Noir Rules Film Noir Festival
Brings On the Criminals
by Sandra Schulman
May 12, 2010
Murder, intrigue, dames, molls, guns and fast getaways.
Starting today, the 10th annual Arthur Lyons Film Noir Festival plays through Sunday, May 16 at the Camelot Theatres in Palm Springs.
Founded in 2000 by the late mystery author and Palm Springs community leader Arthur Lyons, this unique festival features an eclectic mixture of landmark and obscure vintage movies from the classic film noir era. Laden with period post war cynicism, these glorious black and white films are laden with suspense, sexuality and crime portrayed from the perspective of the criminals. Many were shot in and around Palm Springs.
Each year, the festival showcases the best of film noir accentuated by a scintillating array of movie stars who appear on stage for post screening Q&A discussions, autographs and book signings.
The 2010 Arthur Lyons Film Noir Festival once again combines the formidable talents of co-founder Barbara Lyons; author Alan K. Rode as host/programmer, with long time Hollywood casting director Marvin Paige as producer along with the Dark City Players roster of renowned noir experts including writers Foster Hirsch and Eddie Muller. Jason Bruecks, General Manager of the Camelot Theatres, Michael Green and Stephen Boyd Design round out this stellar festival team.
The Opening Night of the Tenth Annual Arthur Lyons’ Film Noir Festival will include a special appearance by beloved actor Ernest Borgnine. Borgnine, whose amazing career has spanned seven decades, will be on hand for the screening of Pay or Die! - a 1960 fact-based crime film about a crusading Italian policeman battling Black Hand extortionists in New York’s Little Italy.
In addition to Ernest Borgnine’s brilliantly sensitive portrayal as Lieutenant Joseph Petrosino, this engrossing picture, which was directed by Richard Wilson, includes a stellar supporting cast including Zohra Lampert and Alan Austin. Pay or Die! is literate, suspenseful and emotionally moving. This memorable film remains the definitive depiction of the emergence of the Mafia in America.
Ernest Borgnine made his film debut in China Corsair in 1951. He quickly rose to prominence with a memorable turn as Sgt. “Fatso” Judson in From Here to Eternity. Borgnine’s sensitive portrayal of a lonely Bronx butcher in Paddy Chayefsky’s Marty earned him the Best Actor Oscar® statuette for 1956, along with the permanent affection of millions of moviegoers.
After starring in a string of prestigious films including The Catered Affair, The Vikings, Torpedo Run, The Badlanders and Pay or Die, he struck gold on the small screen with the long-running hit comedy series, McHale’s Navy.
More recently, Borgnine was nominated for an Emmy Award - his fourth nomination - for his work on the long-running drama ER. He has lent his distinctive voice to the cartoon series, Sponge Bob Square-Pants and published a best-selling memoir, Ernie. Still active, Ernest Borgnine currently has five movies in pre or post production.
Ticket Information:
Arthur Lyons’ Film Noir Festival All Access Pass: $120.00 on sale now! NOTE: Arthur Lyons’ Film Noir Festival All Access Passes grant access to all festival screenings as well as the opening night reception.
Individual Ticket Sales: $13 ($11 for matinees) (on sale, starting Friday, April 23rd)
Online Ticketing: www.camelottickets.com. Telephone Ticketing: 1-800-595-4849 (orders only, no information provided) In person: At the Camelot Theatre Box office from 11:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. daily
2010 Schedule Information:
THURS. MAY 13, 7:30 P.M.
Pay or Die! (1960) D: Richard Wilson
A beautifully re ndered, fact-based crime film about a crusading Italian policeman battling Black Hand extortionists in New York’s Little Italy is back on the big screen. In addition to Ernest Borgnine’s brilliantly sensitive portrayal as Lieutenant Joseph Petrosino, this engrossing picture is deftly photographed by Lucien Ballard, beautifully scored by David Raksin with a stellar supporting cast including Zohra Lampert and Alan Austin. Literate, suspenseful and emotionally moving, this memorable film remains the definitive depiction about the emergence of the Mafia in America.
**Actor Ernest Borgnine is scheduled to attend the screening and discuss the film**
FRI. MAY 14
10 A.M The Big Night (1951) D: Joseph Losey
A film noir treatise about the coming of age of a young man is beautifully realized by the great Joseph Losey. John Drew Barrymore zigzags through the sordid vortex of downtown Los Angeles while seeking vengeance on the man who beat his Father. This superbly crafted “trial by fire” tale with memorable dialogue and shaded photography co-stars Preston Foster, Joan Lorring, Harold St. John and Dorothy Comingore
1 P.M. The Glass Wall (1953) D: Maxwell Shane
Vittorio Gassman, Gloria Grahame and Ann Robinson co-star with mid-20th century New York City in one of the unsung gems from writer-director Maxwell Shane.. Wonderful N.Y.C location photography is balanced by fast pace and fine performances.
