Seattle Mystery Bookshop

2013 Film Noir Cycle

Yes it is that time of year again one full week of Film Noir. Presented by the incomparable Eddie Muller, at the Uptown Theater February 22nd - 28th of February. Hope to see you there.

http://www.siff.net/cinema/seriesDetail.aspx?FID=326

Films Friday 22nd

Try and Get Me! The true story of a shocking kidnapping and murder in San Jose provided the inspiration for one of the most compelling—and unjustly neglected—masterpieces of film noir. An Ex-GI meets a flashy hoodlum who eases him into a lucrative life of crime.

Hell Drivers An ex-con trying to go straight takes a job driving for a corrupt trucking company, where the bosses pit the drivers against each other in a dangerous competition that leads to higher profits—and death!

Saturday 23rd

Sunset Boulevard One of the great films of all time, and Billy Wilder’s masterpiece, Sunset Boulevard follows a struggling screenwriter as he moves into the crumbling mansion of an aging silent-film star to ghostwrite her big comeback film.

Repeat Performance A noir version of It's a Wonderful Life. Back-stabbing backstage melodrama is crossed with The Twilight Zone in this rare fantasy-noir hybrid resurrected and restored in a brand new 35mm print.

Sunday 24th

A House Divided One of the first talking pictures from legendary director William Wyler tells the magnificently melodramatic tale of a widowed fisherman on a small Pacific Island whose new mail-order bride prefers the conjugal bed of the old man's son.

Kiss Before the Mirror As an attorney devises an "insanity" defense for a man accused of killing his adulterous wife, he suspects his own wife of cheating, and decides a "not guilty" verdict will allow him to murder his own adulterous spouse!

Monday 24th

Native Son This adaptation of Richard Wright's best-selling novel is equal parts noir thriller and social commentary, depicting the existential and societal pressures faced by a black man trying to survive in a culture dominated by whites.

Intruder in the Dust When a proud African American farmer is accused of murdering a white man, it's up to a young boy to stand up to the vigilantes and help solve the crime in this adaptation of William Faulkner's classic novel.

Tuesday 25th

Experiment in Terror In this spine-tingling suspense classic, a bank teller is forced to be an accomplice to a daring robbery scheme when her sister is taken hostage by a perverted criminal genius.

The Window A young boy in a New York tenement witnesses a murder but no one, not even his own parents, believes him, except his upstairs neighbors…the killers! [first adaptation of a short story by Cornell Woolrich

Wednesday 27th

Man in the Dark 3D Fully restored 3D and glorious black-and-white! A crook undergoes an experimental operation to eliminate his criminal urges, which also makes him forget where he hid the loot from a big heist.

Inferno 3D It's the essential Noir City plot: illicit lovers hatch a "foolproof" scheme to bump off the woman's rich, domineering husband. But the husband, left for dead in the scorching desert, doesn't die...

Thursday 28th

Street of Chance Burgess Meredith stars as a man who loses his memory after being struck by a falling beam. As he struggles to piece his life together he realizes he's lived the preceding year as another person!

The Chase In this intriguing film noir rarity, a drifter becomes chauffeur to a sadistic gangster and winds up falling for his wife, setting off a nightmarish chain of events.

High Tide A crusading newspaper editor gets more than he bargained for when he hires a private dick to protect him from riled-up gangsters.

Thanks to Benjamin Chamberlain for his annual report on Seattle's Film Noir Cycle!

Happy Birthday Cos

July 12, 1937 – actor, comedian and humanitarian Bill Cosby was born.

First African-American to co-star in a network TV Show.

‘I Spy’ premiered Sept 15, 1965.

 

And don’t forget Hickey and Boggs, either.

Noir City 2012: The Stuff Bad Dreams Are Made Of

The 2012 Film Noir Cycle, February 24–March 1, SIFF Cinema at the Uptown Presented by the Film Noir Foundation

Noir City returns with more of the dark and dangerous delights to be discovered in the resurrected rarities that are this festival's stock-in-trade. The inimitable Czar of Noir, Eddie Muller, will once again host this week-long extravaganza of buried film noir treasures rescued from the margins of mid-20th century American cinema.

All films screened on 35mm! Tickets – http://www.siff.net/index.aspx Double Features! $12 | $7 SIFF Members | $11 Youth/Senior (with valid ID) Buy a ticket for the first show and your ticket stub grants you admission to the second. SIFF Passes and vouchers are valid at the box office. Series Pass Available! All films for $60 | $35 SIFF Members

Friday, February 24th

Thieves' Highway – Jules Dassin – 1949 (7:00pm) When war veteran Nick learns that his father, a Central Valley farmer, has been crippled in a trucking accident, he suspects a crooked producer broker. He pools his loot with another wildcat trucker to bring the season’s first load of Golden Delicious apples to San Francisco—and extract revenge.

