Palm Springs 2006 Film Noir Festival May 31 – June 3 2007

If you are lucky enough to be in Palm Springs, you can catch cinema screenings of these classic films noir at the Palm Spring FilmNoir Festival – some not seen on the big screen since the 1940’s:
Thursday June 1 7:30 pm – Special Guest James Darren
The Brothers Rico (1957)
DIR: Phil Karlson
Richard Conte, Kathryn Grant, James Darren
Conte, a once-gangster-turned straight is forced by his old cronies to help locate his younger brother but is duped all the way.
Friday June 2 10:00 am – Special Guest James O’Keefe
T-Men (1948)
DIR: Anthony Mann
Dennis O’Keefe, Alfred Ryder, Mary Meade, Wallace Ford
Treasury agents go undercover to expose a counterfeiting ring, but as in all noir, things go awry. One of the best examples of the semi-documentary noir style, with the killer combination of director Mann and cinematographer Alton keeping you on the edge of your seat.
Friday June 2 1:00 pm – Special Guest Richard Erdman
The Blue Gardenia (1953)
DIR: Fritz Lang
Anne Baxter, Richard Conte, Ann Sothern, Richard Erdman, Raymond Burr
In this solid film by one of the seminal directors of film noir, a bewildered Baxter finds herself accused of murder and desperately tries to find out what to do about it.
Friday June 2 4:00 pm
Ace In The Hole (1951)
DIR: Billy Wilder
Kirk Douglas, Jan Sterling, Robert Arthur
One of the most grimly cynical and riveting films ever made about the human condition. Excellent all around, the controversy surrounding the film inspired Paramount executives to rename it privately “Ass in the Wringer.” A MUST SEE TO GRASP THE UNDERPINNINGS OF NOIR!
Friday June 2 7:30 pm – Special Guest Coleen Gray
The Killing (1956)
DIR: Stanley Kubrick
Sterling Hayden, Coleen Gray, Vince Edwards, Marie Windsor, Elisha Cook
This case study of a racetrack heist, full of double-crosses, duplicity and murder, put Kubrick’s name on the map. Full of a cast of colorful characters and plot twists, this is pure dynamite!
Saturday June 3 10:00 am
Madonna’s Secret (1946)
DIR: William Thiele
Francis Lederer, Gail Patrick, Ann Rutherford, Linda Stirling
In this almost unheard-of film, the sister of a murdered model sets out to find the killer. John Alton’s atmospheric photography sets the mood beautifully. RARE! Miss it and you’ll probably never see it again!
Immediately following the film:
Writer’s forum about Film Noir by “The Dark City Players”
Saturday June 3 1:00 pm – Special Guest Beverly Garland
The Steel Jungle (1956)
DIR: Walter Doniger
Perry Lopez, Beverly Garland, Ted de Corsia, Ken Tobey
Dark prison drama with convicted bookie Lopez squeezed between the prison warden and his deadly racketeer boss.
Saturday June 3 4:00 pm
The Mask of Dimitrios (1944)
DIR: Jean Negulesco
Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre, Zachary Scott, Faye Emerson
Mystery writer Lorre becomes obsessed piecing together the history of a notorious phantom criminal. ONE OF THE BEST EVER! DON’T DARE MISS IT!
Saturday June 3 7:30 pm – Special guest Constance Towers
Shock Corridor (1963)
DIR: Samuel Fuller
Constance Towers, Peter Brock, Gene Evans, James Best
Journalist Brock gets admitted to a mental institution to uncover a murder but ends up insane himself. Another powerful and unusual work by the legendary Fuller.
Sunday June 4 10:00 am
The Crooked Way (1949)
DIR: Robert Florey
John Payne, Sonny Tufts, Ellen Drew, Rhys Williams
Amnesiac war vet returns home only to find he has his own sordid past. Tough and gritty, with Alton’s usual great photography, a fine film that somehow manages to overcome the drooling and teeth-gnashing by the infamous Sonny Tufts. RARE!
Sunday June 4 1:00 pm – Special Guest Jaqueline White
Crossfire (1947)
DIR: Edward Dmytryk
Robert Young, Robert Mitchum, Robert Ryan, Gloria Graham, Jacqueline White
One of four war buddies is a violent racist and murders two men, one of them his friend. One of the first post WWII films to deal seriously with the issue of anti-Semitism. Powerful stuff.
Sunday June 4 4:00 pm – Special Guest Anne Jefreys
Riffraff (1947)
DIR: Ted Tetzlaff
Pat O’Brien, Anne Jeffreys, Walter Slezak, Percy Kilbride
A retrospective of the Palm Springs Film Noir Festival, in that it was the first film we ever showed! In Panama, private detective O’Brien battles villains who are trying to procure a map to lucrative oil fields. Fun from beginning to end, great script, photography, direction, the works.
Sunday June 4 7:30 pm
A Place In The Sun (1951)
DIR: George Stevens
Montgomery Clift, Elizabeth Taylor, Shelley Winters, Keefe Braselle, Raymond Burr
Based on Theodore Dreiser’s AN AMERICAN TRAGEDY, this film brilliantly deals with the emptiness of the idle rich and American morals, all leading to murder. Winner of six Oscars.