News for today's 2018

A Noir Year Begins...

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6b1DDB1Rj6ryDm8pJT9N1a0z7gbynqtKfxLDY_CVXhzSB3gRgChu5i8TkvdOnndcItqBk-2swsLOJwR20N8YNw7fDIHqbHCfC2JSUdEKSWldo1I84xOg6Wz7iIuab_qra8GjMVcPn_Rk/s1600/Noir+City+XI.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6b1DDB1Rj6ryDm8pJT9N1a0z7gbynqtKfxLDY_CVXhzSB3gRgChu5i8TkvdOnndcItqBk-2swsLOJwR20N8YNw7fDIHqbHCfC2JSUdEKSWldo1I84xOg6Wz7iIuab_qra8GjMVcPn_Rk/s400/Noir+City+XI.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">January 2013 brings, at last, the much-anticipated Noir City XI, San Francisco's 11<sup>th</sup> annual film noir festival. Presented by the Film Noir Foundation at the city’s landmark movie palace, the Castro Theatre, the festival runs from January 25 – February 3 and will showcase 27 films!</span></span><br /><a name='more'></a><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgehayca4cPbOQIFjNMSaCn0wUgcajvj3Kum_zyT-FOh06P2MyfOuGhpvtyMAidl9RpwJ0D6deEKmwcomgBote3khou4VQih7wYasYACxz1FDKmFinQbobZBIM4mKX4WUXXBYGRrS6DYHc/s1600/Noir+City+Schedule.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="386" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgehayca4cPbOQIFjNMSaCn0wUgcajvj3Kum_zyT-FOh06P2MyfOuGhpvtyMAidl9RpwJ0D6deEKmwcomgBote3khou4VQih7wYasYACxz1FDKmFinQbobZBIM4mKX4WUXXBYGRrS6DYHc/s400/Noir+City+Schedule.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;">Noir City XI begins with an opening night tribute to genre legend Peggy Cummins. Following Film Noir Foundation founder/<a href="http://www.eddiemuller.com/inprint.html"><b><span style="color: red;">author</span></b></a>/film historian Eddie Muller’s onstage interview with Miss Cummins, <i>Gun Crazy</i> (1950), the noir classic that made her an icon, will screen. Other festival highlights include three world premiere restorations along with the U.S. premiere of 4K digital restorations of <i>Sunset Blvd. </i>(1950) and <i>Experiment in Terror </i>(1962). Also premiering will be 4K digital restorations of two of 1953’s first 3-D films, <i>Inferno </i>and <i>Man in the Dark</i><i>.</i></span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;">But wait, there’s more…</span><br /><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiROtlqPsoNY8Zo4G0O15zbZ2iwovG3eMRnY8nzM31UI9wzcFhMI6nez-y8ViJd_SfzVh4HmD3QNVfdqkjJaqYdAudDgWQgVeVodKQh7ntpOj9xsl2Sd_GhFA8QpL99yNRQekuyWYuBsNw/s1600/Noir+City+Party.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiROtlqPsoNY8Zo4G0O15zbZ2iwovG3eMRnY8nzM31UI9wzcFhMI6nez-y8ViJd_SfzVh4HmD3QNVfdqkjJaqYdAudDgWQgVeVodKQh7ntpOj9xsl2Sd_GhFA8QpL99yNRQekuyWYuBsNw/s320/Noir+City+Party.jpg" width="102" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;">Returning with the 2013 festival will be the Noir City Nightclub event, set for Saturday night, February 2, at San Francisco's Regency Lodge. There'll be music - from jazz to noir-pop to the torch stylings of songstress Laura Ellis - and dancing and cocktails <i>and</i> a walk on the wild side courtesy of "international striptease sensation" Evie Lovelle.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><i>Czar of Noir</i> Eddie Muller, who not only founded the FNF in 2002 but also emcees the San Francisco festival (and nightclub), is <span style="font-size: small;">also about to</span> appear on Turner Classic Movies. Beginning at 8pm Eastern/5pm Pacific on Thursday, January 17, Muller will co-host "A Night in Noir City" with Robert Osborne. On the schedule are five films: <i>Cry Danger</i> (1951) starring Dick Powell and Rhonda Fleming,<i> </i>Phil Karlson's <i>99 River Street </i>(1953) with John Payne and Evelyn Keyes, <i>Tomorrow is Another Day </i>(1951) with Steve Cochran and Ruth Roman, Michael Curtiz's <i>The Breaking Point</i> (1950) starring John Garfield and Patricia Neal and <i>The Prowler </i>(1951), directed by Joseph Losey and starring Van Heflin and Evelyn Keyes.