The Back Alley Forums http://www.backalleynoir.com/ Film Noir discussion board en Wed, 19 Jun 2013 06:16:01 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.backalleynoir.com/images/BittenFruit_fluid/misc/rss.png The Back Alley Forums http://www.backalleynoir.com/ Top Three Film Noir from 1955-1959 http://www.backalleynoir.com/showthread.php?5231-Top-Three-Film-Noir-from-1955-1959&goto=newpost Wed, 19 Jun 2013 02:32:57 GMT We could do a top favorite list of 1950's Noir, but I thought I narrow it down to middle to late 50's.

My top three:

  1. The Big Combo (1955)
  2. The Killing (1956)
  3. Nightfall (1957)

What are your top three favorite Noir films from 1955 through 1959? ]]> Film Noir Keith http://www.backalleynoir.com/showthread.php?5231-Top-Three-Film-Noir-from-1955-1959 My Noir Student Film... http://www.backalleynoir.com/showthread.php?5230-My-Noir-Student-Film&goto=newpost Tue, 18 Jun 2013 22:31:32 GMT Hey guys,

I'm a 19-year-old art student, and a huge film noir enthusiast. As my final piece for college, I decided to make my own short film; drawing influence from the works of Edward Hopper, my favourite noir movies, the poetry of Charles Bukowski and the music of Tom Waits. There are certain aspects I'd like to reshoot, but being that I was limited to a month to write/storyboard/film/edit, I'm generally pleased with the project.

Here's a link to the film on vimeo - https://vimeo.com/68629270

This is my second attempt at making a film, so please let me know what ya'll think. Thanks!

Tommy :) ]]> Film Noir TheOneThatGotAway http://www.backalleynoir.com/showthread.php?5230-My-Noir-Student-Film Lawrence Block on Fredric Brown http://www.backalleynoir.com/showthread.php?5228-Lawrence-Block-on-Fredric-Brown&goto=newpost Tue, 18 Jun 2013 21:49:16 GMT
Quote:
I’d discovered Brown my freshman year in college, when my roommate Steve Schwerner and I ate up The Screaming Mimi and The Wench is Dead. I wasn’t calling it research then. I just loved the way the guy wrote, and now I had good reason to read everything the man had written.
So one night I came home from the office via the Merc. I remember that it was a Friday, and I’d stopped on my way home to pick up a bottle of Jim Beam, thinking it would be pleasant to have a drink or two while I read Murder Can Be Fun. I opened the book and the bottle, and every time Brown’s protagonist had a drink, I had one myself. Now you could do this with Agatha Christie or Ellery Queen and you’d be fine, but with Fred Brown it was suicidal. The next thing I knew it was morning, and I was passed out on the floor, and the bottle was empty, and the book barely half-finished.
more here on Block's Blog

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]]> ACME Bookstore - noir books Steve-O http://www.backalleynoir.com/showthread.php?5228-Lawrence-Block-on-Fredric-Brown <![CDATA['Sin City: A Dame to Kill For' Pushed Back to Summer 2014 - Screen Rant]]> http://www.backalleynoir.com/showthread.php?5227-Sin-City-A-Dame-to-Kill-For-Pushed-Back-to-Summer-2014-Screen-Rant&goto=newpost Tue, 18 Jun 2013 16:36:22 GMT Image: http://cdn.screenrant.com/wp-content/uploads/sin-city-2-dame-kill-for-release-date.jpg Iron Man and Superman’s latest adventures were also...
Iron Man and Superman’s latest adventures were also their most grim to date, and the comic book movie crowd is only going to become more dark and twisted over the forthcoming months (see:*The Wolverine and Kick-Ass 2). For some, this was all part of the warmup for this October’s helping of brutal violence, when Frank Miller’s graphic novel neo-Noir Sin City would return to the big screen under Robert Rodriguez’ direction, in Sin City: A Dame to Kill For.
However, those anxiously waiting to see the overdue*Sin City movie sequel will have to keep being patient, now that the film has been pushed back another year from October 2013 to August 2014. Dimension Films and the Weinstein Company have yet to give an official reason for the delay, at the time of writing this; meanwhile, Rodriguez is still going to release his first non-Spy Kids movie in three years this September, in the shape of the Grindhouse throwback sequel Machete Kills.

