The 2018 Arthur Lyons Film Noir Festival in Review
I'm back from a fantastic weekend at the Arthur Lyons Film Noir Festival in Palm Springs!
This was my third time to attend the festival, and while I've greatly enjoyed each one, this might have been the best yet. The movies and guests were all terrific, and Palm Springs is a wonderfully relaxing setting in which to enjoy it all.
A dozen films were screened at the former Camelot Theatres, which last year was donated by owners Rick and Rozene Supple to the Palm Springs Cultural Center. The theater now has new signage reflecting the change.
You can't ask for a better venue, as the main theater where the festival takes place has a huge screen, comfortable seating with lots of leg space, and there's even a cafe in the building.
Here's a glimpse of the festive scene on the theater's front patio after the movie on opening night:
Ten of the dozen films shown at this year's festival were screened in 35mm. I saw 11 of the 12 films, only choosing to skip THE UNSUSPECTED (1947) since I just saw it at UCLA in February. The remaining films were a terrific mix of new discoveries and films I was glad to revisit; in the case of WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION (1957), I hadn't seen it since I was a teenager!
Here's a peek at the program; click each photo to enlarge for a closer look. There's more about the films in the preview post I wrote last month.
The festival continues to be produced and hosted by Alan K. Rode, who does a fantastic job. Alan's Film Noir Foundation colleagues Eddie Muller and Foster Hirsch were also on hand again this year to help introduce some of the films.
Anyone who regularly attends Noir City festivals or watches Noir Alley on TCM knows how informative Alan and Eddie's intros are, but I also want to give a special shout-out to Foster Hirsch; I really enjoy the way his introductions highlight interesting visuals and themes to watch for while viewing. Here he introduces UNDER THE GUN (1951) on Sunday; more on that later!
There was also a special guest each day, who was interviewed by Alan. Here are Alan and Jack O'Halloran before the opening night screening of FAREWELL, MY LOVELY (1975), which I'll be writing about here soon. O'Halloran memorably played Moose Malloy in the film.
Alan and his wife Jemma with Vincent Price's daughter Victoria, prior to the screening of THE WEB (1947), in which Vincent Price starred with Edmond O'Brien.
Alan and the irrepressible Ruta Lee Saturday night before WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION:
And finally, Alan with Victor Mature's daughter Victoria, who was interviewed after a screening of her father's classic film KISS OF DEATH (1947). Victoria also shared her singing talents with the festival audience! More on that in a future post.
Actor Clu Gulagher was in his customary front row center seat throughout the festival, and it was also great to see Monika Henreid there again this year. Here's Monika, the daughter of actor-director Paul Henreid, chatting with Clu on the theater patio in between movies:
It was also great to see several friends from the Southern California classic film community at the festival this year!
During the festival I provided extensive Twitter coverage using the hashtag #ArthurLyonsFilmNoirFestival. Please check out the hashtag for photos and coverage of the festival as it unfolded.
The 20th anniversary edition of the Arthur Lyons Film Noir Festival will take place in Palm Springs next year from May 9th to 12th, 2019. I highly recommend making plans to attend!
I have much more to share about this year's festival over the next few days, including reviews of several new-to-me films plus overviews of each day's screenings. As usual, I'll be adding each link below so that all of my festival coverage may be easily found in one place.
Additional Festival Posts: 2018 Arthur Lyons Film Noir Festival Opens in Palm Springs May 10th; Tonight's Movie: Farewell, My Lovely (1975) at the Arthur Lyons Film Noir Festival; The 2018 Arthur Lyons Film Noir Festival: Friday; Tonight's Movie: The Web (1947) at the Arthur Lyons Film Noir Festival; The 2018 Arthur Lyons Film Noir Festival: Saturday; Tonight's Movie: The Red House (1947) at the Arthur Lyons Film Noir Festival; The 2018 Arthur Lyons Film Noir Festival: Sunday; Tonight's Movie: Under the Gun (1951) at the Arthur Lyons Film Noir Festival; Tonight's Movie: Witness for the Prosecution (1957) at the Arthur Lyons Film Noir Festival; Tonight's Movie: Flamingo Road (1949) at the Arthur Lyons Film Noir Festival.
Related Post: A Visit to the Living Desert Zoo and Gardens in Palm Desert.
Previously: The 2015 Arthur Lyons Film Noir Festival in Review; The 2017 Arthur Lyons Film Noir Festival in Review.
Sincere thanks to Alan K. Rode and the Arthur Lyons Film Noir Festival for providing an All Access Pass to help facilitate my festival coverage.
posted by Laura @ 10:20 PM
5 Comments:
Very much look forward to reading your thoughts here, Laura, as that was a fantastic line-up of films shown. A number of favourites of mine included. Specially want to hear about "LARCENY", "THE TURNING POINT". WOW!
Comment from Walter:
"Laura, I agree with Jerry about looking forward to your write-ups and the fantastic films shown. Also, I enjoy the photographs. Thank you."
[Walter, I accidentally hit the wrong button and deleted your comment instead of publishing, but was able to copy it from the moderation email! Whoops! Thanks much from Laura]
Palm Springs is one of my favorite places on earth. I'm crazy about Midcentury Modern design. At some time, I'll move there.
This looks like a fantastic festival. While I love TCMFF, the pacing and style of this one sounds more my speed. Thanks for your great and in-depth coverage and all the fantastic photos.
It's a lot of fun to explore Palm Springs, Margot! I hope you're able to move there...and hope you can visit the festival!
Thank you, Raquel! I think you would really like the pace -- having time to eat is a big plus compared to TCMFF (grin) -- as well as the comfortable theater. It's a great setting to watch multiple movies! I hope you can visit this festival one day. :)
Best wishes,
Laura
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