NOIR CITY Chicago Opens Tonight!

[Anne H]

It's "Warner Bros. Night" at NC: Chicago tonight at the Music Box Theatre!

They'll be giving away 10 Warner Archive Collection DVDs!

Check out the festival line up and ticket information here.

NOIR CITY Chicago kicks off tonight with a Peter Lorre double bill, THREE STRANGERS & THE FACE BEHIND THE MASK.


Fri 17 Aug, 7:30pm
THREE STRANGERS
The verities of fate are explored this fantastic tale of three strangers (Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre, and Geraldine Fitzgerald ) whose fates entwine with a mysterious Chinese idol and a winning lottery ticket. Deeply cynical, gloriously atmospheric. Never on DVD, almost lost in 35mm, we proudly present this forgotten classic in a brand new FNF-funded preservation print! Directed by Jean Negulesco Screenplay by John Huston and Howard Koch.

Fri 17 Aug, 9:30pm
THE FACE BEHIND THE MASK
Peter Lorre stars as an immigrant watchmaker, horribly disfigured in a fire, whose despair and alienation lead him into a life of crime. A friendship with a young blind woman (Evelyn Keyes) offers him a shot at love and redemption. But … this is a noir film festival. Directed by Robert Florey, screenplay by Paul Jarrico.

[Surly]

I'll be there tonight!

[Surly]

Pretty good crowd for opening night. I had never seen FACE BEHIND THE MASK, so that was a treat. But it was also great to revisit THREE STRANGERS. It was "Peter Lorre gets the girl night" at NOIR CITY. Alan Rode was as engaging as always, and I even won a dvd of SUSPENSE for knowing that Belita was an ice Skater. Can't beat that at the multiplex. Tomorrow is all Cornell Woolrich.

[Steve-O]

Good to hear that the crowds were good last night. I hope they can keep it up!

By the way, FantomLadyVintage was probably sitting next to you last night. She's going to do a piece on Face Behind the Mask soon for Noir of the Week. That's a totally forgotten Lorre gem. Have fun at the rest of it.

[Surly]

We ought to have secret badges so we can identify fellow NOIR CITY members. Maybe a pistol shaped pin or tie clasp? A friend suggested that they should have an organized event in a local bar tying in to the festival, perhaps even a fundraiser. That may make it an extra long day (or night) for host Alan Rode, but it does sound like fun.

I made it to the late show at NOIR CITY last night for BLACK ANGEL (Roy William Neill, 1946), a favorite adaptation of Cornell Woorich. It has that author's usual nightmarish delirium, a twisted role for Peter Lorre and a great drunk (maybe THE greatest) by the always reliable Dan Duryea. But it also perfectly captures the doomed romance so essential to much of Woolrich.

Up tonight is Slaughter on Tenth Avenue and 99 River Street.

[Surly]

NOIR CITY CHICAGO, day three:

Phil Karlson's 99 RIVER STREET is as good as I remembered it, with beefy star John Payne seething as a former boxer caught up in murder who just needs to hit someone. While Evelyn Keyes is good as his struggling actress pal, and her scenes are some of the most interesting in the piece, I still can't help but find her character a little annoying. With a great supporting cast, including the equally tough and beefy Brad Dexter and Jack Lambert, 99 RIVER STREET is a brutal noir ride through one long night.



SLAUGHTER ON TENTH AVENUE is a based-on-fact story about a New York DA pitted against entrenched waterfront union corruption, and was screened in a gorgeous new print. It has a terrific cast, including Jan Sterling and Charles McGraw and Walter Matthau. The film successfully builds tension up to a point, but ultimately bogs down in a less than thrilling trial sequence. By the time strong but silent star Richard Egan finally gets to hit someone, it feels a bit more like a tacked-on Hollywood finish than the inevitable explosion of violence.

This was the final night for host Alan K. Rode, whose introductions were as entertaining and informative as always. Hearing that director Arnold Laven wanted Robert Mitchum for the lead in SLAUGHTER ON TENTH AVE, and that Julie Adams said that all the actors were impressed and by then Hollywood newcomer Walter Matthau are just two of the many fascinating tidbits of trivia that Alan was sharing all weekend. I attend the late shows, which tend to have a smaller audience, but the attendance last night seemed to be decreasing. But perhaps it will pick up for tonight's show.