The Sin City sequel, like its predecessor, is a collection of short stories that jump back and forth in time, but are woven together by the various inhabitants of Basin City. Miller’s “A Dame to Kill For” comic story serves as the unifying thread, with Josh Brolin playing Dwight McCarthy – the younger version of Clive Owen’s character in the first movie – and Eva Green as the femme fatale Ava Lord. Miller wrote some original story material for Rodriguez’ sequel, alongside Oscar-winning screenwriter William Monahan (of The Departed fame).
It’s possible that Dimenson and the Weinsteins decided that Sin City 2*would fare better during the dog days of Summer, as opposed to an early Fall launch date (a spot which failed to serve last year’s violent Dredd comic book adaptation well). Warner Bros. has postponed 300: Rise of an Empire – which is another Miller comic adaptation starring Green – from this August until March of next year; that may have, likewise, affected the decision to delay the Sin City sequel… again.

A Dame to Kill For reunites Rodriguez and Miller with several of the cast members from the first Sin City*film (including Mickey Rourke and Bruce Willis), in addition to talented new players like Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Ray Liotta, among others. Nonetheless, it’s hard to shake that feeling that Sin City released at the right time – during the modern comic book movie renaissance – and that Rodriguez’ attempt to top that film’s extreme stylization by incorporating 3D*just won’t*have the same impact (regardless of how well it’s done).
Similarly, it’s fair to say that many people has abandoned their faith in Miller’s storytelling abilities, after his writing-directing film debut on The Spirit and recent comic book work (see: “All Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder”); that Sin City 2 includes newly-written material from Miller, won’t help the film’s cause in that regard (even when taking into consideration that Monahan handled revisions on the script).

By comparison, the next 300 installment – based on Miller’s “Xerxes” comic book – was co-adapted for the screen by Zack Snyder and Kurt Johnstad, but Snyder had to pass over the director responsibilities to Noam Murro (Smart People). Last week, the*Rise of an Empire trailer*premiered and managed to surpass many a film buff’s expectations (which, admittedly, wasn’t all that difficult); yet, the footage on display wasn’t impressive enough to really ease the general concerns that maybe 300 should’ve been a one-off movie.
How about it: are you still excited to see both the Sin City and 300 (pseudo-)sequels on the big screen? Or have you jumped off these bandwagons, given how much time has passed since the first movies – Sin City released in 2005, 300 in 2007 – and the increasingly dubious quality of Miller’s comic book writing over the past decade?
_____
300: Rise of an Empire opens in U.S. theaters on March 7th, 2014.
Sin City: A Dame to Kill For arrives in theaters on August 22nd, 2014.
Source: Exhibitor Relations
"Follow us if you want to live."



More... ]]> Film Noir News Film Noir Press - Noir news from the internet http://www.backalleynoir.com/showthread.php?5227-Sin-City-A-Dame-to-Kill-For-Pushed-Back-to-Summer-2014-Screen-Rant <![CDATA[KEYHOLE – First Trailer for Guy Maddin's New Film Noir - The End of Being]]> http://www.backalleynoir.com/showthread.php?5222-KEYHOLE-–-First-Trailer-for-Guy-Maddin-s-New-Film-Noir-The-End-of-Being&goto=newpost Tue, 18 Jun 2013 16:36:22 GMT by Red Cell


“It also begins to seem possible that the characters in Keyhole may not be alive.” Keyhole Press Release
Starring Jason Patric, Isabella Rossellini, Kevin McDonald and Udo Kier.
Inspired by Homer’s Odyssey, Maddin’s Keyhole is about a gangster and deadbeat father, Ulysses Pick (Patric), who returns home after a long absence, toting a drowned girl and a bound young man with him. His gang of hoodlums awaits him inside, but Ulysses is more interested in making his way through the house, room by room, looking for his wife Hyacinth (Rossellini).
http://theendofbeing.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/First_trailer_for_Guy_Maddin_s_gangster_noir_Keyhole.flvKeyhole’s Post Production Diary can be found here: http://keyhole-movie.tumblr.com/



