A Visit to the 19th Annual Noir City Film Festival

It's that time of year again when cops and criminals take over the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood...

...which means it's time for the 19th Annual Noir City Film Festival!

Noir City will play for ten consecutive days at the Egyptian Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard, concluding on Sunday, April 2nd. My look at each date on the schedule may be found here.

All but three films in the festival will be screened in 35mm, and many are not available on DVD.

This was the seventh year in a row I've attended the festival's opening night, and the eighth year I've attended overall. As I wrote in my festival preview, if I can withstand the rigors of the freeway traffic, I'm hoping to be there every night this year!

As we have often done in the past, my husband and I began our opening night with dinner at the historic Pig 'N Whistle next door to the Egyptian. Given that Leonard Maltin, his wife and friends were seated a couple tables over from us, it was clearly the happening place to be!

The Masters of Noir Darkness, Alan K. Rode and Eddie Muller of the Film Noir Foundation:

There was a celebratory cocktail party in the Egyptian courtyard between the opening night 75th anniversary screenings of THIS GUN FOR HIRE (1942) and QUIET PLEASE - MURDER (1942). Leonard and Alice Maltin can be glimpsed in the crowd, chatting with Michael Schlesinger in the top photo:

The Egyptian Theatre has undergone a terrific restoration thanks to the Hollywoood Foreign Press Association. There's an informative video on YouTube about all the work that was done, including fixing a leaky roof, restoring the courtyard murals, new carpet and seat upholstery, and the new nitrate projection booth, which made possible the CASABLANCA (1942) screening I enjoyed last November. The brand-new concession stand will hopefully open soon!

As always, this introductory post to the Noir City Festival will be regularly updated with review links for all films seen at the festival. It's going to be a very busy week so some reviews may take a bit to post. As the saying goes, watch this space!

New reviews of films seen at the 2017 Noir City Film Festival: ADDRESS UNKNOWN (1944), ESCAPE IN THE FOG (1945), BEHIND GREEN LIGHTS (1946), BACKLASH (1947), THE ACCUSED (1949), CHICAGO DEADLINE (1949), I WAS A SHOPLIFTER (1950), WHERE THE SIDEWALK ENDS (1950), THE MAN WHO CHEATED HIMSELF (1950), IRON MAN (1951), THE BIG HEAT (1953), WICKED WOMAN (1953).

Previously reviewed films seen at this year's festival: THIS GUN FOR HIRE (1942), QUIET PLEASE - MURDER (1942), MINISTRY OF FEAR (1944), LADY ON A TRAIN (1945), THE DARK CORNER (1946), CALCUTTA (1947), THE HUNTED (1948) (also here), THE KILLER THAT STALKED NEW YORK (1950).

Posts on past Noir City Festivals which contain review links for all films seen each year: A Visit to the 18th Annual Noir City Film Festival (2016); A Visit to the 17th Annual Noir City Film Festival (2015); A Visit to the 16th Annual Noir City Film Festival (2014); A Visit to the 15th Annual Noir City Film Festival (2013); A Visit to the 14th Annual Noir City Film Festival (2012); A Visit to the 13th Noir City Film Festival (2011); A Visit to the Noir City Film Festival (2010).