BEST of COLUMBIA NOIR at SF's ROXIE THEATER in SEPTEMBER!!

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Dewey1960
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Re: BEST of COLUMBIA NOIR at SF's ROXIE THEATER in SEPTEMBER!!

Post by Dewey1960 »

Another balmy evening in San Francisco's picaresque Mission District as Night #2 of the Roxie's Best of Columbia Film Noir series unleashed a dangerous double dose of B noir on the unsuspecting populace. A big packed house greeted THE SOUL OF A MONSTER (1944) with just the proper amount of reverence required of a visually brilliant creepfest photographed by the legendary Burnett Guffey. Most were more than willing to bypass the overtly compelling religiosity of the film in favor of savoring Guffey's beautiful, haunted images. What can any of us say about THE WHISTLER (1944) that hasn't already been blabbed to death on these here boards. Just that seeing it in a gorgeous 35mm archive print with a roomful of people who would rather be right where they are than anywhere else in the noir universe says about all you need to know about this one. Great Scott, what an incredible slab of noir it is!!
Today we have Nick Ray's KNOCK ON ANY DOOR (1949) which showcases Humphrey Bogart in his great, later phase as a screen icon as well as young John Derek who gets to utter the rightly famous line "Live fast, die young and leave a good-looking corpse." The prophetic pronouncement would only be co-opted and come to serve as James Dean's epitaph several years later just moments after appearing in (and then dying) Nick Ray's REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE (a small world, this noir universe!) It shares the bill with a seldom-seen noir starring Glenn Ford and Broderick Crawford (no, not HUMAN DESIRE; that plays on Tuesday!) called CONVICTED. Also shot by Guffey. Should be pretty memorable!
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CineMaven
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Re: BEST of COLUMBIA NOIR at SF's ROXIE THEATER in SEPTEMBER!!

Post by CineMaven »

Hey CM---the fetching JANIS CARTER lights up the ROXIE screen TONIGHT in the great 1947 Columbia B classic FRAMED. She shares one half of the double feature with Gloria Grahame in HUMAN DESIRE. - Dewey1960

You tryin' to hurt me now? Make me green-eyed jealous?!!!! I live in NYC. I couldn't have made it. ACK!!! But, I did just retire...you've got to let me know in advance what your next NOIR event is. Maybe I could jet out of the Big Apple to attend.
"You build my gallows high, baby."

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Dewey1960
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Re: BEST of COLUMBIA NOIR at SF's ROXIE THEATER in SEPTEMBER!!

Post by Dewey1960 »

Finally, a chance to stop and catch my breath. Wow, what a fantastic series this is!! With our first week under our belt, it can officially be called an unqualified success both in terms of audience turnout and spectacular-looking prints EVERY SINGLE SHOW!!
Last night we showed Don Siegel's excitingly off-beat 1958 noir THE LINE UP, paired with Edward Dmytryk's THE SNIPER from 1952. This is a uniquely "San Francisco Noir" program with both films making excellent use of our beloved locales! We had our biggest weeknight crowd yet for this one and the audience whooped it up like it was Saturday afternoon at the Bijou! Siegel's film is especially impressive, given the director's penchant for razor-sharp handling of action sequences and his curious knack for bringing out interesting performances from his actors, most notably here with Eli Wallach. Quite a night!
Tuesday night was a combo platter of Fritz Lang's HUMAN DESIRE (1954) and the legendary B from 1947, FRAMED. This was a problematic double-bill to envision. Initially I had decided not to program HUMAN DESIRE into the series simply because I couldn't come up with an appropriate co-feature. It's hard to pair anything up with Fritz Lang and I was really stumped. Then it occurred to me: FRAMED not only has Glenn Ford (and Edgar Buchanan, not to mention a dangerous blonde femme fatale) but it also presents the star in both films as an engineer. In FRAMED, Ford plays a civil engineer and in HUMAN DESIRE he's a railroad engineer. Watching them both together as I did Tuesday night, it dawned on me that the later film could have easily been a coda to the earlier one. They almost seemed to be the same film (with seven years missing in between). And another packed house to boot!
Monday night offered up two B's from Joseph H. Lewis: MY NAME IS JULIA ROSS (45) and SO DARK THE NIGHT (46). Neither are conventional noirs but display enough noir elements to justify their inclusion in the series (I believe). The prints were nothing short of beautifully perfect and the house was suitably impressed and reverential.
Sunday was equally wonderful with our Richard Quine double bill, PUSH OVER (54) and DRIVE A CROOKED ROAD (54). Much has already been said and written about here regarding PUSH OVER, but the real surprise for the crowd was CROOKED ROAD. The packed house really latched onto this intriguing "beach noir" and it didn't take long for them to accept Mickey Rooney in the lead. A hugely popular double-bill and one that will undoubtedly be reprised in the future!
Another six nights to go! Wow! I sincerely wish all of my Oasis friends could be here for this!
CineMaven said:
You tryin' to hurt me now? Make me green-eyed jealous?!!!! I live in NYC. I couldn't have made it. ACK!!! But, I did just retire...you've got to let me know in advance what your next NOIR event is. Maybe I could jet out of the Big Apple to attend.
Judging from audience response, I think it's safe to say we'll be up again with another Roxie Noir show sometime in the Spring of next year. I'll keep you posted. No excuses. You're coming!
Mr. Arkadin
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Re: BEST of COLUMBIA NOIR at SF's ROXIE THEATER in SEPTEMBER!!