The House on Telegraph Hill – Robert Wise – 1951 (9:30pm) Concentration camp prisoner Victoria Kowelska longs to escape to America with her comrade Karin, but her dreams seem dashed when Karin dies. Despite a guilty conscious, Victoria assumes Karin’s identity and immigrates to San Francisco to start a new life.

Saturday, February. 25th

Gilda – Charles Vidor – 1946 (2:00pm & 7:00pm) Adrift in Argentina, gambler Johnny Farrell lucks out when he is hired as an aide-de-camp to sinister businessman Ballin Mundson. But his fortunes change when Mundson returns from a trip with a new wife: the spectacularly sexy Gilda—once the love of Johnny’s life.

Laura – Otto Preminger – 1944 ( 4:30pm & 9:30pm) Laura Hunt is dead, murdered. Detective Mark McPherson has a short list of suspects: her mentor, the acerbic columnist; her fiancé; and Laura’s high society aunt. Soon, the cop’s patient probing turns reckless—once he becomes infatuated with the victim.

Sunday, February 26th

The Great Gatsby – Elliott Nugent - 1949 (2:00pm & 7:00pm) This noir-era adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Jazz Age classic delves into Gatsby’s gangster roots, merely hinted at in the book. The result is ’40s postwar noir style crossed with the sentimental romance, material excess, and rising disillusionment of Fitzgerald’s Jazz Era elegy.

Three Strangers – Jean Negulesco - 1946 ( 4:30pm & 9:30pm) On the eve of Chinese New Year, Crystal Shackelford finds two desperate strangers to wish with her upon a mysterious Chinese idol. Of course, in the world of noir, granted wishes have a way of going sour…

Monday, February 27th

Okay America – Tay Garnett – 1932 (7:00pm) Clearly based on the legend of radio broadcaster, Walter Winchell, this is a wildly entertaining Pre-Code exposé on the greasy relationship between politicians, organized crime, and the burgeoning American media.

Afraid to Talk – Edward L. Kahn – 1932 (9:30pm) (aka Merry-Go-Round) Bellboy Eddie Martin witnesses mobster Jig Skelli bump off a hated rival and almost gets rubbed out himself. Eddie decides to report the murder to the authorities, only to discover that the district attorney, the assistant DA, and even the mayor are sewed up tight in Skelli’s vest pocket.

Tuesday, February 28th

Unfaithfully Yours - Preston Sturges – 1948 (7:00pm) As noir swept over late ’40s Hollywood, Preston Sturges created the first full-length parody of the style with this mordantly hilarious tale. Maestro Alfred De Carter suspects his wife of infidelity. While conducting a symphony, he imagines different deadly ways of dealing with the situation.

The Good Humor Man – Lloyd Bacon – 1950 (9:30pm) Biff Jones, a driver for the Good Humor ice-cream company, is a simple guy who wants to marry his sweetheart Margie and support her little brother, Johnny. But things go awry when he tries to protect gorgeous Bonnie Conroy from gangsters.

Wednesday, February 29th

House of Bamboo – Samuel Fuller – 1955 (7:00pm) Military investigator Eddie Spanier arrives undercover in Tokyo to infiltrate a cutthroat gang of American ex-GIs. With the help of Mariko, the secret Japanese wife of a murdered American gangster, he earns their ruthless leader's trust—until the truth starts seeping out.

Underworld USA - – Samuel Fuller – 1961 (9:30pm) Young Tolly Devlin is the lone witness when a trio of hoodlums kill his father. As an adult ex-con, Devlin dedicates himself to avenging the murder.

Thurday, March 1st

Naked Alibi – Jerry Hopper – 1954 (7:00pm) An over-zealous police chief hounds a "solid citizen" whom he believes is guilty of being a cop killer, chasing him across the border. Gloria Grahame is torn between the cop and the crook in this cat-and-mouse thriller.

Pickup – Hugo Hass – 1951 (9:30pm) Jan Horak lives a lonely life operating the whistle-stop train station in a small rural town. Everything changes one night when he picks up Betty, a towering taste of teasing female terror.

World Premiere in New York City, May 28, 1954

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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47 years ago today,May 27, 1964, 

From Russia With Love

premiered in the US.