More... ]]> Film Noir News Film Noir Press - Noir news from the internet http://www.backalleynoir.com/showthread.php?5222-KEYHOLE-–-First-Trailer-for-Guy-Maddin-s-New-Film-Noir-The-End-of-Being <![CDATA[Noir Tv - "A Handful of Money" – 1964 Murder with an Aussie Twist]]> http://www.backalleynoir.com/showthread.php?5221-Noir-Tv-quot-A-Handful-of-Money-quot-–-1964-Murder-with-an-Aussie-Twist&goto=newpost Tue, 18 Jun 2013 11:08:06 GMT HOMICIDE – "A Handful of Money" – 1964 This is episode two of the long running Australian Police drama, Homicide.

The elderly owners of a small corner store have been brutally murdered. Judith Arthy, a lodger of the murdered couple is found locked in a shed behind the store. She is taken to the station for an interview. Homicide detectives, Lex Mitchell and Terry McDermott ask Arthy what she remembers. "Nothing, someone bashed me on the head and I woke up in the shed." McDermott asks if she knew of any enemies the store owners might have had. She mentions that her ex- boyfriend, Eric Coladetti did not like the couple. He was convinced that the couple kept large amounts of cash hidden in the place.

McDermott and Mitchell pay a visit to Coladetti's flat. They find the man in a drunken stupor. They also find a large amount of cash on the man. He is tossed in the car and taking to the station. There, some heavy duty third degree is applied by the detectives. Coladetti denies killing the couple and that the cash is his.

A canvas of the area soon has a witness, Vic Haggith, who says he saw Coladetti leaving the back of the store that night. Coladetti is brought up on murder charges and arrested.

At the trial, the prosecution hammers away at Coladetti that he killed the couple for their cash. The man denies all and pleads his innocence. The testimony of Haggith is however the final nail in his coffin.

Detective McDermott, however, is starting to have doubts about Coladetti's guilt. Witness Haggith has been flashing around more cash than he should have. Same thing applies to Arthy. A visit to Haggith's wife confirms his suspicions. The flat is full of new furniture.

McDermott goes to see his boss, Inspector John Fegan with his suspicions. Fegan tells him that the matter is closed. It seems Coladetti has decided to confess to the murders. McDermott pays the man a call in his cell. "I must of done it! You all tell me I did! Even if I don't remember since I was drunk." Says Coldetti.

McDermott's gut tells him that Haggith is the real murderer. He asks fellow detective, Mitchell to join him in a sting. They collect Arthy for another talk. They tell her they know she was in on the deal with Haggith. The woman folds and agrees to take them to where they hid the cash.

McDermott takes a car and parks outside Haggith's flat. Mitchell takes another car and drives to where the cash is hidden. They stop on the way to purchase some petrol. Mitchell makes a deal of going into the station to buy some smokes. Left alone in the car, Arthy bolts down the street to the nearest pay phone. She calls Haggith and tells him to move the cash.

Watching Arthy the whole time has been Mitchell from inside the petrol station. He quickly collars Arthy again once she finishes her phone call. Needless to say, McDermott follows Haggith when he comes flying out of his flat. He leads the detective right to the cash. After a short round of flying fists, McDermott relives him of the cash and cuffs him. Now they have both crooks and the cash.

The innocent Coladetti is released while Haggith and Arthy take his place in the cells. McDermott tells Coladetti he should lay off the booze for awhile. His drunken state had made him the perfect patsy for a frame. ]]> Neo-noir and Noir TV gordonl56 http://www.backalleynoir.com/showthread.php?5221-Noir-Tv-quot-A-Handful-of-Money-quot-–-1964-Murder-with-an-Aussie-Twist Alan Moore and Mitch Jenkins Launch Kickstarter Campaign to Fund Short Film ... - Und http://www.backalleynoir.com/showthread.php?5220-Alan-Moore-and-Mitch-Jenkins-Launch-Kickstarter-Campaign-to-Fund-Short-Film-Und&goto=newpost Tue, 18 Jun 2013 04:24:42 GMT Image: http://www.undertheradarmag.com/uploads/article_images/ALANMITCH_PHOTO.jpg Alan Moore and Mitch Jenkins Launch Kickstarter Campaign to...

