NOIR CITY SEATTLE: It's All About the Women

NOIR CITY returns to Seattle. 

Winsome to Wicked … It’s All About the Women 

NOIR CITY: Seattle, February 14-20, at a new venue — SIFF Cinema Downtown (2100 4th Street). This year’s program shines a spotlight on women whose cinematic legacy is entwined with the rise of film noir. Twelve of the eighteen films screening will be presented in glorious 35mm, including the Film Noir Foundation’s restoration of Cry Danger (1951). NOIR CITY: Seattle is also proud to screen the new 4K restoration by Universal Pictures of Robert Siodmak’s Phantom Lady (1944). Many of the festival films feature the actresses profiled in Eddie Muller’s 2002 book Dark City Dames: The Wicked Women of Film Noir, which is being reissued in April 2025 in a revised and expanded edition. 

Opening Night starts at 5:30 p.m. with a special performance by the Dmitri Matheny Quintet performing jazz from the silver screen. Lyrical flugelhornist Matheny will be joined by his all-star band prior to the screening of The Narrow Margin (1952). FNF founder and TCM host Eddie Muller will present all festival screenings opening weekend, February 14-16. Local noir experts and authors Vince and Rosemarie Keenan will take over hosting duties February 17-20.

NOIR CITY XMAS: Who Killed Santa Claus?

NOIR CITY Xmas is on its way! Join host Eddie Muller on Wednesday, December 18, 7:30 pm, at Oakland's historic Grand Lake Theatre for NOIR CITY Xmas! To darken your Yuletide spirit, the Film Noir Foundation is presenting Who Killed Santa Claus? (L'Assassinat du père Noël), a 1941 French mystery. The evening will also feature the unveiling of the program (and poster!) for NOIR CITY 22, the 22nd year of the world's most popular film noir festival, coming to the Grand Lake Theatre January 24 - February 2, 2025. 

Tickets for NOIR CITY Xmas are available online from Eventbrite for $15 and can also be purchased at the theatre box office on the day of the show. Doors will open at 6:30 pm on the day of the event. What a Great Deal!!!

NOIR CITY SEATTLE: February 10-16

NOIR CITY returns to Seattle this Friday, February 10, to celebrate its 15th anniversary in the Emerald City with 18 films from the heart of Hollywood's noir movement, 1948. Playing at SIFF Cinema Egyptian February 10–16, each film in this year's lineup is celebrating its 75th anniversary. 

Join Eddie Muller, Film Noir Foundation founder and host of Turner Classic Movies' Noir Alley, on February 10–12 and local noir authors Vince and Rosemarie Keenan on February 13–16 for film introductions. 

NOIR CITY: Seattle's film selection is an eclectic mix of star-studded classics (The Big Clock, The Naked City, They Live by Night) and lesser-known gems rarely seen on the big screen (Larceny, So Evil My Love, Unfaithfully Yours). 2023's festival will also be presenting films never before screened at Seattle's NOIR CITY: Key Largo, Call Northside 777, and All My Sons. Plus, there will be three films lensed by noir's greatest cinematographer, John Alton: The Spiritualist, Raw Deal, and Hollow Triumph. 

NOIR CITY: Seattle film schedule, passes, and tickets for individual screenings are available here. 

NOTE: More NOIR CITY dates have been confirmed! 

NOIR CITY: Chicago plays August 25-31 at Chicago's Music Box Theatre

NOIR CITY: D.C. plays October 13-26 at the AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center in Silver Spring, MD.

NOIR CITY: FILM NOIR FESTIVAL

NOIR CITY, the most popular film noir festival in the world, celebrates its 20th anniversary in the Bay Area with a ten-day extravaganza featuring 24 films from the heart of Hollywood's noir movement, 1948. Every film on the schedule is celebrating its 75th anniversary, with several of the movies having never before been screened at NOIR CITY. 

