) featuring an in-person
appearance by actress Ann Savage. Hitchhiking to Hollywood, loser Tom Neal
takes several wrong turns and ends up on the expressway to hell -- Ann
Savage plays the vixen vagabond who ushers him there. She ends up paying a
stiff toll herself. This haunting film, shot in only six days, is for many,
the definitive example of noir fatalism -- be sure to check out our
retrospective tribute to director Edgar G. Ulmer in August at the Egyptian
Theatre! Discussion following with actress Ann Savage. Following at 9:30
PM is a Director Felix Feist triple bill beginning with THE DEVIL THUMBS A
RIDE (1947, RKO (Warner Classics), 62 min.), a strange film with legendary
status among "B" movies, due to the frigid, amoral performance of Lawrence
Tierney as a hitchhiking, homicidal maniac. He commandeers a car full of
innocents for a harrowing, dead-of-night adventure that veers from snide
comedy to cold-blooded shocks. Like DETOUR, this no-budget wonder is best
viewed late, when its black magic takes full effect. Next on the same bill
is THE THREAT (1949, RKO (Warner Classics), 66 min.) in which a vicious
gangster escapes from prison to capture and torture the cops and finks who
turned him in. As the fearsome hardcase, tight-lipped Charles McGraw runs
amok, slapping the entire cast senseless. Director Felix Feist had an
unsettling flair for eruptions of cruelty and violence, and this
little-known thriller is chock-full of them. Next on the same bill is
TOMORROW IS ANOTHER DAY (1951, Warners, 90 min.) starring Steve Cochran as
an ex-con who’s never been with a woman. Ruth Roman is a dime-a-dance dame
with no use for sappy men. A hotel room, a dirty cop, a gunshot -- the
perfect jump-off for a fugitives-on-the-run love story. This virtually
unknown noir is Felix Feist’s masterwork, packed with revelatory set-pieces.
Cochran was never more vulnerable, Roman never sexier. Imagine GUN CRAZY
scripted by Steinbeck!
Saturday, April 10, 1999 at 5:30 PM
Booksigning with Eddie Muller - author of DARK CITY: THE LOST WORLD OF FILM NOIR [Egyptian Theatre Lobby]. No charge to attend.
Saturday, April 10, 1999
The Saturday, April 10th program begins at 7:00 PM with a screening of THE
KILLER IS LOOSE (1956, U.A., 73 min.) featuring in-person appearances by
director Budd Boetticher and actress Rhonda Fleming. Best-known for his
awesome Randolph Scott-westerns (THE TALL T, RIDE LONESOME), here, director
Budd Boetticher turns his camera on the ‘50s suburban frontier -- where he
finds a crazed psycho stalking the streets. Wendell Corey is the disturbed
Korean War vet who decides to punish his life-long persecutors, Joseph
Cotten is the cop in hot pursuit and wife Rhonda Fleming the dazzling lure.
With terrific photography by cinematographer Lucien Ballard. Discussion
following with director Budd Boetticher and actress Rhonda Fleming.
Following at 9:30 PM is a Director Russell Rouse double feature beginning
with a screening of a new 35 mm print of WICKED WOMAN (1954, U.A., 77 min.).
In this racy little B-movie, scarlet woman Beverly Michaels cons saloon
owner Richard Egan into bilking his boozy wife out of her dough, then toys with the affections of devote Percy
Helton. She plans on dumping both and leaving a dust trail to Mexico.
Michaels was definitely director Rouse’s kind of woman: they married after
making this picture -- an extra twist to this juicy noir. Next on the same
bill is THE THIEF (1952, Wade Williams , 87 min.) Who on earth would make a
silent film in 1952? Russell Rouse, that’s who! His take on the Red Menace
genre is utterly unique: told from the P.O.V. of scientist Ray Milland, who
is selling secrets to the Communists, THE THIEF features not a single word
of dialogue!! The suspenseful storytelling is propelled by a terrific score
by Herschel Burke Gilbert. A true noir rarity!
