PROGRAM NOTES FOR NOIR CITY 13, JANUARY 16-25, 2015
Monday, Jan 19, 2015 • The Movies' Most Marvelous Marriage
THE THIN MAN
Scr. Albert Hackett & Frances Goodrich. Dir. W. S. Van Dyke. 1934, MGM. 91 min.
2:00, 7:00 PM
NOIR CITY steps from the shadows to pay tribute to the most marvelous (fictional) marriage in the history of the movies, the blithe and boozy union of Nick and Nora Charles. The cavalier chemistry of costars William Powell and Myrna Loy turned the Dashiell Hammett's crime-solving couple into icons of American irreverence and insouciance.
after the thin man
Scr. Albert Hackett & Frances Goodrich. Dir. W. S. Van Dyke. 1936, MGM. 112 min.
4:00, 9:00 PM
America's most popular married couple returns home to San Francisco and wades straight into another missing person's case, this one more thorny and amusing than the first. A high-spirited sequel that, thanks to a bigger budget and more colorful cast, actually improves on the original formula. Martinis and Manhattans all around!
Tuesday, Jan 20 • ROBERT Ryan, For Richer and Poorer
CAUGHT
Scr. Arthur Laurents. Dir. Max Ophüls. 1949, MGM. 88 min.
7:15 PM
Leonora Eames hits the matrimonial jackpot when she weds Smith Ohlrig, billionaire industrialist. But her charm-school training hasn't prepared her for a power-mad husband driven by personal demons. Compelling performances from Robert Ryan, Barbara Bel Geddes and James Mason, in his U.S. film debut.
35MM RESTORATION!
THE SET-UP
Scr. Art Cohn. Dir. Robert Wise. 1949, RKO. 72 min.
9:15 PM
Ignoring the pleas of his wife, veteran boxer Stoker Thompson agrees to one last bout, unaware his manager has made a deal with a local gangster for him to take a dive. Presented in "real time"—the 72 minutes before, during, and after Thompson's last stand—The Set-Up was the favorite film of its star, Robert Ryan, who proudly displayed the prowess that made him a collegiate boxing champ.
Wednesday, Jan 21 • barbara Stanwyck, the Wayward Wife
CLASH BY NIGHT
Scr. Alfred Hayes. Dir. Fritz Lang. 1952, RKO. 105 min.
7:15 PM
Mae Doyle returns to her hometown of Monterey a hard and embittered woman. Facing a dim future, she marries a simple decent fisherman but soon has an affair with local bad boy, Earl Pfeiffer. Less a noir than a gritty "kitchen sink" drama, its a stunning example of a proto-feminist film. Barbara Stanwyck, Paul Douglas, and Robert Ryan give performances that rank among their best ever. Watch for Marilyn Monroe in a small but memorable role.
CRIME OF PASSION
Scr. Jo Eisinger. Dir. Gerd Oswald. 1957, United Artists. 84 min.
9:15 PM
San Francisco newspaper columnist Kathy Ferguson trades her career for marriage to an L.A. cop (Sterling Hayden). With nowhere to channel her talent and ambition, Kathy quickly becomes a dangerous woman. A subversive excoriation of women's circumscribed roles in Eisenhower-era America, tailor-made for Stanwyck, who pulls out all the stops in her final, riveting performance in a film noir.
Thursday, Jan 22 • American Exiles in England
THE HIDDEN ROOM
Scr. Alec Coppel. Dir. Edward Dmytryk. 1949, Eagle-Lion Fims. 96 min.
7:15 PM
Brit psychologist Clive Riordan, fed up with his wife's philandering, makes her latest lover disappear in a deviously devised "perfect crime." Made in England by the blacklisted Edward Dmytryk, The Hidden Room is an unjustly neglected masterpiece, packed with wit and suspense, anchored by Robert Newton's brilliant and subtle performance as the vengeful cuckold.
THE SLEEPING TIGER
Scr. Carl Foreman & Harold Buchman. Dir. Joseph Losey. 1954, Astor Pictures. 89 min.
9:15 PM
Brit psychologist Clive Esmond (Alexander Knox) boards a criminal youth (Dirk Bogarde) in his home to test his methods of behavior modification through psychoanalysis. Just wait until the doctor's wife (Alexis Smith) gets her hands on the young stud. Losey's first British-made film is an early example of what would become his métier—characters engaged in wicked sex and class warfare.
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