Join Film Noir Foundation founder and Turner Classic Movies host Eddie Muller and a slew of special guests for a swanky, sexy, and sinister excursion back in time. With the ongoing turmoil over the future of San Francisco's Castro Theatre, the festival's home for most of its existence, Muller opted to move NOIR CITY across the bay to Oakland, a decision that proved successful last spring when the Grand Lake Theatre was filled with appreciative fans for an abbreviated 4-night version of NOIR CITY 19. “The Grand Lake may be smaller in capacity than the Castro," said Muller, "but it's a jewel of a movie palace, and it intends to remain a movie house—so it's a great fit for what we do—which is to offer a contemporary equivalent of the classic movie-going experience for a new generation of fans.” 

TICKET INFO 

Purchase advance tickets through Brown Paper Tickets with any of the ticket links in the program guide above. Doors open at 6:00 p.m. for evening shows; noon for matinées. 

NOIR CITY 20 PASSPORT 

Purchase a NOIR CITY PassportSecure your spot for the 10-day/24-film festival with an all-access pass for $200—a $40 savings over the regular ticket price! The Grand Lake Theatre will have a Passholders' queue for early admittance. 

All FNF proceeds from festival ticket sales aid the Foundation's mission of rescuing and restoring noir films. This is your chance to have a terrific time AND preserve a valuable art form. 

Noir City Program 

https://www.noircity.com/noircity20-p1.html

MWA 2023 Grand Master, Raven, and Ellery Queen Award Recipients

Mystery Writers of America (MWA) announced the recipients of its special awards. The board chose Michael Connelly and Joanne Fluke as the 2023 Grand Masters, the 2023 Raven Award recipients are Crime Writers of Color and Eddie Muller, and The Strand Magazine will receive the Ellery Queen Award. They will accept their awards at the 77^th Annual Edgar Awards Ceremony, which will be held April 27, 2023, at the Marriott Marquis Times Square in New York City.

“Mystery Writers of America is thrilled to announce the recipients of our special awards for 2023. It’s always such a joy to recognize deserving individuals for their outstanding contributions to our genre. Michael Connelly and Joanne Fluke have contributed so much to the genre through their hard work and amazing careers, and they will continue to influence and inspire future generations of writers long after they receive their awards,” said MWA Executive Vice President Greg Herren.

MWA’s Grand Master Award represents the pinnacle of achievement in mystery writing and was established to acknowledge important contributions to this genre, as well as for a body of work that is both significant and of consistent high quality. 

 

Connelly’s nomination cited Bosch’s mantra from the first in the series, The Black Echo, to the present day also sums up Connelly’s approach to his craft: “Everybody counts or nobody counts,” adding “What those five words have meant to the readers of mystery fiction in the past 37 years can’t be overstated.”

 

On being notified of the honor, Connelly said, “All I can say is I’m overwhelmed. When you look at the list of previous Grand Masters you see every writer that ever inspired you. So overwhelming. I first got published thirty years ago and I remember everything about it. To think that that guy of thirty years ago would end up with this honor is really quite amazing. I am truly honored.”

 

Connelly is the author of 31 novels, including multiple #1 New York Times bestsellers. His books, which include the Harry Bosch series and Lincoln Lawyer series, have sold more than 74 million copies worldwide. Connelly is a former newspaper reporter who has won numerous awards for his journalism and his novels and is the executive producer of both Bosch TV series and The Lincoln Lawyer. He spends his time in California and Florida.

 

Fluke launched her series 21 years ago with Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder (2001). Since then, she has written 30 Hannah Swenson Mysteries, the most recent being 2022’s Caramel Pecan Roll Murder. The series also has the distinction of being turned into five hugely successful Murder, She Baked films for the Hallmark Channel. Fluke has also written suspense, thriller, and romance novels under her own name and pseudonyms. Like Hannah Swensen, she was born and raised in a small town in rural Minnesota, but now lives in sunny Southern California.

 

On learning of the honor, Fluke said, “I am very grateful to be mentioned in the same breath as such legends as Agatha Christie, Ellery Queen and John le Carré . . .  Speaking of breathing, I'm very glad I still am!”

 

Previous Grand Masters include Laurie R. King, Charlaine Harris, Jeffery Deaver, Barbara Neely, Martin Cruz Smith, William Link, Peter Lovesey, Walter Mosley, Lois Duncan, James Ellroy, Robert Crais, Ken Follett, Sara Paretsky, James Lee Burke, Sue Grafton, Stephen King, Ira Levin, Mary Higgins Clark, Lawrence Block, P.D. James, Ellery Queen, Daphne du Maurier, Alfred Hitchcock, Graham Greene, and Agatha Christie, to name a few.

