18th Annual Noir City Film Festival Opens in Hollywood This Friday

The 18th Annual Noir City Hollywood festival opens at the Egyptian Theatre this Friday evening, April 15th.

The Egyptian Theatre will be filled with noir darkness for ten consecutive days, with the festival ending on Sunday, April 24th. This format is a change from recent years, when the festival took place on three "long" weekends in a row.

Every film in the festival will be shown in 35mm, and 11 of the 20 films on the schedule have not been released on DVD. Click the hyperlinked titles below for my past reviews.

I'll be there on Opening Night for a double bill of the Argentinian film THE BITTER STEMS (1956) paired with RIFFRAFF (1947), a favorite discovery last year.

I really enjoyed the Argentinian noir HARDLY A CRIMINAL (1949) at the 2014 festival so I'm curious about THE BITTER STEMS.

I also hope to be there this Saturday night, April 16th, for ALL MY SONS (1948) paired with TAKE ONE FALSE STEP (1949). Edward G. Robinson and Burt Lancaster star in ALL MY SONS, based on an Arthur Miller play, while William Powell and Marsha Hunt star in TAKE ONE FALSE STEP, with a supporting cast including Shelley Winters, Sheldon Leonard, and James Gleason.

On Sunday, April 17th, the evening kicks off with the anthology FLESH AND FANTASY (1943), with an all-star cast including Charles Boyer, Barbara Stanwyck, Robert Cummings, Edward G. Robinson, and more. It's followed by DESTINY, a 65-minute "B" film starring Alan Curtis and Gloria Jean.

Monday, April 18th, there's a pair of good Anthony Mann films I've seen before, SIDE STREET (1950) and DR. BROADWAY (1942). SIDE STREET stars Farley Granger and Cathy O'Donnell as a young couple caught in a nightmare when the husband decides to steal in order to support his pregnant wife. DR. BROADWAY is a fun "B" film starring Macdonald Carey.

April 19th the films are FLESH AND FURY (1952), starring Tony Curtis and Jan Sterling, and OUTSIDE THE WALL (1950), with Richard Basehart and Marilyn Maxwell.

I hope to make the mid-week April 20th double bill of MEET DANNY WILSON (1952), starring Frank Sinatra, and YOUNG MAN WITH A HORN (1950) starring Doris Day, Kirk Douglas, and Lauren Bacall. It's great to note that two of the three stars of YOUNG MAN WITH A HORN are still with us over 65 years later.

On April 21st the night's films are DEEP VALLEY (1947), starring Ida Lupino and Dane Clark, paired with the entertaining FLAXY MARTIN (1949) (also reviewed here), starring Virginia Mayo, Zachary Scott, and Dorothy Malone, who is also still living today.

On Friday, April 22nd, the films are DEAD RECKONING (1947) and KEY WITNESS (1947). DEAD RECKONING stars Humphrey Bogart and Lizabeth Scott, while KEY WITNESS stars John Beal.

Paul Henreid's daughter Monika will be on hand on Saturday night, April 23rd, to introduce two of her father's films, DECEPTION (1946), costarring Bette Davis, and HOLLOW TRIUMPH (1948), which also stars Joan Bennett.

On closing night, April 24th, the night begins with an "encore" presentation of TOO LATE FOR TEARS (1949), celebrating the upcoming DVD release of TOO LATE FOR TEARS and WOMAN ON THE RUN (1950).

Later that night the festival concludes with THE CAPTIVE CITY (1952), starring John Forsythe, and BUY ME THAT TOWN (1941), starring Lloyd Nolan.

The compressed format with daily screenings will probably mean I can't attend as many screenings as in years past; last year I saw 20 films! Nonetheless I anticipate being there on several nights, and I'll be reporting on the screenings here!

UCLA will also kick off a new series this weekend, Independent Stardom on Screen: Freelance Women in Hollywood. I'll have more info on it here in the next couple of days. And four days after the conclusion of the Noir City Festival this year's TCM Classic Film Festival will get underway!

Also, the schedule will soon be announced for the 2016 Arthur Lyons Film Noir Festival, which takes place in Palm Springs from May 12th to 15th. We're truly fortunate to have so many great opportunities to see classic films on the big screen here in Southern California!

Key posts on past Noir City Hollywood Festivals: A Visit to the Noir City Film Festival (2010); A Visit to the 13th Noir City Film Festival (2011); First Preview of 14th Annual Noir City Film Festival; Schedule Announced for Noir City 14 in Hollywood; Final Week of Noir City 14 Schedule Announced; A Visit to the 14th Annual Noir City Film Festival (2012); Schedule Announced for Noir City 15 in Hollywood; A Visit to the 15th Annual Noir City Film Festival (2013); Schedule Preview of Noir City 16 in Hollywood; A Visit to the 16th Annual Noir City Film Festival (2014); 17th Annual Noir City Film Festival Opens in Hollywood This Friday; A Visit to the 17th Annual Noir City Film Festival (2015).

Update: A Visit to the 18th Annual Noir City Film Festival.