Alan Moore and Mitch Jenkins Launch Kickstarter Campaign to Fund Short Film, “His Heavy Heart”

Feature-Length Film in the Works

Jun 17, 2013 By Mike Hilleary
Late last year legendary writer Alan Moore embarked on his first foray into film with director Mitch Jenkins, putting together a series of surreal, neo-noir shorts set in a world called Jimmy's End.
With the first four installments shot, edited, and completed, Moore and Jenkins have launched a Kickstarter campaign to help them finish their vision with the fifth and final chapter, titled, "His Heavy Heart." Starring Siobhan Hewlett (Sherlock, Torchwood) and Darrell D’Silva (RSC, Dirty Pretty Things), the films are meant to serve as a prelude to a planned feature-length picture titled The Show. Click below to watch the trailers for the first installements, "Act of Faith."
(www.facebook.com/OfficialAlanMoore)



More... ]]> Film Noir News Film Noir Press - Noir news from the internet http://www.backalleynoir.com/showthread.php?5220-Alan-Moore-and-Mitch-Jenkins-Launch-Kickstarter-Campaign-to-Fund-Short-Film-Und Banshee (2013) http://www.backalleynoir.com/showthread.php?5213-Banshee-(2013)&goto=newpost Mon, 17 Jun 2013 18:28:44 GMT Banshee is a fun pulp ride that premiered on Cinemax back in January 2013. It about an ex-con and masterthief who assumes the identity of sherriff of... Banshee is a fun pulp ride that premiered on Cinemax back in January 2013. It about an ex-con and masterthief who assumes the identity of sherriff of a small town called Banshee. While on the run from a Ukranian mobster Rabbit who he stole diamonds from 15 yrs prior and also trying to win back a married past love who also resides in banshee.

Trailer:
http://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=plpp&v=lE5CMog-Opk


Full First.episode:
]]> Neo-noir and Noir TV George Otwori http://www.backalleynoir.com/showthread.php?5213-Banshee-(2013) <![CDATA[Coffee Contrails - new noir and sci-fi podcast, featuring original "radio" plays]]> http://www.backalleynoir.com/showthread.php?5202-Coffee-Contrails-new-noir-and-sci-fi-podcast-featuring-original-quot-radio-quot-plays&goto=newpost Sun, 16 Jun 2013 17:00:57 GMT So, me and some friends, see, have banded together after the 9-5 to record some original "radio" plays - calling it Coffee Contrails.

Just this last Friday we released Part 1 of "Horse Two", written by me, Anita Dime.

Please visit www.coffeecontrails.com to download this free MP3.

Here's a couple reviews of "Horse Two" in the short story eBook format...


The future? There are five short stories and one sci-fi series in the works - hoping to release something once a month.