Sunday, April 11, 1999
The Sunday, April 11th program begins at 5:00 PM with an ultra-rare
screening of a 35mm print of NIGHTMARE ALLEY (1947, 20th Century Fox, 110
min.) featuring an in-person appearance by Coleen Gray. Directed by Edmund
Goulding, this film is one of the bleakest and most audacious "A" picture
ever to emerge from Hollywood. When handsome heartthrob Tyrone Power read
William Lindsay Gresham’s scathing novel, he snapped up the rights, eager to
broaden his range (and tarnish his good-guy image). He is terrific as a
carnival roustabout who hits the big-time as a phony "mentalist," but gets
caught between the longings of devilish Helen Walker and angelic Coleen
Gray. Long unavailable due to rights problems, NIGHTMARE ALLEY gets an
ultra-rare screening here in a beautiful 35mm print. Discussion following
with Coleen Gray. Following at 7:45 PM is a Director John Auer double
feature which begins with a brand new 35mm print of THE CITY THAT NEVER
SLEEPS (1953, Republic (Kit Parker), 90 min.). A a down-and-dirty crime
potboiler filled with ingenious plot twists and eccentric characters engaged
in life-or-death struggles. Producer/director John H. Auer and writer Steve
Fisher present a sordid tale about one night in the urban jungle, narrated
by the city (Chicago) itself! A superb cast of B-movie stalwarts (Gig
Young, Edward Arnold, William Talman, Marie Windsor) highlights the story of
a young cop ensnared in the shady dealings of a slew of sinister suspects --
including the tear-jerking Mechanical Man! Next on the same bill is a
screening of a 35mm print of HELL’S HALF ACRE (1954, Republic (Kit Parker),
91 min.) which is filmed in the notorious red light district of Honolulu.
Evelyn Keyes becomes a taxi dancer to hunt for her missing G.I. husband
Wendell Corey, who she believes is alive and writing hit songs in Hawaii!
Little does she know he’s more than a simple songsmith -- he’s also a
gangster vying with Philip Ahn for control of the island’s vice rackets.
Toss the sultry and statuesque Marie Windsor into the mix, and it’s pulp
nirvana. Imagine film noir with a slack-key guitar soundtrack... as good as
trashy B-movies get! Print courtesy of UCLA Film & TV Archive! Plus,
Sabucat’s ultra-rare FILM NOIR TRAILER SHOW! Join us for an hour-long blast
of some of the best (and rarest) film noir trailers courtesy of Sabucat
Films -- including promo spots for CRISS CROSS, THE GLASS KEY, NIGHTMARE
ALLEY, BRUTE FORCE, NIAGARA and much more!!
Wednesday, April 14, 1999
The Wednesday, April 14th program begins at 7:00 PM with a screening of
TENSION (1949, MGM (Warner Classics), 95 min.), featuring an in-person
appearance by actress Audrey Totter. Here, vampy sexpot Audrey Totter is
married to mild-mannered druggist Richard Basehart -- but she sleeps with
every "real man" she sees. So Basehart takes the noir way out -- kill his wife’s
lover and disappears with a new identity. But cops Barry Sullivan and
William Conrad smell a rat. Then Audrey and Barry eye each other and the
tension is stretched to the breaking point. Directed by John Berry.
Discussion following with actress Audrey Totter. Following at 9:30 PM, is a
Director Cy Endfield double feature beginning with TRY AND GET ME (1950,
Republic (Kit Parker), 85 min.). Out-of-work vet Frank Lovejoy gets talked
into a crime spree by flashy hood Lloyd Bridges (in a memorable,
squirm-inducing performance), and things swiftly turn deranged and
desperate. A harsh, unsettling and unrelenting film that was given a new
title (the original was THE SOUND OF FURY) and then quickly yanked from
release amid fears that is was "un-American." (Director Cyril Endfield,
sensing his imminent blacklisting, packed his bags for England -- where he
wound up making the impressive ZULU.) Get ready for the gut-wrenching
climax, brilliantly staged by Endfield and shot by Guy Roe. Next on the
same bill is THE UNDERWORLD STORY (1950, 90 min.) with Herbert Marshall,
Gale Storm, and Howard da Silva. Another unjustly-neglected noir by
director Cy Enfield, in which the always-entertaining Dan Duryea plays a
cynical reporter who digs dangerously close to a corrupt publisher’s family
secrets. With dazzling cinematography by the late, great Stanley Cortez
(NIGHT OF THE HUNTER, THE MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS).
