July 7

PROGRAMME 1

CITY STREETS  (1931)  82 MINUTES
Director:  Rouben Mamoulian
Cast:  Gary Cooper, Sylvia Sydney, Paul Lukas.

Adapted from Dashiell Hammett's only screenplay, this visually stunning pre-code drama of bootleggers and murder transcends through the stellar performances of its stars to become one of the small group of progenitors of noir.  Not available on DVD.
 

THE GARMENT JUNGLE  (1957)  85 MINUTES
Director:  Vincent Sherman
Cast:  Lee J. Cobb, Kerwin Mathews, Gia Scala.

This sharply made, muck racking expose on the seamier side of the fashion world is a rarely seen and overlooked gem of the genre.  This film is dressed to kill and packs a punch.
 

July 14

PROGRAMME 2

THE GLASS ALIBI  (1946)  70 MINUTES
Director:  W. Lee Wilder
Cast:  Paul Kelly, Douglas Fowley, Anne Gwynne.

With only six months to live, and millions of dollars in the bank, a lady needs the support of a good husband.  Too bad her husband is a two-timing, unscrupulous reporter who would rather plot her demise with his two-timing girlfriend once she starts to get better.  Terrific ending will have you twisting.
 

SO EVIL MY LOVE (1948)  109 MINUTES
Director:  Lewis Allen
Cast:  Ray Milland, Ann Todd, Geraldine Fitzgerald.

Failed artist turned grifter seduces a widow, but keeps a mistress on the side in this 19th century London psychological thriller, based (somewhat loosely) on an actual unsolved case of poison and deception.
 

July 21

PROGRAMME 3

SECRET FURY  (1950)  86 MINUTES
Director:  Mel Ferrer
Cast:  Claudette Colbert, Robert Tyan, Jane Cowl.

Moments before her marriage, a woman is accused by a stranger of already having a husband.  The stranger then disappears.  With no memory to guide her and all the leads pointing the wrong way, will her mind unravel before the mystery is solved or is this a plot to drive her insane?  Strong cast includes Vivian Vance's screen debut.
 

THE MAN I LOVE  (1946)  96 MINUTES
Director:  Raoul Walsh
Cast:  Ida Lupino, Robert Alda, Bruce Bennett.

In the electric, bluesy atmosphere of a weary post-war world strides the tough, smart-talking torch-singer that is Lupino.  But keeping track of her stew of a family and bad-for-you men that stick to her like cheap perfume, can throw a girl.  This film inspired Scorsese for "New York, New York."
 

July 28

PROGRAMME 4

HOLLOW TRIUMPH (1948)  83 MINUTES
Director:  Steve Sekely
Cast:  Paul Henreid, Joan Bennett, Leslie Brooks.

The very essence of noir exists in this forgotten masterpiece.  Identities shape-shift across sharply etched shadows.  Who is Johnny really?  Can he evade his past by changing his face or will the scars on him and in him expose him?

THE CITY THAT NEVER SLEEPS  (1953)  90 MINUTES
Director:  John Auer
Cast:  Gig Young, Mala Powers, Chill Wills.

The temptations of money and a woman too-bad-for-comfort lure a cop into a web of corruption and vice on the lonely streets of Chicago.  One of Scorsese's guilty favourites and shot by future "Psycho" cinematographer.

NO SCREENING ON MONDAY AUGUST 4 WE'LL BE IN ROCHESTER FOR OUR ANNUAL "RAIDING THE VAULTS" AT GEORGE EASTMAN HOUSE. CLICK HERE ON Eastman House TO FIND OUT HOW TO JOIN US THERE!

August 5

PROGRAMME 5

IMPACT  (1949)  111 MINUTES
Director:  Arthur Lubin
Cast:  Brian Donlevy, Ella Raines, Anna May Wong.

In a perfect world, Walter should have a loving, loyal, non-murderous wife.  But this is film noir.  After escaping to the Midwest to start a new life, he is drawn back to San Francisco to meet his fate.

DANGEROUS CROSSING  (1953)  75 MINUTES
Director:  Joseph M. Newman
Cast:  Jeanne Crain, Michael Rennie.

A taut, atmospheric mystery surrounds a honeymooning bride desperately looking for her missing husband that no one claims to have seen.  Is she delusional or in grave danger?  Marry in haste, repent in thriller leisure.

August 18

PROGRAMME 6

THERE'S THAT WOMAN AGAIN (1939)  72 MINUTES
Director:  Alexander Hall
Cast:  Melvyn Douglas, Virginia Bruce, Stanley Bridges.

Channeling the "Thin Man" series is a rare screening of this fast-paced mystery liberally sprinkled with crisp dialogue and deco interiors.  A suave PI is hampered by an overly inquisitive wife--will he solve the murders or murder her!  A harmless way of killing time.  A true rarity, not available anywhere else.

A NIGHT TO REMEMBER  (1943)  91 MINUTES
Director:  Richard Wallace
Cast:  Loretta Young, Brian Aherne, Sidney Toler.

Writing a novel can be murder.  When a mystery writer and his wife rent a Greenwich Village basement to soak up atmosphere for his next book, they end up swamped with bodies instead.  It's sink or swim in this cheeky comedy of murder mystery mayhem.

August 25

PROGRAMME 7

THE HOLLYWOOD STORY  (1951)  77 MINUTES
Director:  William Castle
Cast:  Richard Conte, Julie Adams, Richard Egan.

A successful stage producer arrives in LA and rents an old silent movie studio where a famous director was murdered decades ago--the crime never solved.  He decides to shoot a movie about it, but the killer resurfaces, determined to stop all who get too close to solving it.  Fantastic cast features many old silent stars including Francis X. Bushman, Betty Blythe and William Farnum.

STAGE FRIGHT (1950)  110 MINUTES
Director:  Alfred Hitchcock
Cast:  Marlene Dietrich, Jane Wyman, Alastair Sim.

The Master's under-appreciated black comedy/thriller has more curves than Dietrich.  An aspiring actress (Wyman in her best role) shelters a friend who is accused of murdering his flamboyant lover's husband.  He convinces her that his lover is the real murderer and she sets out to prove it.  Delicious and dangerous.