 

The Raven Award recognizes outstanding achievement in the mystery field outside the realm of creative writing. For 2023, Mystery Writers of America selected Crime Writers of Color (CWoC), “an association of authors seeking to present a strong and united voice for members who self-identify as crime/mystery writers from traditionally underrepresented racial, cultural and ethnic backgrounds,” and Eddie Muller, host of the Turner Classic Movies series Noir Alley and founder and president of the Film Noir Foundation.

 

Speaking for CWoC, cofounders Gigi Pandian, Kellye Garrett, and Walter Mosley wrote, “When we first started talking about the idea that became Crime Writers of Color, we never imagined the small informal group would become such a big and thriving community in just a few years. Our goal was always to create a safe and supportive space for fellow writers of color to network and thrive. So, to know that the group is making a positive impact in the mystery community as a whole is so gratifying, and to be recognized by MWA in our fifth year is such an honor! We thank you on behalf of all our 350-plus members who are in all stages of their career." 

Muller is best known as the host of the Turner Classic Movies series Noir Alley, a weekly showcase for the best of crime cinema and for his lively, erudite intros and outros to these movies, in which he always foregrounds writers—novelists and screenwriters both—in the conversation. At the Film Noir Foundation (FNF), which makes restoring and preserving films from around the globe a priority, Muller has personally saved many motion pictures from disappearing, among them acclaimed titles like The Prowler, written by blacklisted screenwriter Dalton Trumbo, and Too Late for Tears.

In response to learning he would receive the Raven Award, Muller wrote, “I was completely surprised! The crime and mystery fiction community—writers, editors, booksellers, and readers—is a wonderfully warm, supportive, and generous tribe and I’m happy to have been a small part of it for the past 20 years. Having my eclectic endeavors rate a Raven—what a delightful surprise, and what an honor! I'm extremely grateful to MWA.”

Previous Raven Award recipients include Lesa Holstine, Malice Domestic, Left Coast Crime, Marilyn Stasio, The Raven Bookstore, Sisters in Crime, and Oline Cogdill.

 

The Ellery Queen Award was established in 1983 to honor “outstanding writing teams and outstanding people in the mystery-publishing industry.” This year the Board chose to honor The Strand Magazine, a bimonthly periodical known as much for its incisive articles about the mystery world and its practitioners and penetrating interviews with top authors like James Patterson and Lee Child, as for unearthing lost short stories penned by now-dead literary greats, such as a 600-word short story by Raymond Chandler, written in the 1950s toward the end of his life, as well as the forgotten fiction of such giants as Dashiell Hammett, William Faulkner, Tennessee Williams and H.G. Wells.

 

On learning they would receive the Ellery Queen Award, managing editor Andrew Gulli said, “When The Strand started 25 years ago, we had no idea how big it would get. So, it’s great to see The Strand being honored with the Ellery Queen Award from Mystery Writers of America. MWA has always felt more like a community—one in which I’ve formed strong friendships and where The Strand has found some of its best authors. As a print publication with a strong online presence, The Strand has had to continuously adapt to an ever-changing industry and being honored with the Ellery Queen Award from MWA serves as definite proof that print is not only alive but kicking! Here’s to another 25 years!”

Previous Ellery Queen Award winners include Juliet Grames, Reagan Arthur, Kelley Ragland, Linda Landrigan, Neil Nyren, Charles Ardai, and Janet Hutchings.

“Eddie Muller’s dedication to preserving the marvelous legacy of noir and crime films by bringing classics to new generations of viewers through his work with TCM and his foundation is more than worthy of recognition,” Herren said. “The Strand Magazine’s legacy of quality has never faltered and remains a must-read for crime fans. The impact of Crime Writers of Color, not only in crime fiction but across the board in publishing, may not be quantifiable, but can be seen at every conference, awards ceremony, and bestseller list. It’s an incredible list of honorees. We are in a golden age of crime fiction, and it’s very exciting to see.”

