Archives for March 2015

Film Noir File: Hitchcock’s ‘Psycho’ still gives us chills

March 6, 2015 by

By Film Noir Blonde and Mike Wilmington

The Film Noir File is FNB’s guide to classic film noir, neo-noir and pre-noir on Turner Classic Movies (TCM). The times are Eastern Standard and (Pacific Standard). All films without a new review have been covered previously in Film Noir Blonde and can be searched in the FNB archives (at right).

Anthony Perkins and Janet Leigh star in “Psycho.”

Anthony Perkins and Janet Leigh star in “Psycho.”

Pick of the Week

“Psycho”(1960, Alfred Hitchcock). Saturday, March 7, 4:15 p.m. (1:15 p.m.)

Saturday, March 7

2 p.m. (11 a.m.): “A Face in the Crowd” (1957, Elia Kazan).

6:15 p.m. (3:15 p.m.): “Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb” (1964, Stanley Kubrick).

Sunday, March 8

Gun Crazy poster narrow8:30 a.m. (5:30 a.m.). “Gun Crazy” (1950, Joseph H. Lewis).

4:30 p.m. (1:30 p.m.): “The Defiant Ones” (1958, Stanley Kramer).

Tuesday, March 10

8 p.m. (5 p.m.): “A Place in the Sun” (1951, George Stevens).

Wednesday, March 11

6 a.m. (3 a.m.): “Stage Fright” (1950, Alfred Hitchcock).

8 a.m. (5 a.m.): “Ministry of Fear” (1944, Fritz Lang).

9:45 a.m. (6:45 a.m.): “Lured” (1947, Douglas Sirk).

Filed Under: Classic Noir Reviews Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Celebrate Women in Film Noir: Saturday at the Durant Library

March 6, 2015 by
Patricia Highsmith

Patricia Highsmith

Did you know:

* A woman named Czenzi Ormonde co-wrote the script for “Strangers on a Train” (1951, Alfred Hitchcock). The film was based on Patricia Highsmith’s first novel, published in 1950.

* In the early days of Hollywood, film editors, or cutters as they were known, were mostly women. The job was considered menial labor and on-screen credit was rare.

* “In a Lonely Place” (1950, Nicholas Ray) was the third movie based on a novel by Dorothy B. Hughes. The others were: “The Fallen Sparrow,” (1943, Richard Wallace) and “Ride the Pink Horse,” (1947, Robert Montgomery).

Come out and learn more at 1 p.m. on Saturday, March 7, at the Will & Durant Library in Hollywood. I will be talking about women’s contributions to film noir in honor of Women’s History Month. The Durant Library will be showing films on March 9, 16, 23. See my post from Feb. 24 (below) for more details.

The Durant Library is at 7140 W. Sunset Blvd. (one block west of La Brea), Los Angeles, CA 90046, 323-876-2741.

Filed Under: Noir Style, Out of the Shadows Tagged With: , ,

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and so do vets!

March 5, 2015 by

Pin-Ups for Vets

The Crest Theater in Westwood and Pin-Ups on Tour are co-hosting Blonde Bombshells: A Tribute to Screen Sirens on Saturday, March 7.

Billed as a celebration of Hollywood glamour, the night will feature blonde burlesque performers, a pin-ups bar, a raffle and a screening of the Marilyn Monroe classic “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” (1953, Howard Hawks).

Proceeds from the event will benefit the non-profit Pin-Ups for Vets, which helps support hospitalized veterans and deployed troops. Since 2006, Pin-Ups for Vets has raised money for under-funded hospital programs that support America’s veterans and recovering military service members.

The program starts at 7 p.m. and the movie starts at 8 p.m. Tickets are $20. The Crest is at 1262 Westwood Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90024. Built in 1940, the historic Crest Theater now specializes in interactive entertainment and film.

Filed Under: Classic Noir Reviews Tagged With: , , , , ,

UCLA’s Preservation Fest to screen ‘Too late for Tears’ and ‘The Guilty’ as part of monthlong run of restored films

March 3, 2015 by

The LA Times’ Kenneth Turan recently gave high praise indeed to the UCLA Film & Television Archive’s Festival of Preservation.

Too Late for Tears posterThe Guilty posterAs he put it: “Forget Cannes, Sundance, even the Oscars: This is the cinematic event I look forward to most of all. That’s because no other movie festival comes close to it in the magnificent breadth of neglected but compelling American film material it puts on display.”

Hmm. Forget Sundance? Sure. Forget the Oscars? Done. But Cannes? Not so much. That said, however, I am also very much looking forward to UCLA’s terrific monthlong lineup, which begins on March 5 with Anthony Mann’s “Men in War.” This year marks the 17th edition of the festival.

For noir fans, the double feature on Saturday, March 7, should not be missed. It starts at 7:30 p.m.

In “Too Late for Tears” (1949, Byron Haskin), noir badness bursts from the screen as Lizabeth Scott plays a housewife who comes across a suitcase stuffed with $60,000 in cash. Scott seizes the chance to say goodbye to cooking meatloaf, washing dishes and doing laundry. Duh! Besides, it turns out that she’s a much better murderess than she was a homemaker. Arthur Kennedy plays her husband and the always-great Dan Duryea shines as a private eye.

Next up is “The Guilty” (1947, John Reinhardt), based on a short story by Cornell Woolrich. Here, Don Castle and Wally Cassell are lured into trouble by Bonita Granville, who plays twin sisters, one good and one bad, natch. When the nice girl is found murdered, both men are under suspicion. “The Guilty” is reminiscent of Robert Siodmak’s “The Dark Mirror” from 1946.

Film historian Alan K. Rode will discuss the films.

Films will be screened at the Hammer Museum’s Billy Wilder Theater in Westwood.

Filed Under: Classic Noir Reviews, Noir Style Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,
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