If you like, please share with friends and follow on Facebook or Twitter at CoffeeContrails! ]]> Video clips, music, images and movie posters AnitaDime http://www.backalleynoir.com/showthread.php?5202-Coffee-Contrails-new-noir-and-sci-fi-podcast-featuring-original-quot-radio-quot-plays Best film noirs of all time, chosen by Tim Robey - Telegraph.co.uk http://www.backalleynoir.com/showthread.php?5229-Best-film-noirs-of-all-time-chosen-by-Tim-Robey-Telegraph-co-uk&goto=newpost Sun, 16 Jun 2013 14:31:47 GMT *The Woman in the Window* (1944) *Fritz Lang*... The Woman in the Window (1944)
Fritz Lang made more than his share of classic American crime movies, but this story of a psychology professor (Edward G Robinson) smitten with the oil painting of a dangerous brunette (Joan Bennett) epitomises the beckoning quality of noir.
Watch The Woman in the Window trailer
The Big Sleep (1946)
Famously tangled though Raymond Chandler’s plot may be, it hardly matters, such are the moment-to-moment pleasures of the sardonic script, Howard Hawks’s impressively risqué direction, and a cast, from Bogie on down, that couldn’t possibly be bettered.
Read a review of The Big Sleep
Out of the Past (1947)
Cigarette smoke gives everyone a halo in this masterly, Jacques Tourneur-directed tale of a private investigator (Robert Mitchum) who can’t escape old associates – especially Kathie (Jane Greer), the doll-faced schemer who’s perhaps noir’s ultimate femme fatale.
Gun Crazy (1949)
Rumour has it this poverty-row classic, featuring a legendary one-take stick-up and getaway, was shot in just 10 days. It’s all the more subversive for its origins as raw pulp, unpoliced by the Hollywood system, and getting away with murder.
Strangers on a Train (1951)
The dark heart of Hitchcock’s noir phase, between Stage Fright (1949) and I Confess (1953), is also the clearest and best example, thanks to the criss-cross formula, the incriminated innocent (Farley Granger) and the menace of Robert Burks’ photography.
Read a review of Strangers on a Train
The incriminated innocent: Farley Granger, left, with Robert Walker in Strangers on a Train
Pickup on South Street (1953)
Never-more-insolent Richard Widmark plays Skip McCoy, a pickpocket who accidentally steals a roll of top-secret microfilm. Sam Fuller presents Commie agents and the FBI as equally corrupt, and his use of Thelma Ritter as a brave stool pigeon is mind-blowing.
Read a review of Pickup on South Street
Kiss Me Deadly (1955)
Robert Aldrich’s scalding transfer of Mickey Spillane takes no prisoners right from the get-go. Ralph Meeker’s Mike Hammer is one of the most vicious heroes in the genre, and the movie careens towards apocalypse like a bat out of hell.
Watch the Kiss Me Deadly trailer
Night of the Hunter (1955)
You can debate whether it’s noir or not – feel free to classify it instead as an Expressionist Gothic fairytale with elements of noir styling, especially the frightening use of shadow, and the seductive criminality of Robert Mitchum’s psychopathic preacher.
Read a review of Night of the Hunter
What is your favourite film noir?
Follow Telegraph Film on Twitter



More... ]]> Film Noir Film Noir Press - Noir news from the internet http://www.backalleynoir.com/showthread.php?5229-Best-film-noirs-of-all-time-chosen-by-Tim-Robey-Telegraph-co-uk Out for blood - Denton Record Chronicle http://www.backalleynoir.com/showthread.php?5199-Out-for-blood-Denton-Record-Chronicle&goto=newpost Sun, 16 Jun 2013 14:31:47 GMT This week we begin — where else? — in 14th-century Mongolia: *The Horde* ***1/2 Not rated, 129 minutes. Now available on DVD. Not surprisingly,... This week we begin — where else? — in 14th-century Mongolia:
The Horde
***1/2
Not rated, 129 minutes.
Now available on DVD.
Not surprisingly, 14th-century Mongolia looks like a bleak, untamed place in this compelling Russian-Mongolian drama filled with action, colorful characters and court intrigue.
The rise and fall of several members of the great Khan family takes place against a backdrop of national conquest. Stuck in the middle of it all is a Russian Orthodox priest called on to cure Emperor Khan’s mother of blindness.
To his regret, but not to his surprise, he fails, resulting in various tortures and periods of cruel servitude. Director Andrei Proshkin then delivers third-act surprises that send everyone in different, unexpected directions.
The DVD offers the film in English and in the original languages.



More... ]]> Film Noir News Film Noir Press - Noir news from the internet http://www.backalleynoir.com/showthread.php?5199-Out-for-blood-Denton-Record-Chronicle Lonely Heart Bandits (1950) http://www.backalleynoir.com/showthread.php?5201-Lonely-Heart-Bandits-(1950)&goto=newpost Sun, 16 Jun 2013 09:11:23 GMT Republic Pictures strikes again with this slick little programmer from under-rated director, George Blair. Two con artists, Dorothy Patrick and... Republic Pictures strikes again with this slick little programmer from under-rated director, George Blair.