  

NOIR CITY HOLLYWOOD: April 15-17

NOIR CITY returns to Hollywood April 15-17 with a slate of eight films and a new venue, the Hollywood Legion Theater. Screenings will be introduced by Film Noir Foundation founder and president Eddie Muller and board member Alan K. Rode. This year's festival kicks off with two FNF-funded restorations of Cy Endfield directed noirs, Try and Get Me! (1951) and the Los Angeles premiere of The Argyle Secrets (1948). The former is inspired by the true story of a 1933 kidnapping and murder in San Jose, California, and stars Lloyd Bridges and Frank Lovejoy. The latter is our latest 35mm restoration and features William Gargan as a hardboiled reporter hunting down a book listing prominent WWII traitors who put profits above fighting fascism. 

Highlights include The Film Foundation's 35mm print of Michael Curtiz' The Breaking Point (1950) based on Ernest Hemmingway's To Have and Have Not and starring John Garfield, as well as The Library of Congress' 35mm print of The Accused (1949), starring Loretta Young. 

Also to be screened: the Film Noir Foundation's restoration of Joseph Losey's envelope-pushing The Prowler (1951), as well as the 35mm preservation print of Cy Endfield's The Underworld Story (1950) starring Dan Duryea in a rare protagonist role. FNF proceeds from the NOIR CITY festival benefit the foundation's efforts to rescue and restore noir films in danger of being permanently lost or damaged. 

***

 All patrons aged 18 and up will be required to provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination. Tickets for NOIR CITY: Hollywood are $18 per show. Discounts are available for students, military, and Post 43 members. Tickets, full schedule, and program notes are available on the Hollywood Legion Theater's website.

NOIR CITY 2022: Moves to Grand Lake Theatre - Oakland!

The Film Noir Foundation Presents: NOIR CITY 19 • January 20-23, 2022 • Grand Lake Theatre

 

The NOIR CITY film festival, a Bay Area cultural institution since 2003, returns from COVID hiatus January 20-23, 2022 for an incisive and inspiring four-day festival at a new venue, Oakland's historic Grand Lake Theatre. Produced, programmed and hosted by Eddie Muller, this year's edition, subtitled "They Tried to Warn Us!", showcases 12 movies from mid-20th century Hollywood sure to resonate with contemporary viewers.

Included are shockingly prescient films focusing on megalomaniacal politicians, corrupt businessmen, neo-Nazis, racism, anti-Semitism, sexual predators, serial killers, police brutality—even a viral epidemic! This NOIR CITY program could not be more timely or topical. "That said, this isn't like taking your medicine," Muller notes. "It will be a restorative tonic for folks eager to see classic movies again on a big screen and enjoy, with the prescribed protocols*, a return to the party atmosphere NOIR CITY is famous for." 

Buy Passport: https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/5318461

NOIR CITY XMAS: San Francisco

Ring in the holidays with a Cruel Yule courtesy of the Film Noir Foundation! Wednesday, December 19, 7:30 p.m., at San Francisco's Castro Theatre for Charles Laughton's The Night of the Hunter (1955). The holiday season is the perfect time to share this timeless noir fairytale about the eternal human struggle—between avarice and atonement, sinners and saviors, good and evil. Robert Mitchum gives a legendary performance as a vile and conniving ex-con masquerading as a man of the cloth. He's not about to let two innocent children come between him and a long-hidden bounty. Shelley Winters may be a gullible mark for this faux preacher, but spinster Rachel Cooper (a memorable portrayal by Lillian Gish) knows the devil when she sees it. Actor Charles Laughton created a stunning work of magical realism, the only picture he'd ever direct. Why not quit while you're ahead? This is a one-of-a-kind masterpiece not to be missed.

In addition to bearing gifts of compelling cinematic artistry at NOIR CITY Xmas, host Eddie Muller will reveal the program for the upcoming NOIR CITY 17 festival January 25–February 3, 2019 at the Castro Theatre. Plus, for your holiday shopping pleasure, there will be NOIR CITY 17 Passports (all-access passes) for sale, along with select FNF merchandise, on the Castro mezzanine.