**Actress Ann Robinson is scheduled to attend the screening and discuss the film**
4 P.M. Pitfall (1948) D: Andre De Toth
Question: Who knows where obsession, adultery and danger lurk in post WWII Los Angeles suburbia? Answer: ace noir screenwriter William Bowers who composed a realistic, tightly wound script that is brilliantly realized by a restless Dick Powell, an enticing Lizabeth Scott, the cuckolded Jane Wyatt, and an odious Raymond Burr.
7:30 P.M. Bury Me Dead (1947) D: Bernard Vorhaus
Murder and obsession abound in this fast-paced mystery based on a radio play that begins with one of the most startling openings ever filmed! Directed by Bernard Vorhaus (The Spiritualist) and lensed by film noir’s finest cinematographer, John Alton, this under-the radar gem stars June Lockhart, Cathy O’Donnell and Hugh Beaumont. Produced at the now-legendary “noir factory” of Eagle Lion Productions, this extremely rare film hasn’t been screened theatrically in 35mm for decades!
**Actress June Lockhart is scheduled to attend the screening and discuss the film.**
SAT. MAY 15
10 A.M. New York Confidential (1955) D: Russell Rouse
The long-missing Holy Grail of film noir makes its Palm Springs premiere! Syndicate boss Nick Lupo (Broderick Crawford) wheels and deals while mentoring an ominous torpedo (Richard Conte) and coping with a gold digging mistress (Marilyn Maxwell) and a rebellious daughter (a frenetically lush Anne Bancroft).
1 P.M. He Ran all the Way (1951) D: John Berry
An armed robbery by a small time thief (John Garfield) backfires into a nightmare of a family being held hostage. The great John Garfield in his final screen role is brilliantly cast alongside a terrific supporting cast that includes: Shelley Winters, Wallace Ford, Gladys George and Norman Lloyd. Actress Julie Garfield, John Garfield’s daughter, is scheduled to attend the screening and discuss the film
4:00 PM. The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946) D. Lewis Milestone
Barbara Stanwyck stars in the titular role as an ice-queen heiress who thaws under the heat of her childhood flame, Van Heflin, when he returns to a home town controlled by Stanwyck and her tormented husband; Kirk Douglas in a bravura film debut. **Actor Kirk Douglas is scheduled to introduce the film**
7:30 P.M A Hatful of Rain (1957) D: Fred Zinneman
Based on the stage play by Michael V. Gazzo, this noir-stained drama provides a searing look at the emotional carnage of a drug addicted ex-G.I. (Don Murray) along with his family and friends. Perhaps the harshest and most realistic perspective of a grim topic that holds up better than any other film of its type.
** Actor Don Murray is scheduled to attend the screening and discuss the film**
SUN. JUNE 16
10 A.M. 711 Ocean Drive (1950)
The Horatio Alger parable gets the film noir treatment with the redoubtable Edmund O’Brien as a whip-smart telephone technician who moves up the ladder of a Syndicate gambling empire in Southern California until distracted by an inconveniently married Joanne Dru and his own greed. Ripped from the headlines of the 1950 Kevaufer Organized Crime Hearings, this fast-moving picture is laden with location sequences shot in Los Angeles, the Hoover Dam and Palm Springs including the famous Doll House watering hole on North Palm Canyon Drive!
1.P.M Cry of the City (1948)
Pantheon noir director Robert Siodmak (Phantom Lady, Christmas Holiday, The Killers, Criss Cross) outdoes himself in crafting the ultimate urban oeuvre about childhood friendship evolving into conflicting destinies of good versus evil. A stellar supporting cast includes Fred Clark, a svelte Shelley Winters, Tommy Cook, Debra Paget in her film debut and a goose-pimple inducing turn by Hope Emerson!
**Actor Tommy Cook is scheduled to attend the screening and discuss the film**
4 P.M. Drive a Crooked Road (1954) D: Richard Quine
The incredibly versatile Mickey Rooney plays a sports car mechanic whose dreams of fast cars and faster women morphs into a blind alley nightmare without a pit stop. Includes extensive location photography of a bank robbery staged in Palm Springs! |
