NOT NECESSARILY NOIR @ the Roxie in SF 8/20 - 9/2

[Dewey1960]

Hey everyone -

Next month the Roxie Theater in San Francisco plays host to my latest film series--
NOT NECESSARILY NOIR! Two thrilling weeks (August 20 - September 2) of dark and disturbing motion picture
entertainment featuring films in a variety of unusual genres (horror, science fiction, westerns) as well as films made in COLOR in the years long past the period generally associated with film noir.

Here's the line-up:

Friday, August 20:
INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS (1956) Don Siegel's original
version of what is, for many, the ultimate sci-fi noir of the period!
THE CREEPING UNKNOWN (1956) Val Guest directs this eerie
UK horror-scifi-noir hybrid and it's a major creep-fest. Brian Donlevy
stars as the enigmatic Professor Quartermass.

Saturday, August 21:
MIRAGE (1965) Director Edward Dmytryk's wide-screen black & white
homage to Hitchcock starring Gregory Peck and Diane Baker. Amnesia
noir at its best. Great score by Quincy Jones.
13 WEST STREET (1962) Unsung Alan Ladd late-model noir. It was his
second from last film and he really looks haggard in this. Directed by
Philip Leacock.

Sunday & Monday, August 22 & 23:
A pair of unjustly ignored films from director Jack Garfein!
THE STRANGE ONE (1957) Ben Gazzara as a sociopathic military
cadet determined to destroy all those around him. Awesome!!
SOMETHING WILD (1961) Carroll Baker as a rape victim who winds
up in a relationship with mentally unstable Ralph Meeker. Incredible!

Tuesday, August 24:
THE DAY OF THE OUTLAW (1959) Andre DeToth's snowbound western
noir stars the iconic Robert Ryan. One of Hollywood's great, forgotten films.
TERROR IN A TEXAS TOWN (1958) Sterling Hayden stars in Joseph H.
Lewis' wholly eccentric western drama. Justice comes at the end of a harpoon!

Wednesday, August 25:
THE SADIST (1963) Arch Hall, Jr. in one of the most disturbing terror films ever
made. Photographed in stunning black & white by Vilmos Zsigmond.
A TOWN HAS TURNED TO DUST (1958) Rediscovered TV Noir from "Playhouse
90." Written by Rod Serling and directed by John Frankenheimer. Dynamic tale of
small-town racial prejudice. William Shatner stands out as the rabid leader of a
lynch mob!

Thursday, August 26:
THE FACE BEHIND THE MASK (1941) Brilliant horror-noir hybrid with Peter Lorre as
an idealistic immigrant who becomes a savage criminal after being hideously disfigured
in a fire. Evelyn Keyes is in it, too. Directed (with flair) by Robert Florey.
HOUSE OF HORRORS (1946) This was Rondo Hatton's last film. The actor suffered
from the degenerative disease acromegaly and required no make-up. A real oddity.

Friday, August 27:
OBSESSION (1976) Brian DePalma's odd take on Hitchcock's "Vertigo" starring Cliff
Robertson and Genevieve Bujold. Written by Paul Schrader. Score by Bernard Herrmann.
LAST EMBRACE (1979) Director Jonathan Demme's turn to pay regards to the Master
of Suspense. Starring Roy Scheider and Janet Margolin.

Saturday, August 28
BREATHLESS (1983) Jim McBride's incredible remake of Godard's new wave trend-setter.
Am I the only one who prefers this version? Richard Gere and Valerie Kaprisky star.
ROMEO IS BLEEDING (1993) Gary Oldman and Lena Olin re-imagine film noir by turning
every classical notion on its ear. Peter Medak directs, and how!

Sunday & Monday, August 29 & 30:
BAD LIEUTENANT (1992) Harvey Keitel as the eponymous, nameless cop in Abel Ferrara's
brutal and brilliant tale of redemption.
BLUE COLLAR (1978) Richard Pryor, Harvey Keitel and Yaphet Kotto in Paul Schrader's
unforgettable dissection of the American Dream. One of the 70s most shamefully overlooked
films!