Thursday, April 15, 1999
The Thursday, April 15th program begins at 7:00 PM with a screening of a
35mm print of DESERT FURY (1947, Paramount (Universal), 96 min.) starring
Lizabeth Scott in Technicolor glory (swirls of yellow hair, emerald eyes,
fire-engine red lips). Directed by Lewis Allen, this very strange crime
drama also stars Mary Astor who seems a bit too-enamored of her own daughter
(Liz), Wendell Corey is murderously-miffed at being tossed aside by John
Hodiak, and beefcake Burt Lancaster seems oblivious to the mix-and-match
sexuality surging around him. DESERT FURY is absolutely saturated --
incredibly lush colors, fast and furious dialogue dripping with innuendo,
double-entendres, dark secrets, outraged face slappings, and overwrought
Miklos Rosza violins. Print courtesy of UCLA Film & TV Archive! Lizabeth Scott will appear following the screening. Following at 9:30 PM is a double feature of films that paved the road to Travis Bickle (TAXI DRIVER), beginning with MURDER BY CONTRACT (1958, Columbia, 81 min.).Cold, ruthless young Vince Edwards decides to stake his place in the world as a hired killer -- and the world teaches him frigid, pitiless lessons. An ultra-low budget gem from director Irving Lerner, with a strangely-hypnotic pace and a spare, haunting musical theme by Perry Botkin. A personal fave of director Martin Scorsese, who’s admitted this film’s influence on TAXI DRIVER -- particularly the Travis-in-training sequences. Next on the same bill is THE SNIPER (1952, Columbia, 87 min.), a rarely-seen stunner from the early 50’s in which tortured loner Arthur Franz stalks beautiful women (including NARROW MARGIN’s Marie Windsor) with a high-powered rifle. The first film to seriously examine sex-motivated serial killers, the opening scenes of Franz prowling the streets of San Francisco have a completely unnerving, low-key realism to them -- courtesy of director Edward Dmytryk (CROSSFIRE) and cinematographer Burnett Guffey.
A complete calendar/flyer listing of these films has been mailed to you.
BLACK & WHITE PHOTOS, 35MM COLOR TRANSPARENCIES, PRESS KITS AND INTERVIEWS
WITH SERIES GUESTS AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST .
WE DO NOT HAVE GUARANTEED PRESS PASSES TO PUBLIC SCREENINGS. IT IS
RECOMMENDED THAT YOU TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE ADVANCE PRESS SCREENINGS.
SCREENINGS FREQUENTLY SELL OUT.
THEATRICAL PRESS SCREENINGS MAY BE SET UP FOR SOME TITLES. PLEASE CALL FOR
DATES AND TIMES. ADVANCE PRESS SCREENINGS OF SOME FILMS WILL BE AVAILABLE ON
VIDEOTAPE AT THE OFFICES OF THE AMERICAN CINEMATHEQUE CALL 323.466.3456 ext.
115 or 116 TO SCHEDULE SCREENINGS. BELOW IS A LIST OF AVAILABLE FILMS AS OF
THIS DATE AVAILABLE TITLES:
THE NARROW MARGIN
ARMORED CAR ROBBERY
VIOLENT SATURDAY
99 RIVER STREET
KANSAS CITY CONFIDENTIAL
THE THREAT
BORN TO KILL
BRUTE FORCE
DETOUR
THE DEVIL THUMBS A RIDE
THE KILLER IS LOOSE
THE SNIPER
NIGHTMARE ALLEY
THE CITY THAT NEVER SLEEPS
HELL'S HALF ACRE
TRY AND GET ME
THE PROGRAM IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE.
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