Boy, has FATHER GEEK got some great news for all you West Coast fans of the Film Noir genre. We here at Geek Headquarters in Austin, Texas write alot about our town’s film lineups and guest appearances. Well, thats because we’re living here and its what we get to see and experience for the most part. And those are some pretty damn good experiences too, but The Egyptian Theater (one of filmdom’s most historically important) on Hollywood Blvd. is throwing a festival of Film Noir that it is just plain killing me I can’t attend. It started a couple of days ago, but never fear there are plenty of great films to go and ol’ Father Geek will lay it all out for you here and now so you can make plans to attend your faves.
First off at 7pm on the 7th (that’s today geeks) they are going to show DETOUR, the 1945 definitive example of noir fatalism by Edgar(Black Cat,Girls in Chains)Ulmer starring Tom Neal and Ann Savage. Guess what? Ann Savage, the vixenish femme fatale will be in attendance to answer all you questions after the flick. Cooool! Later at 9:30 they will fire up a triple bill of Felix Feist films starting with 47’s THE DEVIL THUMBS A RIDE featuring a great amoral performance by the king of frigid homicidal maniacs Lawrence Tierney. That will be followed by THE TREAT, a 1949 effort full of torture, cruelty, and violence as Charles McGraw slaps his way through a fistful of cops and stool-pigeons. The evening’s fare will be topped off by TOMORROW IS ANOTHER DAY with Ruth Roman’s 1951 dancehall dame dripping with raw sex as she leads Steve Cochran down the path to total self destruction. In Father Geek’s opinion this is Feist’s best film, a true masterwork.
The festival continues on Saturday the 10th with a 7pm showing of Budd Boetticher’s 1956 late-noir THE KILLER IS LOOSE. Wendell Corey is the crazed psycho pursued by Joseph Cotten who uses Ronda Fleming as the delicious cheese for his rat trap. Oh man, I’m dying here. What to say? Well, not only is director Boetticher (Escape in the Fog, Tall T) going to be attending the showing, buuuut (Is your head screwed down tight?) Ronda(Out of the Past,Spellbound)Fleming, yes, Ronda the one and only Fleming, will be hanging out to satisfy fans. The night continues at 9:30 with scarlet harlot, queen of the “B’s”, Beverly Michaels conning lovesick fools in 54’s juicy noir WICKED WOMAN by Russell Rouse. That will be followed by one of Father Geek’s favorite experimental motion pictures of any era or genre, 1952’s THE THIEF showcasing Ray Milland. This feature length motion picture has not one single word of dialogue. Not one! It is propelled by a tour de force acting job, and a fantastic score. Don’t miss this rare opportunity to view this in a theater, it’s a totally unique noir entry.
Sunday, April 11 at 5pm one of noir’s “A” list films, the bleak, scathing, highly original 1947 masterpiece NIGHTMARE ALLEY starring Tyrone Power as a morbid double-dealing charlatan will have an uber rare screening, and Coleen Gray will be there in the flesh to discuss the shrewd, audacious picture with you. At 7:45 they shift gears back to “B” with Republic Pictures’ THE CITY THAT NEVER SLEEPS from 53. A twisting, turning, seedy potboiler crime drama of a single night in the Chicago underworld brought to the screen with perfection by John Auer. That will be followed by yet another teaming of Auer and Republic, this time in 1954’s sleazy low-life noir HELL’S HALF ACRE. This flick with a sultry Marie Windsor slinking from scene to scene with Evelyn Keyes’ dime-a-dance girl wins Father Geek’s award for trashyish all time noir.
Our next trip down noir lane occurs Wednesday the 14th at 7pm with TENSION. This ‘49 MGM big studio noir featured a vampy Audrey(Postman Always Rings Twice,Beginning of the End)Totter as the sexpot sleep-around wife of doomed Richard Basehart, and she’s going to be there in person to talk about her anxiety filled classic. Maaan... wish I could make these! Shiiiiiaat!!! Black-listed Director Cy Endfield will be featured in the double feature that follows at 9:30. First up will be his squirm-inducing 1950 undertaking TRY AND GET ME with a desperate Frank Lovejoy and a deranged Lloyd Bridges creating an unrelenting, memorable stomach-churning climax. You probably know Endfield best for some of his exile period British films like my fave Zulu, but his “pre-commie branding” noirs are topnotch like this 2nd feature, THE UNDERWORLD STORY. Also from 1950, this one stars the always captivating Dan Duryea as a cynical crime reporter. Father Geek loves this guy in everything he touches.
Alas all good things must come to an end, and Thursday the 15th is the last day of this fantastic film noir fest. It goes out with a bang though. One of my favorite femme fatales for all time Lizabeth Scott stars in 1947’s bigtime-noir DESERT FURY along with Mary Astor, Burt Lancaster, John Hodiak, and Wendell Corey. Famous for it’s machine gun paced dialogue dripping with dark imputation and double-entendre this is indeed a rare treat for fans of the genre. If all the above is still not enough to get you into the theater add a powerful Miklos Rosza score to the mix and the fact that you can’t find it on video anywhere. Next we have one of Martin Scorsese’s favorite noirs, 58’s MURDER BY CONTRACT. He says that this is what drove him to make Taxi Driver, just compare the training episodes and all will become clear. The final film of the series is Edward(Crossfire,Murder My Sweet)Dmytryk’s stunning journey into the mind of a psycho-sexual serial killer ala 1952. This is the great grand daddy that started a whole new sub-genre, it is at once unnerving as well as authentic. It is simply THE SNIPER and you will never view Arthur(Invaders from Mars)Franz the same again, this Father Geek promises.
Is your favorite not here? Well, on the 11th they will be showing over an hour’s worth of rare full-length original noir trailers including CRISS CROSS, BRUTE FORCE, NIAGARA, THE GLASS KEY, NIGHTMARE ALLEY, and several others. Further more Father Geek just found out about this fest; on the 2nd they showed NARROW MARGIN, ARMORED CAR ROBBERY, and VIOLENT SATURDAY; on the 3rd they showed THE KILLER THAT STALKED NEW YORK, 99 RIVER STREET, and KANSAS CITY CONFIDENTIAL; and on the 6th they offered up a marvelous triple feature that included BORN TO KILL, BRUTE FORCE, and THIEVES HIGHWAY. Those 1st days of the festival also included personal appearances by Robert (Bodysnatcher,Haunting) Wise, Evelyn (Gone With the Wind) Keyes, Richard (Bodyguard,Trapped) Fleischer, and (oh my god, I’m dying) Marie (Force of Evil,Swamp Women,The Killing) Windsor. Wow, this is what a Film Noir Festival is all about. If there’s any way you can pull it off, quit that meaningless job, drop out of those pointless college business classes, head to the closest ATM and fight your way to 6712 Hollywood Blvd. and Grauman’s Egyptian Theater. This is the kind of event that “almost” has this old Austin hippie wishing he had moved out to Hollywood back in ‘69 when some of his college buddies did. Almost!!! But then old Father Geek would probably be stuck shooting grade “B” horror and crime films instead of writing for all you wonderful geeks and beautiful geekettes. I wouldn’t trade that for anything. And that’s the truth of the matter. So, so long for now. If someone out there sends me some air tickets (pitiful plea) I’ll meet you at the Egyptian this weekend.
