The first annual Noir City Festival of Film Noir began at the Castro Theatre in San Francisco last night.
Monday's show features "Where Danger Lives" with Bob Mitchum, and includes a scene set in a lounge based on the old SF Trader Vic's.
All the films chosen for this festival, in fact, are wholly or partially set in 40's and 50's San Francisco, and many were shot on location. ("The Sniper" is particularly memorable in this regard...ohhh, the vacant parking spaces!!! sigh.)
Here's the schedule, which, annoyingly is in alphabetical, not chronological order. Sorry 'bout that...
Noir City Program
Born to Kill
A San Francisco socialite has a torrid affair with a sociopathic killer who’s married to her sister. The heavy-breathing cast leaves fingerprints from Nob Hill to the Ferry Building to Ocean Beach. One of the most perverse films to emerge from Hollywood in the ’40s. Maybe ever. Directed by Robert Wise. With Lawrence Tierney, Claire Trevor, Walter Slezak, Elisha Cook Jr. (1947, 92 min.)
Wednesday, January 22: 3:20, 7:05
Dark Passage
A wrongly accused man busts out of San Quentin on a vengeful quest through nocturnal San Francisco. Daring use of subjective camerawork puts much of the the focus on the city itself. At least until Bacall shows up. Directed by Delmer Daves. With Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Agnes Moorehead, Bruce Bennett. (1947, 106 min.)
Friday, January 17: 9:10
Experiment in Terror
A woman is forced to assist a daring robbery when an unseen mastermind takes her daughter hostage. Director Blake Edwards displays a Hitchcock-like hand as he ratchets up the suspense, culminating in a stunning climax during a Giants-Dodgers game at Candlestick Park. With Lee Remick, Glenn Ford, Ross Martin, Stephanie Powers. (1962, 123 min.)
Sunday, January 26: 2:45, 7:10
The House on Telegraph Hill
A war refugee steals the identity of a dead friend so she can escape to an affluent life in San Francisco. Suspicions soon mount, and things turn dark and dreadful in the mansion overlooking the Bay. Directed by Robert Wise. With Valentina Cortese, Richard Basehart, William Lundigan. (1951, 92 min.)
Wednesday, January 22: 1:30, 5:15, 9:00
The Lady from Shanghai
Orson Welles’s spin on the classic femme fatale story reaches hallucinatory levels when it ventures through the Golden Gate, making surrealistic use of local attractions such as Chinatown, Steinhardt Aquarium and Playland-at-the-Beach. Directed by Orson Welles. With Welles, Rita Hayworth, Everett Sloane. (1948, 86 min.)
Saturday, January 18: 3:40, 7:10
The Lineup
A pair of professional killers wreak havoc as they track down a missing shipment of heroin. Probably the best look you’ll ever have at 1950s San Francisco, as the camera zips from the waterfront to the Cliff House and everywhere in between. Directed by Don Siegel. With Eli Wallach, Robert Keith, Richard Jaeckel. (1958, 85 min.)
Sunday, January 26: 1:00, 5:15, 9:30
The Maltese Falcon
Dashiell Hammett’s quintessential hardboiled noir is the most famous film ever set in San Francisco. Sam Spade contends with a rogue’s gallery of grifters grappling for possession of the legendary black bird. Directed by John Huston. With Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre, Elisha Cook Jr. (1941, 100 min.)
Friday, January 17: 7:00
The Midnight Story
An S.F. traffic cop (Tony Curtis) becomes obsessed with solving the murder of a North Beach priest. Not allowed to pursue his suspicions, he tosses his badge and goes freelance. Big problem: The prime suspect ends up loving him like a son. CinemaScope views of old North Beach. Directed by Joe Pevney. With Gilbert Roland, Marisa Pavan, Ted de Corsia. (1957, 89 min.)
Saturday, January 25: 1:40, 5:20, 9:00
Nora Prentiss
“A mouth like hers was for kissing, not telling!” Ann Sheridan is a San Francisco chanteuse who, through no fault of her own, has a knack for destroying the men who fall in love with her. Hollywood soap with a bitter edge. Directed by Vincent Sherman. With Kent Smith, Bruce Bennett, Robert Alda, Rosemary DeCamp. (1948, 111 min.)
Thursday, January 23: 7:00
Out of the Past
The apotheosis of film noir style. A detective hunting a missing moll forgets the bounty when he falls for the dame. No matter where the lovelorn sap goes — including a backlot version of San Francisco — murder, deceit and betrayal follow. Directed by Jacques Tourneur. With Robert Mitchum, Jane Greer, Kirk Douglas, Virginia Huston. (1947, 94 min.)
