[Press release from the Cleveland Cinematheque.]
Eight
classic American crime films from the 1940s & 1950s will screen
between January 5 and February 23 in the Cleveland Institute of Art
Cinematheque series “Noir Town.”
Film noir (“black
film”) is the term that French film critics used to describe the
shadowy, cynical, sexually charged crime movies that filled U.S. screens
in the wake of World War II. These movies, populated by killers,
detectives, and femmes fatales, constitute one of the richest
bodies of great movies in American cinema. Yet this wide-ranging genre
has largely been reduced to just a handful of overshown titles: The Maltese Falcon, The Big Sleep, Double Indemnity, Laura, The Postman Always Rings Twice, Sunset Boulevard, et
al. All these are undeniably great films, but there are many other
noir titles with stellar reputations that almost never get revived in
theatres. “Noir Town” consists of eight such neglected classics, all in
black and white film prints, all Cinematheque premieres. Humphrey Bogart
won’t be seen in any of them, but moviegoers will see Rita
Hayworth, James Cagney, Joan Crawford, Jack Palance, Edmond O’Brien,
Robert Ryan, Gloria Grahame, John Garfield, Cornel Wilde, and Richard
Conte, among others.
The
eight movies will show on eight successive Saturday nights at 5:15 pm,
with six of them repeating on Sunday evening at varying start times. All
will show in the Aitken Auditorium of the Cleveland Institute of Art, 11141 East Boulevard in University Circle, telephone (216) 421-7450, www.cia.edu/cinematheque.
Admission to each film is $9; Cinematheque members $7; age 25 &
under $6 (with proof of age). Free parking for filmgoers is available in
the adjacent Institute lot, located north of the building off of East
Boulevard.
“Noir Town”
Saturday, January 5, at 5:15 pm &
Sunday, January 6, at 8:15 pm
GILDA
USA, 1946, Charles Vidor
Rita
Hayworth stars in one of the sexiest film noirs ever made, a South
America-set drama about a gambler (Glenn Ford) who gets involved with a
rich casino owner’s alluring wife. The film’s hottest scene finds
Hayworth performing a kind-of clothed strip-tease while purring “Put the
Blame on Mame.” 35mm. 110 min.
Saturday, January 12, at 5:15 pm &
Sunday, January 13, at 8:15 pm
WHITE HEAT
USA, 1949, Raoul Walsh
James
Cagney plays a brutal, psychopathic gangster with a bizarre mother
fixation (he sits on her lap as they plan heists) in this operatic,
explosive, unforgettable crime picture that is on the National Film
Registry. With Virginia Mayo and Edmond O’Brien. “White Heat = Scarface + Psycho.” –Time Out Film Guide. 35mm. 114 min. No passes, twofers, or radio winners.
Saturday, January 19, at 5:15 pm &
Sunday, January 20, at 8:50 pm
SUDDEN FEAR
USA, 1952, David Miller
Joan
Crawford, Jack Palance, and Gloria Grahame star in this suspenseful
thriller about a wealthy playwright (Crawford) who discovers that her
new husband (Palance), a mediocre actor, is plotting to kill her. 35mm.
110 min.
Saturday, January 26, at 5:15 pm &
Sunday, January 27, at 8:50 pm
D.O.A.
USA, 1950, Rudolph Maté
In
this gripping and stylish noir classic, which was selected for the
National Film Registry for being “culturally, historically, or
aesthetically significant,” a man who has been poisoned (Edmond O’Brien)
frantically tries to discover who wants to kill him, and why, before
his time runs out. Director Maté, a former cinematographer, shot
Dreyer’s The Passion of Joan of Arc and Vampyr. 16mm. 83 min.
Saturday, February 2, at 5:15 pm &
Sunday, February 3, at 8:50 pm
ODDS AGAINST TOMORROW
USA, 1959, Robert Wise
Harry
Belafonte stars in the first noir drama with a black protagonist. He
also produced the movie, hiring blacklisted screenwriter Abraham
Polonsky (see Force of Evil on 2/16) to co-write the script.
Robert Ryan, Shelley Winters, and Gloria Grahame co-star in the taut
thriller, which follows two men, a debt-ridden gambler (Belafonte) and a
racist ex-con (Ryan), as they team up for a bank heist. 35mm. 96 min.
Saturday, February 9, at 5:15 pm &
Sunday, February 10, at 8:40 pm
LADY IN THE LAKE
USA, 1947, Robert Montgomery
Robert
Montgomery plays private eye Philip Marlowe in this unique Raymond
Chandler adaptation in which all of the action is seen from Marlowe’s
first-person point of view. (The star is seen only in mirror
reflections.) In the film, Marlowe is hired to locate the estranged wife
of the publisher of a crime magazine, but soon becomes embroiled in a
complicated murder case. With Audrey Totter. 35mm. 105 min. No passes, twofers, or radio winners.
Saturday, February 16, at 5:15 pm
Restored 35mm Archival Print!
FORCE OF EVIL
USA, 1948, Abraham Polonsky
John Garfield stars in this beautifully shot film noir that
was one of the first 150 films selected for the Library of Congress’s
National Film Registry. He plays Joe Morse, a lawyer working for a
powerful gangster who wants to consolidate and control the New York
numbers racket. But one of the small operations targeted for takeover is
run by Morse’s older brother, and he prizes his independence. This Cain
and Abel story was the first film directed by celebrated screenwriter
Abraham Polonsky, who was blacklisted by the House Un-American
Activities Committee in the 1950s. He didn’t direct another movie until
1969. “One of the great films noirs.” –The Rough Guide to Film. 35mm preservation print courtesy of the UCLA Film & Television Archive. 78 min. No passes, twofers, or radio winners.
Saturday, February 23, at 5:15 pm
Restored 35mm Archive Print!
THE BIG COMBO
USA, 1955, Joseph H. Lewis
The other great noir by Gun Crazy director
Joseph H. Lewis is one of the most brutal, perverse, and sexually
charged of classic crime films. It tells of a cop (Cornel Wilde) who’s
absolutely obsessed with bringing down a sadistic mob boss (Richard
Conte) and stealing his classy girlfriend. John Alton’s b&w
cinematography, which demonstrates his mastery of chiaroscuro, should
sparkle in the preservation print courtesy of the UCLA Film &
Television Archive that we will show. 89 min. No passes, twofers, or radio winners.
Awesome!
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