</span><br /><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCBp5s8G66WUUtR9kr_5EqLM9eXKXipU_WQ4zgXBBoZLXxXhFpSMsVdQ9JmQp5-oHxmMXrnAB5UTQzjky9NlXQMw4ueNTKZRHOMhCtNxSdKxN1dDbZrxz3BWTy8id3pfMMC3zGbMtjxac/s1600/Osborne+and+Muller.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCBp5s8G66WUUtR9kr_5EqLM9eXKXipU_WQ4zgXBBoZLXxXhFpSMsVdQ9JmQp5-oHxmMXrnAB5UTQzjky9NlXQMw4ueNTKZRHOMhCtNxSdKxN1dDbZrxz3BWTy8id3pfMMC3zGbMtjxac/s400/Osborne+and+Muller.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Robert Osborne and Eddie Muller, <i>A Night in Noir City</i>, January 17</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;">In his 1998 book <u>Dark City: The Lost World of Film Noir</u>, Muller contended that among the many <span style="font-size: small;">film </span>varieties<span style="font-size: small;"> </span>to come out of the studio era, film noir held up best: "Film noir pointed toward the black core of corruption in our "civilized" society and our primitive essence. The struggle of the individual to transcend or escape provided the emotional tension. That's the theme that makes noir so compelling for the contemporary crowd." Muller was onto something, for over time film noir has proven to be a genre of lasting appeal. With each successive year, the popularity of Noir City has grown, its program schedule has expanded and the Film Noir Foundation has been able to restore ever more films. Today, </span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;">San Francisco's noir-fest is the kick off point for other film noir festivals around the country,  with Noir City events following in Seattle in February, Los Angeles in  April, Chicago in August and Washington, DC, in October.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><a href="http://www.noircity.com/index.html"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><b>Click here</b></span></span></a></span></span></span></span> <span style="color: black;">to learn more about Noir City</span></span></span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><a href="http://www.noircity.com/foundation.html"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><b>Click here</b></span></span></a> <span style="color: black;">to learn more about the Film Noir Foundation</span></span></span></span></span><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPlTjWLl_WHVr178XvMV4daAWTjFf0nSNF944Jt99yyWUcGtODvax1uh6VvREyRce2qscg84oiXpqXVQtuD0Q6AUmTeKXuo4m646QaFCsXHSa97zSIAghyphenhyphenXV0CO9oxbZXVgGvZlTwidhc/s1600/Eddie-Muller-Gun-Crazy-star-Peggy-Cummins-485.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="269" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPlTjWLl_WHVr178XvMV4daAWTjFf0nSNF944Jt99yyWUcGtODvax1uh6VvREyRce2qscg84oiXpqXVQtuD0Q6AUmTeKXuo4m646QaFCsXHSa97zSIAghyphenhyphenXV0CO9oxbZXVgGvZlTwidhc/s320/Eddie-Muller-Gun-Crazy-star-Peggy-Cummins-485.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Peggy Cummins and Eddie Muller backstage at TCM's 2012 Classic Film Festival</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></span></span> </span></div>