Tuesday, August 31:
THIEF (1981) Michael Mann's first feature as a director is also one of his best! James Caan,
Tuesday Weld and Willie Nelson star in this rugged, visually exhilarating crime saga. Tangerine
Dream does the music.
CUTTER'S WAY (1982) John Heard, Jeff Bridges, and Lisa Eichhorn all take home the acting
honors in Ivan Passer's heartbreakingly real drama of post-Vietnam War disillusionment.

Wednesday, September 1:
MICKEY ONE (1965) A couple of years before they altered cinema history with "Bonnie & Clyde,"
Warren Beatty and director Arthur Penn teamed up for this one-of-a-kind existential crime drama.
THE WOMAN CHASER (1999) Based on Charles Willeford's demented novel of the same name,
this is one whacked-out, retro noir classic in the making. Patrick Walburton (Putty, on the "Seinfeld"
show is the star).

Thursday, September 2:
HARDCORE (1979) George C, Scott as the straighlaced Michigan businessman who comes to LA
in order to rescue his teenage daughter from the evils of prostitution! "Oh my God, that's my daughter!"
Peter Boyle plays a sleazy private eye. Paul Schrader wrote and directed.
ROLLING THUNDER (1977) Brutally violent shocker finds William Devane in the unenviable position
of seeking vengeance on those who murdered his family. Tommy Lee Jones plays his buddy. Schrader
wrote it; John Flynn directed.

[Lzcutter]

Dewey,

OMG! So many wonderful films. Cutter's Way and Obsession I haven't seen on the big screen in over 20 years.

I'll be there for those and some others as well. Will try to bring Marco with me!

Can't wait to see you, Mrs. Dewey and these films again!

[MikeBSG]

I've always thought "Creeping Unknown" had a noirish style. It's a good one.

[moira finnie]

Oh, Dewey!
You are really branching out and showing your imaginative plumage with these great choices. If anyone is in your neighborhood on the evening when Obsession (1976) is shown--please do yourself a favor and hightail it to the Roxie. If the gorgeous cinematography of Vilmos Zsigmond doesn't enthrall you, hearing one of the last film scores composed by Bernard Herrmann in stereo should be sufficient reason to catch this one. Derivative of Hitchcock--sure! But who cares, if a filmmaker is stealing from one of the best? For once, that sleepwalking manner of Cliff Robertson's really fit the character he played too!

I'd love to see The Creeping Unknown (1955) with one of my favorite crankypants actors--Brian Donlevy--as Prof. Bernard Quatermass, especially since I've only seen brief moments of this movie over the years and have never caught the whole thing. (An English friend sent me CDs of the BBC radio show, which were the highly enjoyable inspiration for this series of movies and television shows). After seeing Five Million Years to Earth (1967) with Andrew Keir as the good professor recently, I don't know if it would be the same, however. Keir and James Donald were great in that sci-fi!!

Loved Thief (1981), but not necessarily for the leading man, but for the gritty charm of Willie Nelson and the flashy Michael Mann neo-noir style.

Tough as it is, Hardcore features one of the best performances by George C. Scott I've ever seen, though I know I could never, ever see Rolling Thunder again. (I don't think I've ever used a garbage disposal since).

[JackFavell]

Ha ha! Crankypants! Guess who's got a new nickname...... I'll never call him anything else.

[Lzcutter]

I was really looking forward to seeing Obsession on the big screen for the first time in more years than I can remember but alas, I am going home to see MrCutter that weekend.

But, Dewey, I do plan to be there on the 25th and the 31st. No way am I missing Cutter's Way. I love that film!

I'll try to drag Marco with me!