Two con artists, Dorothy Patrick and John Eldredge partner up to play the Lonely Hearts racket. They place ads with various Lonely Heart clubs looking for well off possible companions. Patrick plays the men and Eldredge the distaff marks.

Their first mark they end up killing for the $7,000 in cash he has stashed. They move around the country burning various people for their savings.

Sometimes they pose as brother and sister to put possible marks at ease. A new mark, widow Ann Doran is soon on Eldredge's hook. He promises her world travel etc after they get married. She falls for the smooth talking heel and dumps would be suitor, Richard Travis.

Eldredge soon has Doran talked into selling her house and then traveling with him to Italy for a quick marriage, He then sends Doran off with his "sister" Patrick on a shopping trip to Chicago. Half way to Chicago, Patrick calmly shoves Doran off the back of the moving train they are on. She smiles as she watches Doran face plant onto the rail bed.

While all this has been going on, a concerned Travis has contacted Doran's son, Eric Sinclair about what is going on with his mother. Sinclair is working in the Middle-East on an oil rig. Sinclair sends home a cablegram saying he is returning in a week's time. The cable is of course intercepted by Patrick and Eldredge. They send back a cable telling Sinclair that all is well and to stay at his job. Sinclair does not like the way the cable is signed and makes arrangements for his return.

Doran in the meantime has been found alive beside the rails. She has been bounced around a bit and is in a coma at the local hospital. Since she had no id on her the Police have no way of finding where she might be from.

Patrick heads off to the small out of town cabin the two keep as a base of operations. Eldredge stays to sell off the house and liquidate the rest of Doran's goods. He is interrupted in this by a visit from Travis. Travis confronts him and says that he knows something fishy is going on. He intends to call in the cops. Eldredge gives Travis a taste of pistol butt across the side of his head and splits.

Travis comes to and does contact the Police. The Police put out an all points and set up a few roadblocks. Eldredge crashes his way through the roadblock and wounds a Policeman in an exchange of gunfire. He then hightails it to his and Patrick's cabin. The two decide to separate with Patrick staying at the cabin and Eldredge laying low in the seedy part of a nearby city.

Doran's son, Sinclair as now returned from the Middle East and is filled in by the Police and Travis. The Police have Travis go through the mug books. They find Eldredge in one of the files and get his real name. They soon find that Eldredge is hiding out at a pool hall in a town across the state. Travis and Sinclair quickly drive there and pay a visit to the local Law. Police Lt, Robert Rockwell arranges for a raid to be launched on the pool hall.

The raid is bungled and Eldredge manages to shoot his way out and car-jack a passing cab. He fires the cab driver out and speeds off to join Patrick at the out of town cabin. Back at the Police precinct, Travis is now going through the local mug books looking for the "sister". Turns out she is well known to the local bunco squad.

Following all the leads soon has the Police at the front door of the hide-out. Eldredge and Patrick refuse to come quietly and start blasting at the boys in blue. Not at all amused, the Police return a barrage of lead in return. Patrick in wounded and Eldredge is shot dead as he tries to escape out the back door.

Doran comes out of her coma and she now decides that Travis is really the man for her.

A brisk and to the point programmer, that wraps everything up nicely in a 60 minute runtime.

Also in the cast are, Barbara Fuller, Kathleen Freeman, Edward Dunn and William Schallert in his first billed role.

The director was b-film veteran, George Blair. Blair cranked out a whole series of quite watch- able low rent film noir. These include, EXPOSED, FEDERAL AGENT AT LARGE, POST OFFICE INVESTIGATOR, SECRETS OF MONTE CARLO, INSURANCE INVESTIGATOR and UNMASKED.