Holiday Giving at NOIR CITY Xmas

Here's your chance to prove it's not such a bitter little world after all! At this year's NOIR CITY Xmas, there will be collection bins available for both the San Francisco Firefighters Toy Program and the SF-Marin Food Bank. The San Francisco Firefighters are looking for toys and books for kids, infants through 12 years old. Items must be not be gift wrapped. The SF-Marin Food Bank needs the following: peanut butter, low-sugar cereal, whole-grain rice, pasta, oats, low-sodium soups and stews, tuna and other canned meats, and canned fruits and vegetables. Please no glass, opened items, perishables, or items past their "use before" date. 

NOIR CITY D.C.: October 12-25, 2018

Mr. Muller and Mr. Rode Go to Washington

NOIR CITY returns to the AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center in Silver Spring, MD, October 12-25. Taking attendees back to the golden age of film noir, NOIR CITY will present this year's films as they were experienced upon original release––pairing a top-tier studio "A" with a shorter, low-budget second feature or "B" film. In addition, there will also be a teaming of both versions of The Killers: Robert Siodmak's 1946 classic with Burt Lancaster and Ava Gardner, playing with Don Siegel's 1964 reimagining with John Cassavetes and Angie Dickinson, which puts more emphasis on the killers, played by Lee Marvin and Clu Gulager. The FNF's latest restoration, The Man Who Cheated Himself (1950), shot on location in San Francisco, will screen along with Paramount's new digital restoration of Byron Haskin's I Walk Alone (1948), featuring a trio of powerhouse players: Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas, and Lizabeth Scott. 

Opening weekend screenings, Friday, October 12–Sunday, October 14, will be introduced by author and FNF board member Alan K. Rode. Eddie Muller will take over hosting duties Friday, October 19–Sunday, October 21. The full NOIR CITY: D.C. schedule and tickets––plus the all-access NOIR CITY Pass––are available on the AFI Silver's website.

NOIR CITY Returns to the Motor City!

NOIR CITY Detroit returns to its home at the historic Redford Theatre September 22-23 with all the violence, corruption, and melodrama that Detroiters have come to expect from this annual film noir festival. This year's 2-day event kicks off on Saturday night with a double bill of Act of Violence (1949) and The Killing (1956) and closes with a midnight screening of Taxi Driver (1976). Sunday afternoon brings a double bill of big-city corruption––Force of Evil (1948) and the independent crime feature Inside Detroit (1956) shot entirely on location in the Motor City! On Sunday evening, the festival wraps up with two noir melodramas––a new digital restoration of I Walk Alone (1948) and No Man of Her Own (1950).

FNF founder and president Eddie Muller will introduce all the films. The $30 NOIR CITY All Movie Pass grants access to all festival screenings plus entry to an exclusive reception with Eddie on Saturday, September 22, from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., prior to the evening shows.

NOIR CITY: CHICAGO

NOIR CITY celebrates its 10th anniversary at the Music Box Theatre with a week-long extravaganza of nine double features, August 17-23, kicking off with an opening night tribute to writer-director Carl Franklin. FNF president Eddie Muller will join the director for an in-person discussion between screenings of Franklin's neo-noirs Devil in a Blue Dress (1995) and One False Move (1992). The festival's following six days will present a total of 16 classic noirs as they were experienced on their original release, pairing a top-tier studio "A" with a shorter, low-budget second feature or "B" film. The FNF's latest restoration, The Man Who Cheated Himself, an independently made noir thriller from 1950 shot on location in San Francisco, will screen along with Paramount's new digital restoration of Byron Haskin's I Walk Alone (1948) starring a trio of powerhouse noir players: Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas, and Lizabeth Scott. 

The FNF's Eddie Muller and Alan K. Rode will be your guides through the dark alleyways of NOIR CITY. Opening weekend shows (Friday – Sunday) will be presented by Muller and weeknight shows by Rode. The full schedule, showtimes, and advance tickets are now available on the Music Box's website.

