The Silver Screen Oasis

Well gang, after many weeks fraught with indecision and peril, my latest installment
of TV NOIR arrives at the 102 year-old Roxie Theater this coming Friday, Sept 30 for
a nervous week of small-screen entertainment up there on the big screen. Once again
I've had the pleasure of working with superstar archivist extraordinaire Johnny Legend,
who has combed the dusty bowels (sorry about that; I get carried away) of his immense
vault of rarities.

This dark extravaganza provides an ample sample of some of the most unusual shows to
spill out of idiot boxes on a routine basis between 1950 and 1960. Detective stories, murder
mysteries, suspense melodramas, social dramas masquerading as pulp trash, science fiction
scare stories and even an ill-fated "noir" quiz show created by William Castle with Groucho Marx
as one of the panelists!! All that and more for a full week. Wish some of you regular connoiseurs
of the arcane and the strange could be here in person; Lynn I hope you make it by with Marco!

Here's a brief description from the Roxie's website:::
http://roxie.com/events/details.cfm?eve ... E7D97EC3C4

Sounds like another amazing set of TV segments I missed out on as a kid (except for the TZ episodes). Are you sure you wouldn't like to take the show on the road? I have a nice 27" tube floor model that would give true old school flavor.

Chicago first! Heck, I'd settle for Chicago being 23rd on the roadshow.

Ark -- Does your TV have rabbit-ears? And a rolling picture? That's what we need!

Fascinating schedule! Is that William Burroughs on the cover picture?

I am more and more curious about Four Star Playhouse. I've seen some really interesting teleplays from that series.

I second the "roadshow" idea! These all look like gems, from Serling to Hitch to Marx to Keaton. Wish I could be there to see them all.

Wow, Wendy, you're the second person to ID our TV NOIR poster boy
as Beat-Lit Bad Boy William Burroughs. When I showed my wife
Tracey the artwork before going to the printer she said, "What
does William Burroughs have to do with TV Noir?" Truth be told,
the mug on the poster belongs to veteran character actor Victor
Jory. And while he's not represented in any of these episodes, he's
definitely a staple of 50s crimes shows. That craggy, hollow face
certainly does look like Burroughs!

Johnny Legend and I have been discussing the possibility of bringing
this show (and others like it) to various cities around the country.
A lot will depend on the kind of business we do at the Roxie. I know
the press will be strong in support for the series, but I'm not
necessarily convinced it will translate to big box office. We'll see!

Ha! Thanks for ID'ing Victor Jory! It was driving me cRaZy. Burroughs life from 1950 on was pretty noir.... I thought maybe there was a connection.

I hope that you make oodles of money this year, warranting a special round the country tour.

Dewey,

It sounds great!!! I will talk to Marco and see what we can do.

Either way, I hope to be there next Saturday for the double bill and maybe the following Thursday as well!

Dewey, is there any...any chance in Hades, that you'll travel around the country with your regular Film Noir series? Is that at all a possibility...or just a West Coast thaaang?

California Dreaming.... I wish I were in SF for the upcoming week. Or, better yet, that SF were in Chicago.

San Francisco Chronicle:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.c ... 1L9KO3.DTL

San Francisco Bay Guardian:
http://www.sfbg.com/2011/09/28/channeling-darkness

San Francisco Weekly:
http://www.sfweekly.com/2011-09-28/film ... cherstuhl/

Best wishes, Dark Dewey, for a successful week of tormented and tortured TV Noir!

The only thing missing is the old cigarette commercials! Good luck, Mr. D.

Johnny Legend and I have been discussing the possibility of bringing this show (and others like it) to various cities around the country.

I'm guessing you won't be in western Kentucky anytime soon!

Have a great time, Dewey! I know your audiences will.

Have a great time, I hope it's an unqualified success for you. I only wish I could join you.

Whew!! One of the most wonderful and interesting weeks I've ever experienced at the Roxie wrapped up
last night. TV NOIR is now in the books and it goes without saying that it was a great success. Our box
office wasn't exactly sensational, but it exceeded my own personal expectaions, so that makes me
happy. We started out with a whopping crowd on Friday night and the audience was treated to an
onslaught of classic TV Noir, including the Mike Hammer unsold pilot with Brian Keith, a sensational
Schlitz Playhouse episode called "A Fistful of Love" with Lee Marvin and the sublime Johnny Staccato
episode "The Wild Reed." And that was only the first program of the evening! Program Two featured
an eerie One Step Beyond episode called "The Haunted Clown" starring Yvette Mimieux and the unsold
pilot for a noir quiz show created by William Castle called The Plot Thickens with Groucho Marx and
Jan Sterlling (among others) as panelists!
Attendance over the weekend slipped a bit primarily because of the huge free concert in Golden Gate
Park which drew thousands of folks. Biz during the week picked up again with large, enthusiastic
crowds each night. For the most part.
My friend and guest curator Johnny Legend was likewise thrilled with the turnout and we will no doubt
attempt another stab at this sometime next year. I'd like to thank all my Oasis pals who've shown so
much support (from afar and nearby!) through these boards! Thanks!!

Congratulations, Dewey. I think we need to put wheels on these events so that you can hit the road with this and other shows--perhaps you could travel the country in a sting-ray, (I bet that ChiO would love to be your wing man) picking up odd jobs in the hinterlands as you bring that oxymoron--noir enlightenment--to those of us who can't get to San Francisco every six months!?


I hope you'll catch up on some rest, and let us know your future plans.