The d of p was, Ellis Carter. His work includes, BIG TOWN AFTER DARK, CAGED FURY, BIG TOWN SCANDAL, SPECIAL AGENT, THE BLONDE BANDIT, THE HUMAN JUNGLE and DAMN CITIZEN. He also lensed several of the best 50's sci-fi films such as, THE MOLE PEOPLE, MONOLITH MONSTERS and THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING MAN. (B/W)

Best crack: Police Lt Rockwell says to his cops as he sends them out after Eldredge, "Bring the rat in, or put him in a drawer at the morgue!" (B/W) ]]> Noir reviews gordonl56 http://www.backalleynoir.com/showthread.php?5201-Lonely-Heart-Bandits-(1950) The Mask of the Broken Heart delights Kansas City audiences - Examiner.com http://www.backalleynoir.com/showthread.php?5196-The-Mask-of-the-Broken-Heart-delights-Kansas-City-audiences-Examiner-com&goto=newpost Sun, 16 Jun 2013 02:18:16 GMT “He sweat like a canary at a cat show,” he said with confidence. Yep, that’s what he said in the current show at The Fishtank, current production,... “He sweat like a canary at a cat show,” he said with confidence.
Yep, that’s what he said in the current show at The Fishtank, current production, The Mask of the Broken Heart, a tongue-in-cheek detective style caper. Think of Humphrey Bogart in The Maltese Falcon or The Big Sleep. That’s what viewers get when they attend the production–and so much more.
View slideshow: Mask of the Broken Heart
After finding success, awards, accolades and audience appreciation, Stephanie Roberts, remounts her performance of her one-woman play The Mask of the Broken Heart for a limited run, at 8p.m., June 13-15 at the Fish Tank Theater in Kansas City.
"She kept the room spellbound. Anyone who missed her should feel a little heartbroken." -The Pitch "Best of 2011" said of the play and the performance of Roberts in Mask of the Broken Heart.
The play, written and performed by Roberts and directed by Heidi Van, The Fish Tank’s Executive Producer, runs about one hour and elicits smiles and laughs throughout the performance. The Fish Tank, one of several small venues in Kansas City seats maybe 50 persons. After the notoriety and success of the 2011 performance, the show sells out its limited 3-day run.
Roberts delivers a rapid-fire, crisp, terse dialogue packed full of similes and metaphors. Much of the comedy of the piece stems from the Raymond Chandler style detective dialogue from detective mystery/suspense novels and True Detective Magazine of days past. Dashiell Hammett, James M. Cain created similar detective style literature with their characters of Sam Spade and Philip Marlowe. Roberts leaned heavily on them to replicate the dialogue in a fun way.
Great dialogue reflects Roberts’ understanding and research on the detective genre. Audiences fell like they are back in the 1940's stye of film-noir. It works. Roberts performs all characters with a set of masks, a few costume pieces for quick transitions, and with different voices, body language, stance, and dialects. She gives a blockbuster performance.
Roberts represents the consummate performer. She develop the idea, wrote the play, developed each character, knows the script and performs as a playwright envisions his or her piece interpreted for the audiences. She is superb.
Roberts plays 13 characters in this original play made possible in part by The Arts Council of Metropolitan Kansas City and The Charlotte Street Foundation. The characters spring to life via Roberts expertise and the aid of Bruce Mars, mask maker who created the faces for the characters she portrays. The mask add an integral part to the play and her performance.
When private dick, Ray Meridian, takes on a case for Lillian Mallicoat, the daughter of a famous Kansas City tractor baron, he confronts a mysterious past involving scandal, supernaturalism, and his own lost love, Roberts said of the play. The highly stylized, thriller combines humor, pathos and beauty while paying tribute to classic film and contemporary Commedia dell'Arte, Roberts said.
According to her bio, Roberts, currently works as an assistant professor for UMKC's MFA Professional Actor Training Program where she teaches Clown, Commedia dell'Arte and Mask. She has toured nationally and abroad with several companies including the Seattle Mime Theatre and her original ensemble, BOOM!
Tickets cost $15 and are available at the theater or through brownpapertickets.com. Call or see the website for further details The Fishtank Theater,1715 Wyandotte, Kansas City, MO 64108 816.809.7110, www.fishtanktheater.com



More... ]]> Film Noir News Film Noir Press - Noir news from the internet http://www.backalleynoir.com/showthread.php?5196-The-Mask-of-the-Broken-Heart-delights-Kansas-City-audiences-Examiner-com Shoot to Kill (1947) (AKA: Police Reporter) http://www.backalleynoir.com/showthread.php?5200-Shoot-to-Kill-(1947)-(AKA-Police-Reporter)&goto=newpost Sat, 15 Jun 2013 09:57:51 GMT Janitor's Crushed Body Found At Bottom Of Elevator Shaft!

