SAT AUG 12, 2023 3:00 PM THE SPIRITUALIST $8.00 (member) ; $13.00 (general admission) Aero Theatre | Introduction by Eddie Muller ‘NOIR CITY: Hollywood 2023’ Tickets are no longer on sale for this event.
ABOUT THE FILM: THE SPIRITUALIST a.k.a. THE AMAZING MR. X, 78 Minutes, Sony, USA. Originally released July 29, 1948 by Eagle-Lion Films Screenplay by Muriel Roy Bolton and Ian McLellan Hunter, from a story by Crane Wilbur Produced by Benjamin Stoloff Directed by Bernard Vorhaus John Alton’s stunning cinematography elevates to exhilarating heights this clever story of a psychic (Turhan Bey) insinuating himself into the moody cliffside mansion of a wealthy widow (Lynn Bari) by convincing her, and her less-impressionable daughter (Cathy O’Donnell), that he can communicate with the dead. The film’s exploration of the occult is impressively thorough, thanks to the use of real seance techniques and jargon from the era. Crane Wilbur would go on to write some of Eagle-Lion’s toughest docu-noirs, but here he tries his hand at mystery and succeeds in keeping us constantly guessing. Filled with clever visual gags and tricky sleight-of-hand, and featuring a smooth-as-silk turn by Bey as the sophisticated charlatan. One of the most satisfying “B” films of the era. CAST: Turhan Bey (Alexis), Lynn Bari (Christine Faber), Cathy O’Donnell (Janet Burke), Richard Carlson (Martin Abbott), Donald Curtis (Paul Faber), Virginia Gregg (Emily), Harry Mendoza (Detective Hoffman) FORMAT: 35mm