[rudyfan]

Damn, I will be missing Cutter's Way (and LZ Cutter and MoraldoRubini, obviously)

[Dewey1960]

Moira, thanks for stopping by and for your wonderfully gracious comments about
my upcoming show at the Roxie. This one was really a challenge to put together
and my only hope is folks will embrace the idea of contemporary films and genre
films other than urban crime films (like science ficiton, horror and westerns) in the
guise of a noir series.
Mike, THE CREEPING UNKNOWN is a long-time favorite of mine and seen on the
big screen in tandem with INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS brings it about
as close to the noir universe as any other film from the 50s.
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DePalma's OBSESSION (1976) is one of my favorite Htichcock "homagia" films and
it's surprising how effectively it plays, especially in a widescreen theatrical setting.Incredible!
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CUTTER'S WAY has been a personal fave of mine since its initial release
in 1981. Very few American films have dared venture into this territory and
the film, despite its dismal commercial performance thirty years ago, has
finally earned its cult status.
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Lynn, I look forward to seeing you and Moraldo at the Roxie. You're on the VIP
guest list (with any "plus one" you choose). See you there, I hope!
RudyFan, please send me a PM to let me know if you'll be attending any shows;
your name will go straight to the top o' that VIP list! (And that goes for any other Oasis
folks who plan on being in San Francisco the end of August!

[Mr. Arkadin]

No clips from House of Horrors?

I'm glad Mr. D is pursuing this project, as there have been huge discussions on this board and others about what constitutes Noir.

I've never felt that the genre belonged simply to American films made between 1940 to 1958 or that shadows and a fedora are essential. That would be similar to saying every horror film has to have a haunted house. While it's true many do have these features, that is not what I personally think defines them. Rather, they are outward trappings, or signposts that point to deeper internal questions such as what constitutes good and evil, fatalism vs. freewill, or moral and social corruption. While the styling may vary, these themes are usually present in one form or another.

Dewey has wisely chosen movies from a variety of periods and styles that might seem like intense dramas in isolation, but the dark threads in each work become more apparent when linked together, suggesting that Film Noir is not a genre one can define by period and style, but is perhaps a study of the human condition or philosophical ideology instead.

[Lzcutter]

Dewey,

Thanks so much! I calling Moraldo this weekend to see if I can drag him along. I think I probably can. I'm really bummed about missing Obsession. It's been over 25 years since I've seen it on the big screen. I saw it on its original release and still own the soundtrack on vinyl. John Lithgow appears in one of his earliest roles but he sure makes it a memorable one.

Ark,

Once I see Cutter's Way in a few weeks, maybe we can finally have that long-waited for discussion. I have loved this film since I saw it on its original release. Lisa Eichorn is heartbreaking and John Heard is fearless and Jeff Bridges is the glue that holds the center together.

And next week, TCM is finally screening The Wild Bunch. I know its one of your faves and I look forward to us both sharing our love of this truly groundbreaking and heartbreaking western. It's the story of men out of time in more than one way.

I look forward to swapping posts with you about both films!

[Dewey1960]

Ark, I only wish YouTube had something specific on HOUSE OF HORRORS, but I was
able to find this crudely assembled tribute to its star RONDO HATTON. Some of the
clips included do come from HOUSE OF HORRORS and it also features scenes from
THE BRUTE MAN, JUNGLE CAPTIVE, PEARL OF DEATH, SPIDERWOMAN STRIKES BACK.
[youtube][/youtube]
There's quite a bit riding on this festival; the jury's not out yet with respect to just how
tolerant San Francisco film noir purists are going to be with horror, science fiction and
western films in the mix! Not to mention all those post-1960s color films!

[Mr. Arkadin]

There's quite a bit riding on this festival; the jury's not out yet with respect to just how
tolerant San Francisco film noir purists are going to be with horror, science fiction and
western films in the mix! Not to mention all those post-1960s color films!

I thought that SF was all about being tolerant and inclusive! After all, like the line in Taxi Driver (1976) says: "They're always ahead of everybody out there."

I've got a few words for those "purists"....

[Dewey1960]

Papa Ark said: I thought that SF was all about being tolerant and inclusive!
About a great many things, yes. But not about film noir.
What on earth will the purists think of this??
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[Mr. Arkadin]

Or this?

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[Dewey1960]

Not to mention this stunning little gem...
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