Shoot to Kill (AKA: Police Reporter) is directed by William Berke and written by Edwin V. Westrate. It stars Robert Kent (AKA: Douglas Blackley), Luana Walters (AKA: Susan Walters), Edmund MacDonald and Russell Wade. Music is by Darell Calker and Gene Rodgers and cinematography by Benjamin H. Kline.

When gangster Dixie Logan (Kent) is framed by crooked Assistant District Attorney Lawrence Dale (MacDonald), his wife Marian (Walters) and a reporter, George Mitchell (Wade), set about proving how corrupt Dale is.

You see the phrase poverty row B noir mixed with statements like double crosses and disloyalties, and it pricks up the ears of the film noir fan. Unfortunately Shoot to Kill has gained a small cult fan base without any surface justification. The film quite simply is a mess, oh the twists and flashback structure look impressive in the page, but the construction by the director is awful, with cast performances to match as well! This is amateur film making 101 and we even get a Keystone Cops like fist fight...

It opens with a promising car chase and crash, but that is a false dawn, from there it's a collage of weak characterisations as the director throws it all together and hopes it works. The best things in the film are an extended piano playing sequence by Gene Rodgers, some of the blaring newspaper headlines that raise a smile and the odd bit of noirish shadow play. While mercifully it only runs at just over an hour. Don't be fooled, this is no hidden treasure for the noir head to seek out, it simply doesn't know what to do with the plot machinations. 3/10 ]]> Noir reviews JohnChard http://www.backalleynoir.com/showthread.php?5200-Shoot-to-Kill-(1947)-(AKA-Police-Reporter) <![CDATA[New 'Only God Forgives' Trailer and Poster: Ryan Gosling's Out for Revenge - Screen R]]> http://www.backalleynoir.com/showthread.php?5189-New-Only-God-Forgives-Trailer-and-Poster-Ryan-Gosling-s-Out-for-Revenge-Screen-R&goto=newpost Sat, 15 Jun 2013 01:06:27 GMT Ryan Gosling reunited with director Nicolas Winding Refn to make *Only God Forgives*... Ryan Gosling reunited with director Nicolas Winding Refn to make Only God Forgives, and that Bangkok revenge-thriller has already proven to be even more divisive than the duo’s American neo-Noir collaboration, Drive.
Only God Forgives premiered at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival, where it prompted walk-outs and even boos during its screening. The resulting wave of reviews were all over the board, with critics making accusations that the film is excessive – and maybe even pornographic – in its depiction of violence; that’s in addition to being self-indulgent, with regard to the dream logic that was applied to create the film’s mood, acting style, and visual composition.
Well, with critical raves like that, how can you not want to give the newly-released U.S. trailer for Only God Forgives a peek (if only to gauge which side of the divide you might fall on)? That preview includes*many of the same elements as those found in*Drive, right down to the electronic (and downright gothic) score composed by Cliff Martinez, and the unflappably stoic performance by Gosling.
Check out the newly-unveiled*Only God Forgives poster below:
CLICK FOR LARGER VERSION

Only God Forgives is based on Refn’s original script, and revolves around Julian (Gosling): an American living in exile in Bangkok, where he runs the family drug-smuggling operation (using his Thai boxing gym as a cover). The death of a loved one leads Julian’s dragonfly mother, Crystal (Kristen Scott Thomas), to demand that her son hunt down and kill the man (Vithaya Pansringarm) who is responsible. But does this turn of events present a chance of redemption for Julian – or the final step he will take, on the road to damnation?
Drive is a film that tends to split people into two camps; namely, those who regard it as masterful high art cinema and others who feel that it’s pretentious and dull. Will Only God Forgives divide moviegoers as strongly as it did with the Cannes crowd – or will the general reception be more tempered than that?
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Only God Forgives begins a limited theatrical release in the U.S. on July 19th, 2013.
Source: Yahoo! Movies
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