Sacramento Light & Noir Film Festival: July 22

The California Museum and Film Noir Foundation will present its "Light & Noir Film Festival" at the historic Crest Theatre in Sacramento on Saturday, July 22, 5:00 to 10:00 p.m. The event will include screenings of Billy Wilder's film noir classics Double Indemnity (1944) and Sunset Boulevard (1950), both featured in the California Museum's installation of the traveling exhibit Light & Noir: Exiles & Émigrés in Hollywood, 1933-1950. Between films, a Q&A with Eddie Muller at 7:00 p.m. will explore the contributions of legendary director Wilder, a refugee from Nazi persecution during WWII whose legacy of achievements helped define the film noir genre.

Festivities include a 1940s-1950s costume contest plus custom cocktails from the theatre's adjoining Empress Tavern.  Prior to going to the theatre, you can attend a book signing with Eddie Muller, taking place 3–4 p.m at the California Museum. The Light and Noir Film Festival Pass, which includes museum admission, is now on sale on the Crest's website.

Palm Springs Noir: Arthur Lyons Film Noir Festival

The Arthur Lyons Film Noir Festival returns for its 18th iteration to sunny Palm Springs, May 11-14, at the Camelot Theatres.

The festival kicks off with a restored print of Hollow Triumph (1948) with special guest, actress-filmmaker Monika Henried, daughter of star Paul Henried. Richard Duryea will also be in attendance for Roy William Neill's Black Angel (1946), which features a rare sympathetic role for his father Dan Duryea. Other guests include Sara Karloff, daughter of Boris, for a screening of the Val Lewton production The Body Snatcher (1945) directed by Robert Wise, and actor Andy Robinson from 1973's Charley Varrick, Don Siegel's classic heist film. As in previous years at the festival, the majority of the films are presented as 35mm prints. Producer and programmer Alan K. Rode and co-presenters Eddie Muller and Foster Hirsch will be introducing the films.

The festival is executive produced by the Palm Springs Cultural Center.
View the entire film and guest schedule, then purchase tickets and passes here!

Noir City Hollywood

NOIR CITY: HOLLYWOOD returns to the American Cinematheque's Egyptian Theatre this Friday, March 24 to take audiences on a 10-night trip back in time as the program replicates the movie-going experience of the classic noir era––ten double bills, each featuring a major studio "A" paired with a shorter "B" movie.

Opening night kicks off with the first cinematic pairing of Veronica Lake and Alan Ladd, This Gun for Hire (1942). The "B" feature will be Quiet Please, Murder (1942) starring George Sanders and Gail Patrick. The FNF's Eddie Muller and Alan K. Rode will be your hosts. There will also be a cocktail hour between the screenings, with live music, for all ticket buyers.

Some of the "A" films in the series include The Dark Corner (1946), The Accused (1948), Chicago Deadline (1949) Where the Sidewalk Ends (1950) and The Big Heat (1953). Among the B rarities unearthed for this festival: Address Unknown (1944), Behind Green Lights (1946), Backlash (1947), I Was a Shoplifter (1949) and the always crowd-pleasing Wicked Woman (1953), which will bring down the curtain on April 2.

The FNF's Eddie Muller will be on hand for the Friday-Sunday shows, with Alan K. Rode presenting the Monday-Thursday programs. The full schedule and program notes can be found on the American Cinematheque's website.

TCM to Launch New Noir-Themed Programming Franchise Noir Alley

Set your DVRs. TCM (Turner Classic Movies) will launch Noir-Themed Programming: Noir Alley. This new franchise will be hosted by Film Noir Foundation Founder & President Eddie Muller. Every Sunday at 10 a.m.

Eddie Muller, known to classic film fans as “The Czar of Noir,” will explore the genre from every angle as he introduces a different noir classic each week. Noir Alley will air Sundays at 10 a.m. (ET) starting March 5 with a screening of the movie widely credited as the first film noir, The Maltese Falcon (1941).