Monday, January 20: 7:00
Race Street
George Raft is a tight-lipped, wisecracking San Francisco bookie, fighting off mob incursion into his territory. Lots of late ’40s local color, including trips to Bay Meadows racetrack, the Golden Gate Theater and a showstopping musical number at the “Turf Club.” Directed by Edward L. Marin. With William Bendix, Marilyn Maxwell, Harry Morgan. (1948, 79 min.)
Tuesday, January 21: 7:20
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The Raging Tide
The redoubtable Richard Conte is a gangster wanted for murder. He hides out with a fishing crew plying the waters outside the Golden Gate. Terrific location photography by Russell Metty (TOUCH OF EVIL) captures old North Beach before the tourist explosion. Directed by George Sherman. With Shelley Winters, Steven McNally, Charles Bickford. (1951, 93 min.)
Friday, January 24: 9:00
Shadow of a Woman
In this oddball B movie, a woman on the verge of a nervous breakdown hopes to stave off depression by marrying a rich doctor. Only he isn’t your average doctor—he practices holistic medicine! Plenty of local references add a special kick to the loopy script. Directed by Joseph Santley. With Andrea King, Helmut Dantine. (1946, 78 min.)
Sunday, January 19: 1:30, 5:20, 9:10
Shakedown
An ambitious shutterbug becomes the star photographer for a San Francisco newspaper, thanks to a nose for news and no discernible ethics. One of the most rarely screened of all films noirs, featuring nonstop doublecrosses and an appropriately dark conclusion. Directed by Joe Pevney. With Howard Duff, Brian Donlevy, Peggy Dow, Lawrence Tierney. (1950, 80 min.)
Friday, January 24: 7:20
The Sniper
This groundbreaking film, shot entirely in San Francisco, is a fascinating early treatment of the serial killer theme. It’s truly the first of its kind, and features inspired use of local backdrops. Nominated for Best Original Screenplay. Directed by Edward Dmytryk. With Arthur Franz, Adolphe Menjou, Richard Kiley, Marie Windsor. (1952, 87 min.)
Saturday, January 25: 3:30, 7:10
Sudden Fear
Joan Crawford gives an Oscar-nominated performance as a San Francisco playwright who marries a virile actor that she’d rejected for one of her plays. Little does she know that he plans to drop the final curtain on her. Stylish and suspenseful, this is one of Crawford’s best. Directed by David Miller. With Jack Palance, Gloria Grahame, Bruce Bennett. (1952, 110 min.)
Sunday, January 19: 3:10, 7:00
Thieves' Highway
Most of the action in this rarely screened gem takes place in the dead of night, when San Francisco’s old Produce Market (now the Embarcadero Center) was at its busiest. A vengeful trucker arrives to settle a family score with a crooked fruit broker. Directed by Jules Dassin. With Richard Conte, Valentina Cortese, Lee J. Cobb, Joe Pevney. (1949, 94 min.)
Tuesday, January 21: 9:00
Where Danger Lives
Robert Mitchum falls for a Sea Cliff femme fatale looking to be rescued from a domineering father. He realizes too late things aren’t what they seem. Suddenly he’s at the mercy of his sexy, screw-loose lover, spiraling into a nightmarish version of matrimonial hell. Directed by John Farrow. With Faith Domergue, Claude Rains, Maureen O’Sullivan. (1950, 84 min.)
Monday, January 20: 9:00
The Woman on Pier 13
Originally titled I Married a Communist, this notorious Howard Hughes-produced film is a time capsule of witchhunt hysteria, portraying San Francisco labor organizers as Chicago-style gangsters. Thomas Gomez is a thinly veiled caricature of waterfront firebrand Harry Bridges. Directed by Robert Stevenson. With Robert Ryan, Laraine Day, Janis Carter. (1949, 73 min.)
Thursday, January 23: 9:10
Woman on the Run
A rarely seen film noir classic revived! A fearful wife teams up with a crusading reporter to locate her husband—the terrified witness to a murder—before the killer can silence him. Fantastic city locations, including a spectacular rollercoaster climax at the once-thriving Playland. Directed by Norman Foster. With Ann Sheridan, Dennis O’Keefe. (1950, 78 min.)
Saturday, January 18: 2:00, 5:30, 9:10