January 2013 brings, at last, the much-anticipated Noir City XI, San Francisco's 11th annual film noir festival. Presented by the Film Noir Foundation at the city’s landmark movie palace, the Castro Theatre, the festival runs from January 25 – Februa…

For the Love of Film (Noir): Renoir, Ryan and a splash of vodka...

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidqNT_Eqrwxlc3yeUhIg9yzhzCYOLPLJ30pcIjn-KKOzjw8AuML2H2tWEZZRmJ4nAAOI6kYs0YlEcoM2bUmjmQCOtMObmMRZhnV5U1rzP5tlxb3CoFs104hKZPtDJYsuhYnUTQ4Bc69fLN/s1600/SF+nite+w+clouds+and+moon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidqNT_Eqrwxlc3yeUhIg9yzhzCYOLPLJ30pcIjn-KKOzjw8AuML2H2tWEZZRmJ4nAAOI6kYs0YlEcoM2bUmjmQCOtMObmMRZhnV5U1rzP5tlxb3CoFs104hKZPtDJYsuhYnUTQ4Bc69fLN/s400/SF+nite+w+clouds+and+moon.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="line-height: 15pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-left: 6pt; margin-right: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly;"><br /></div><div style="line-height: 15pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-left: 6pt; margin-right: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly;"><i>This review was part of the <i>For the Love of Film: The Film Preservation Blogathon to benefit the Film Noir Foundation</i>.</i></div><div style="line-height: 15pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-left: 6pt; margin-right: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly;">San Francisco's annual film noir festival, Noir City 9, ran for ten days at the end of January. From all reports the festival, an event that showcased 24 films, was a great success. I would say, from my own experience, it was a smash.<br /><a name='more'></a></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbVGc74gj9U73Rb32-getdfNw1I6gKpHIW7F-jNYsSp0uu6B4L8kLs55ByHKr5gsm8kEQic0ARuasbOXh_1wjffn1QVjdtfl6PG4UVVZaLgFFN-1fg7T4GeoT74w0zSYc2D12fJyojlHGl/s1600/Stranger+on+the+Third+Floor+%25281940%2529+DVDRip+x.264+AC3+Wolfman%255B%2528059257%252908-09-34%255D%255B1%255D.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbVGc74gj9U73Rb32-getdfNw1I6gKpHIW7F-jNYsSp0uu6B4L8kLs55ByHKr5gsm8kEQic0ARuasbOXh_1wjffn1QVjdtfl6PG4UVVZaLgFFN-1fg7T4GeoT74w0zSYc2D12fJyojlHGl/s320/Stranger+on+the+Third+Floor+%25281940%2529+DVDRip+x.264+AC3+Wolfman%255B%2528059257%252908-09-34%255D%255B1%255D.PNG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Elisha Cook, Jr. in Stranger on the Third Floor</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="line-height: 15pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-left: 6pt; margin-right: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly;">My first blog on the festival covered<span style="color: #990000;"> </span><a href="http://eves-reel-life.blogspot.com/2011/01/whos-crazy-now-noir-city-9-opening.html"><span style="color: #990000;">opening night</span></a><span style="color: #ffd966;">,</span> a double bill featuring <b>High Wall </b>(1947) and <b>Stranger on the Third Floor</b> (1940). The evening included a torchy performance by songstress Laura Ellis, special guest Judy Wyler Sheldon, daughter of director William Wyler and actress Margaret Tallichet (one of the stars of <b>Stranger on the Third Floor</b>) and a riveting Serena Bramble montage of films noir/neo-noir/crime set in San Franciscco. Hosting the festival was Film Noir Foundation founder Eddie Muller, "czar of noir," the perfect emcee for a serious noirfest.</div><div style="line-height: 15pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-left: 6pt; margin-right: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly;">On January 26th I trekked to San Francisco's glorious Castro Theatre once more, this time for a screening of French director Jean Renoir's fabled (and final) Hollywood effort, <b>The Woman on the Beach </b>(1947) starring Robert Ryan, Joan Bennett and Charles Bickford. While the festival's theme was "Who's Crazy Now?" and each film reflected lunacy of some kind, this night's double feature also honored Robert Ryan. In his introduction, Eddie Muller talked about the vicious, venal roles that were Ryan's trademark. Muller contrasted Ryan's filmography of villainous character with the man's generous and humane off-screen values. The enthusiastic packed house cheered when Muller announced that Robert Ryan's daughter Lisa was in the audience.</div><div style="line-height: 15pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-left: 6pt; margin-right: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly;">In introducing <b>The Woman on the Beach</b>, Muller disputed the conventional wisdom that RKO mangled Renoir's film following a disastrous preview. Muller, who knows his noir intimately, told a different story. It was true, he said, that a negative preview did occur, but it was Renoir not RKO who aggressively edited the film afterward. Apparently Renoir was rattled by the audience reaction and lost confidence in his ability to connect with American movie-goers...then he began to cut...and cut.