Film noir, with its gritty and dark style, was a favorite among 1940s and 1950s moviegoers and continues to be one of the most popular genres of classic film today. Noir Alley will showcase film noir's heavy hitters each week including the below March lineup:

March 5: The Maltese Falcon (1941), the unforgettable classic about "the stuff that dreams are made of," directed by first-time director John Huston and starring Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Peter Lorre and Sydney Greenstreet

March 12: Detour (1945), a remarkable and highly influential film directed on a shoestring budget by Edgar G. Ulmer and starring Tom Neal and Ann Savage

March 19: Act of Violence (1948), a revenge tale about WWII veterans directed by Fred Zinnemann and starring Van Heflin and Robert Ryan

March 26: Tension (1949), an engrossing thriller about a would-be wife killer directed by John Berry and starring Richard Basehart and Audrey Totter Noir Alley is designed to be an immersive, multiplatform experience for both seasoned noir fans and newcomers to the genre.

NOIR CITY XMAS RETURNS TO SAN FRANCISCO

NOIR CITY XMAS returns to San Francisco's historic Castro Theatre on Wednesday, December 14, as the Film Noir Foundation celebrates the holidays by tossing aside the Christmas treacle for a headlong dive into a double bill of danger and darkness: Quentin Lawrence's Cash on Demand (1961) at 7:30 and Harold Ramis' Ice Harvest (2005) at 9:30.

Lawrence's late-era noir Cash on Demand reimagines A Christmas Carol as a tense bank-heist thriller with Peter Cushing in the lead as a Scrooge-like bank manager in need of a Dickensian makeover. Can the machinations of a master thief (Andre Morell) wind up bringing him the Christmas spirit?

In Ramis' neo-noir Ice Harvest, mob lawyer Charlie Arglist (John Cusack) and his shifty accomplice Vic (Billy Bob Thornton) conspire to steal $2 million from Wichita's sleaziest gangster (Randy Quaid) on Christmas Eve. But as an ice storm descends on the region, Charlie's associates prove more treacherous than the forces of nature.

In addition to the yuletide noir double feature, host Eddie Muller will be revealing the complete schedule (and gorgeous new poster!) for the eagerly anticipated NOIR CITY 15 festival coming to the Castro Theatre January 20-29, 2017. Passports (full series passes) and tickets to all the festival's double features will go on sale at NoirCity.com the same evening. NC15 Passports will also be sold at NOIR CITY Xmas, along with new FNF promotional goodies, upstairs on the Castro Mezzanine. Visit the Film Noir Foundation's merchandise table during NOIR CITY Xmas for your noir-inspired gift shopping.

Tickets for NOIR CITY Xmas are only $12 for the double bill—less than the cost of a single holiday eggnog at any bar in town! Tickets are now on sale at Brown Paper Tickets. Tickets will also be available at the Castro box office the day of show.

Holiday Giving at NOIR CITY Xmas
NOIR CITY Xmas will have collection bins for both the San Francisco Firefighters Toy Program and the SF-Marin Food Bank at the event and we encourage everyone to give what they can.
 
The San Francisco Firefighters are looking for toys for kids — infants through 12-years old. Toys must be unwrapped. Their biggest need is toys for girls, ages 8 through 12. Donation suggestions: sports equipment- basketballs, footballs, soccer balls, baseballs and gloves; arts and crafts items; baby items — blankets, bottles, rattles; dolls of all nationalities and stuffed animals; iPods; books; and toy trucks. They do not accept toy guns. If you donate a game system, please include a game.
 
Here are the most needed foods for the SF-Marin Food Bank: peanut butter, low sugar cereal, whole grain rice, pasta and oats, low sodium soups and stews, tuna and canned meats, canned fruits and vegetables. Please, no glass, opened items, perishables, or items past their "use before" date.

Humphrey Bogart Film Fest: Key Largo, October 12-16

Eddie Muller, the Czar of Noir, returns to Key Largo October 12-16 to co-host this year's Humphrey Bogart Film Festival along with Stephen Bogart, son of Bogie and Lauren Bacall. The festival, running October 12-16, will celebrate the 75th anniversary of John Huston's The Maltese Falcon (1941) and the 70th Anniversary of Howard Hawks' The Big Sleep (1946), with both films screening during the festival. To kick off the 5-day event, the "The Czar of Noir" will host a one-hour presentation titled "Bogart and Film Noir." On Saturday, Stephen Bogart, Eddie Muller, and other special guests will participate in a roundtable discussion about The Maltese Falcon and The Big Sleep.