Post by Mr. Arkadin »

Drive a Crooked Road is a great film and with Pushover, was my personal favorite of your pairings Dewey. I'm surprised more people are not familiar with that one.
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CineMaven
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Re: BEST of COLUMBIA NOIR at SF's ROXIE THEATER in SEPTEMBER!!

Post by CineMaven »

Someone very dear over at TCM City pointed this out to me:



If you get a chance, check it out. It's quite a stunning Valentine to Noir. I was breathless for six minutes!

I just had to repeat it.
"You build my gallows high, baby."

http://www.megramsey.com
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MissGoddess
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Re: BEST of COLUMBIA NOIR at SF's ROXIE THEATER in SEPTEMBER!!

Post by MissGoddess »

You ought to post it in the House of Noir thread, CineMaven. I agree, it's a FABULOUS video, something
that TCM should broadcast if it weren't for possible rights issues.
"There's only one thing that can kill the movies, and that's education."
-- Will Rogers
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Dewey1960
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Re: BEST of COLUMBIA NOIR at SF's ROXIE THEATER in SEPTEMBER!!

Post by Dewey1960 »

Well, our BEST OF COLUMBIA NOIR fest is officially over and it can formally be said that it was a major, rip-roaring success. Although it was incredibly exhausting, it was a wild ride and I'll not soon forget it. Too many highlights to ruminate over, but it's safe to say that watching twenty-two classic (and near-classic) noirs on the big Roxie screen with loads of appreciative fans was an incomparable delight. Without exception, these prints were absolutely gorgeous and pristine and just another reminder that this is the most ideal way for films to be enjoyed.
I'm hoping to mount another similar fest at the Roxie next spring. Start saving up for that airfare now!
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JackFavell
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Re: BEST of COLUMBIA NOIR at SF's ROXIE THEATER in SEPTEMBER!!

Post by JackFavell »

Congratulations, Dewey, on a job superbly done. I enjoyed hearing about it, and look forward to watching all these films for myself. As a noir newbie, I want to thank you for giving me a great list of films to keep an eye out for.

Best of all, for me, was hearing about the double bill of Framed and Human Desire, since I have actually seen both of these films already. A very inspired pairing.
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Dewey1960
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Re: BEST of COLUMBIA NOIR at SF's ROXIE THEATER in SEPTEMBER!!

Post by Dewey1960 »

Thanks so much, JF. Those are mighty fine words of praise and I certainly do appreciate hearing them! I only hope that you and many of the others here will be able to journey out west next spring when when we do another exciting program of film noir classics and curios!! Thanks again! Dewey
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CineMaven
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Re: BEST of COLUMBIA NOIR at SF's ROXIE THEATER in SEPTEMBER!!

Post by CineMaven »

I just discovered Back Alley Noir. They have two hosts for their podcasts on some of the great film noirs out of Hollywood. If you wish to listen to those...go onto www.noircast.net. Download 'em onto your iPOD. But be careful as you walk in the streets.
"You build my gallows high, baby."

http://www.megramsey.com
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