On tap tonight are William Castle's shot-in-Chicago UNDERTOW, and SHAKEDOWN, about a Weegee-like photographer.

[Surly]

NOIR CITY 4, day 4: A great noir B double-bill of SHAKEDOWN and UNDERTOW. Host Foster Hirsch described both films as "programmers", but SHAKEDOWN is much more than that: it's a terrific, seldom seen cynical noir. It stars Howard Duff as a charismatic, ambitious and unscrupulous Weegee-like newspaper photographer, and brought to mind Wilder's later ACE IN THE HOLE, though here the character is pushed beyond unethical behavior into the criminal. The cast also includes Peggy Dow, Brian Donlevy (pictured, with Duff) and Lawrence Tierney.

UNDERTOW is less ambitious, telling a more familiar story of a guy framed for murder trying to clear himself. It's one of several taut B noir films director William Castle made in the 1940s before turning suspense schlockmeister in the 1950s. It provides a rare good part for a black actor, Daniel Ferniel, whose character figures in the film's terrific, violent finish. The film stars Scott Brady and the cast includes the gorgeous Dorothy Hart and Peggy Dow.

NOTE: I've been having great difficulty posting in the BACK ALLEY the last two days. Several times the contents of a post have been lost, which has been very frustrating.

[Steve-O]

Thanks for the updates... I wish I was there.

(the site is still kind of clunky. But it's working OK right now. Can you clear your browser cache and see if that helps.)

[Surly]

Thanks for the updates... I wish I was there.

(the site is still kind of clunky. But it's working OK right now. Can you clear your browser cache and see if that helps.)

I'm sure that I can't. but I'll see if I can have someone translate that into old fart speak and give it a try.

[Surly]

I'm sure that I can't. but I'll see if I can have someone translate that into old fart speak and give it a try.

Ah...there seems to be step-by-step help available online.

[Surly]

That wasn't as hard as I thought. What's that bit about old dogs and new tricks?

[Surly]

NOIR CITY CHICAGO, day 5 and day 6:
A good sized crowd turned up for the Robert Ryan double feature of ON DANGEROUS GROUND and CAUGHT. CAUGHT showed in a good print, but GROUND's was a little worn. I assume we've all seen these classics so I will spare a review, but I'll say that they are two favorites of mine, and it's always a treat to see them on the big screen.

After the screening of CAUGHT there was what felt like an interminable discussion of whether Barbara Bel Geddes was well cast, and whether the audience liked her or not (she was, they did--move on). It went on so long that there was absolutely NO intro for the late showing of GROUND. The following night there was a similarly lengthy discussion after the screening of THE GREAT GATSBY, which did not allow for an intro to THIS GUN FOR HIRE. And on both nights there were also no remarks after the last screening. This seems like a mistake, and is a disservice to the late show crowd.

Day 6 had another sizable audience for the Alan Ladd double feature of THE GREAT GATSBY and THIS GUN FOR HIRE. It was good to see THE GREAT GATSBY on the screen in a good print. Though not a noir, it is worthy of a screening at NOIR CITY as Ladd's failed dream project. The film has its moments. but suffers from prosaic direction by Elliot Nugent, a so-so script, and some poor casting--though Ladd is fine. I couldn't help but wonder what a visual stylist like Max Ophuls would have done with the jazz age opulence and tragic story of class boundaries and the decadent rich.

[Surly]

NOIR CITY CHICAGO 4, day 7:

Sad to see another NOIR CITY end, but it finished with a BANG: KISS ME DEADLY and WHITE HEAT, which were described by host Foster Hirsch as "apocalyptic noir." Hirsch was on his game last night, enthusing about both films. He also explained that WHITE HEAT was a special film for him because it was his father's favorite, and star Virginia Mayo was his father's ideal woman. The only drawback was the adequate but less than stellar print of DEADLY, which was both soft in image and fuzzy in soundtrack.

Can't wait until next year.