This year's programming is substantially weighted toward noir. Nicholas Ray's tragic noir romance In a Lonely Place, which teamed Bogart with Ray's then-wife Gloria Grahame, will play twice. One of director William Wyler's rare forays into noir also screens twice, The Desperate Hours (1955), pitting Bogart as a ruthless criminal against suburban dad Fredric March. A trifecta of lesser known but quite excellent noirs are also scheduled: Richard Brooks' newspaper noir Deadline U.S.A. (1952); Mark Robson's realistically grim portrayal of boxing, The Harder They Fall (1956); and The Enforcer (1951), based loosely on the judicial takedown of Murder, Inc. As to be expected, Huston's Key Largo (1948) will also play. Visit BogartFilmFestival.com for full program information and to buy passes and tickets to individual screenings.

Noir City: Austin

NOIR CITY: Austin returns to its home at the Alamo Drafthouse Ritz this weekend, May 20-22, with a one-two punch of justly famous noirs and lesser-known gems awaiting discovery. Each of the seven screenings feature a double bill of 1940s films — for a total count of 14 films. FNF president Eddie Muller will be on hand throughout the entire festival to guide Austin's denizens down the blind alleys of NOIR CITY. View the festival trailer.

The festival kicks off with This Gun for Hire, notable for the first pairing of Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake, followed by Robert Siodmak's remarkable early B-feature Fly-By-Night. One of the highlights of the weekend-long festival is Saturday afternoon's screening of Julien Duvivier's anthology Flesh and Fantasy featuring an all-star cast, including noir favorites Barbara Stanwyck and Edward G. Robinson. The rarely screened Destiny follows; originally shot as the first of the stories in the anthology, it was cut for running time and then developed into a stand-alone feature. Universal Studios is providing 35mm archival prints of both films, and neither is available on DVD or Blu-ray.

Visit the Alamo's website for the full schedule and to buy tickets.

 
Alamo Drafthouse & Austin Film Society present: NOIR CITY AUSTIN 2016 from Alamo Drafthouse on Vimeo.

TCM Classic Film Festival - April 28-May 1: Host: Eddie Muller

Film Noir Festival president Eddie Muller will be presenting films again at this year's TCM Classic Film Festival, April 28 – May 1.

Eddie will be introducing two FNF restorations, Los tallos amargos and Repeat Performance (1947). He will also be introducing Carl Reiner's comic valentine to film noir, Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid (1982). The film features a series of clips from famous film noirs, intercut with new footage of a hardboiled detective (Steve Martin) and a possible femme fatale (Rachel Ward) to form a new and suitably convoluted noir plot. The film was the last project of both costume designer Edith Head and composer Miklós Rózsa. Eddie will also be introducing a series of critically acclaimed sports films, including John Huston's Fat City (1972), based on Leonard Gardner's 1969 gut wrenching novel about small hall boxing.

This year's overarching theme is Moving Pictures, focusing on the films that, "bring us to tears, rouse us to action, inspire us, even project us to a higher plane." These films range from Carl Theodor Dreyer's silent classic The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928) accompanied by a live orchestra and vocalists performing Richard Einhorn's oratorio Voices of Light, a piece specifically written for this purpose in 1994, to John Singleton's heartbreaking Boyz in the Hood (1991), a semi-autobiographical depiction of African-American youths struggling with gang violence in South Central L.A., with a soundtrack of rap songs by Run-D.M.C., 2 Live Crew and Ice Cube reflective of the characters' lives.

Noir City Christmas: December 16

NOIR CITY once again offers the dark gift of film noir for the holidays.
Where? San Francisco's historic Castro Theatre
When? Wednesday, December 16
Why and What? For a fabulous double dose of Noir Noël: Max Ophüls' The Reckless Moment (1949) at 7:30 and Henry Hathaway's Kiss of Death (1947) at 9:30.

Both films will screen in 35mm, and tickets for this exceptional event are only $12 for the double bill—less than the cost of a single holiday eggnog at any bar in town!

In addition to a seasonally themed double bill of vintage noir films, host Eddie Muller will be revealing the complete schedule (and scorching new poster!) for the eagerly anticipated NOIR CITY 14.