</div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ0uRSAKrEK2LTeQF6NptvZmqp17TfIFhOvaKZAQVH7KeY0vgC_UJuxipO4j4JluTrty49qGxEn0CM0Fj5OfPfWsGx0kfYtkALT3IM8nnjm63ytH5BsIw-VRJwsPFaX2iI6CF71s-DDQTj/s1600/bickford.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ0uRSAKrEK2LTeQF6NptvZmqp17TfIFhOvaKZAQVH7KeY0vgC_UJuxipO4j4JluTrty49qGxEn0CM0Fj5OfPfWsGx0kfYtkALT3IM8nnjm63ytH5BsIw-VRJwsPFaX2iI6CF71s-DDQTj/s320/bickford.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Charles Bickford in The Woman on the Beach</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="line-height: 15pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-left: 6pt; margin-right: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly;"><b>The Woman on the Beach</b> is, as one might expect, a visually arresting film. Crashing waves, vast sand dunes, ruins of a wrecked ship on a desolate beach, rocky cliffs...fog, wind, rain. The plot concerns a Coast Guard officer (Ryan) who has survived a torpedo disaster at sea and suffers nightmares and mood swings in the aftermath. He encounters a dark beauty (Bennett) gathering firewood on a misty shore and is drawn into a harrowing triangle. Charles Bickford plays the woman's husband, a celebrated artist, now blind, withdrawn from the world and bitter.</div><div style="line-height: 15pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-left: 6pt; margin-right: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly;">Evidence of heavy editing is hard to miss; there is often little flow from scene to scene. And though the film is beautifully photographed and atmospheric, the script is much less inspired. Ryan and Bickford are interesting, but Bennett is inconsistent and lacks allure as the femme fatale. It is a flawed film, but it has its moments and is well worth seeing.</div><div style="line-height: 15pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-left: 6pt; margin-right: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly;">I planned to leave right after the first film, it was a work night after all, but when Muller announced that Rain Organics Vodka would be serving complimentary shots at intermission, I decided to linger a bit. Luckily I was early in the drink line and had enough time, as I let my ice melt, to peruse merchandise for sale on the mezzanine. Eddie Muller's book, <u>Dark City</u>, was on display and one day soon it will be mine. I referred to a borrowed copy when reviewing <a href="http://eves-reel-life.blogspot.com/2011/01/focus-on-film-noir-warner-home-videos.html"><span style="color: #990000;">Warner Home Video's last film noir collection</span></a>. The book is full of fascinating information and stylishly written...in the noir tradition.</div><div style="line-height: 15pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-left: 6pt; margin-right: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly;">This was my first Noir City, it won't be my last.</div><div style="line-height: 15pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-left: 6pt; margin-right: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly;"><a href="http://www.filmnoirfoundation.org/index.html"><span style="color: #990000;">Click here</span></a> to learn more about the Film Noir Foundation.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdNmUaM4JzJc_qbEBR53Is7c4HUhYXPuYxfgMS1HbAyP6f0_isXFwliAnkBIXPXCXlGKCACB4pyixfEzOyr4FbgI2Gq6lXOz3nebxCFc871YXcsyo45-m1h1dMsuherkg7_WEcfVH4vYKz/s1600/fnf_logo08%255B1%255D.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdNmUaM4JzJc_qbEBR53Is7c4HUhYXPuYxfgMS1HbAyP6f0_isXFwliAnkBIXPXCXlGKCACB4pyixfEzOyr4FbgI2Gq6lXOz3nebxCFc871YXcsyo45-m1h1dMsuherkg7_WEcfVH4vYKz/s1600/fnf_logo08%255B1%255D.gif" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br /></div>

Charles Bickford Eddie Muller Film Noir Foundation For the Love of Film (Noir) Jean Renoir Joan Bennett Robert Ryan The Woman on the Beach For the Love of Film (Noir): Renoir, Ryan and a splash of vodka...

This review was part of the For the Love of Film: The Film Preservation Blogathon to benefit the Film Noir Foundation.San Francisco's annual film noir festival, Noir City 9, ran for ten days at the end of January. From all reports the festival, an ev…

A Noir Year Begins...

For the Love of Film (Noir): Renoir, Ryan and a splash of vodka...

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