Welcome to NOIR TALK, a podcast devoted to discussing the Film Noir Foundation. Our first guest is FNF founder and president Eddie Muller. We start with a tribute to the late Turner Classic Movies host Robert Osborne (3:00), and then we discuss Eddie's new TCM series Noir Alley (9:00), his scheduled appearance at the upcoming TCM Festival (22:00), and the NOIR CITY Annual compendium of e-magazine articles from 2016 (26:00).
 
Then we talk about the NOIR CITY festival theme for the year, The Big Knockover (37:00), heist movies featuring terrific ensemble casts (47:00), NOIR CITY festival audiences (50:00), an interesting Italian film in this year's festival lineup (52:00), this year's festival poster featuring Ms. NOIR CITY 2017 (56:00), a local guest at the San Francisco festival (1:02:00), a preview of NOIR CITY Hollywood (1:05:00), Eddie's approach to programming film festivals with both rare and famous titles (1:10:00), and showing movies digitally while still supporting film preservation (1:14:00). 

Sign up for the FNF email list and contribute for a NOIR CITY e-magazine subscription: http://www.filmnoirfoundation.org/signup.html

NOIR CITY Annual 2016 available at: https://www.amazon.com/Noir-City-Annual-No-9/dp/0692808329/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1489529589&sr=1-1

See the NOIR CITY 2017 movie lineup and poster at http://noircity.com/index.html

Feedback: podcast@filmnoirfoundation.org

Music: Themes from The Asphalt Jungle (by Miklos Rozsa), Sweet Smell Of Success (Elmer Bernstein), Rififi (Georges Auric)

Ep 1: Noir Alley and The Big Knockover, with Eddie Muller

Our guest this month is Film Noir Foundation charter director and treasurer Alan K. Rode. We discuss the recent NOIR CITY Hollywood festival, starting with a brief history of the festival and some of this year's movies including Address Unknown and Quiet Please Murder (4:15), a nod to the studios supporting the FNF with great prints of rare titles for the NOIR CITY festivals (8:40), how B-movies were promoted with unusual titles and innovative screenwriting (9:50), a few anecdotes on alternate movie titles from old Hollywood (12:25), plus the challenges of finding film prints of long-unseen movies, including one with no opening credits, and untangling issues involving multiple rights-owners (14:20).

Then we talk about the upcoming Arthur Lyons Film Noir Festival in Palm Springs. We discuss the festival's origins and Alan continuing the work of its late founder (20:50), behind-the-scenes stories with guests over the years including Ernest Borgnine, Norman Lloyd, Barbara Hale, Nancy Olson, and Jon Polito (25:00), the unique festival atmosphere of Palm Springs, with unplanned cast and crew reunions (30:50), videos available online of guest interviews, such as June Lockhart on acting with dogs on Lassie and battling vegetables on Lost In Space (34:45), and a preview of this year's festival guests and movie lineup, including Meet Danny Wilson and All The King's Men (38:35).

We also discuss how Alan's family connections with old Hollywood influenced him growing up (45:10), his biography of Charles McGraw and narrating Hollywood history through a non-superstar's perspective (48:05), reviving interest in McGraw's movies (52:50), and background on Alan's upcoming Michael Curtiz biography (55:00).  

The 18th annual Arthur Lyons Film Noir Festival will be held from May 11-14: http://arthurlyonsfilmnoir.ning.com/

Video interviews of festival guest appearances at Palm Springs are available at: http://www.filmnoirfoundation.org/video.html

Alan details his Hollywood family remembrances at his website: https://alankrode.com/index.php/dinner-with-alfonse-a-family-remembrance

Alan's book "Charles McGraw: Film Noir Tough Guy" is available at: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0786471727/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0786471727&linkCode=as2&tag=%20mywebsite6008-20&linkId=7f2e1fb4113f877af109260a30572b8b

"Michael Curtiz: A Life In Film" will be available in November: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06WVDXBQV/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B06WVDXBQV&linkCode=as2&tag=%20mywebsite6008-20&linkId=60ae087f92eda5d0feebd6ceca5160f2

NOIR CITY film festival posters, souvenir program, and e-magazine back issues are available at: http://www.noircity.com/noircityware.html
 
Feedback: podcast@filmnoirfoundation.org

Music: Themes from The Asphalt Jungle (by Miklos Rozsa) and The Accused (Victor Young). "That Old Black Magic" (Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer) from Meet Danny Wilson (sung by Frank Sinatra).

Dialogue from The Narrow Margin, with Charles McGraw and Marie Windsor.

Ep 2: NOIR CITY Hollywood and the Arthur Lyons Film Noir Festival with Alan K. Rode

Our guest this month is film critic and historian Imogen Sara Smith. We start by discussing her background as a film writer and how she started writing about noir in particular (1:40). Then we discuss her commentary track for the new DVD/Blu-ray release of The Scar (aka Hollow Triumph), including the central role of star/producer/director Paul Henreid (5:30), the movie's theme of people not noticing things right in front of them and how that relates to film noir in general (10:25), the great cinematography by John Alton and expressionism in noir (13:40), and one quote from the movie that sums up film noir all in one phrase (18:35).

Then we discuss Imogen's NOIR CITY e-magazine article "Wanted Man: The Fugitive" from the Fall 2016 issue about noir transitioning to TV in the 1960s: how The Fugitive exemplified themes and style common to film noir (20:20), older TV shows not being designed for binge-watching (28:50), and the influence of the show's creator Roy Huggins in designing TV concepts that sustain suspense and interest from one episode to the next (31:05). 

Next up is Imogen's article "A Light In The Dark: Ella Raines and Film Noir's Working Girls" from the Fall 2015 issue of NOIR CITY. We talk about the background and career of 1940s leading lady Ella Raines (35:40) and how she epitomized the working girl character that briefly flourished in film noir, a positive companion to the more widely known femme fatale character (40:00). Then we play a game of hypotheticals: Raines was discovered and groomed by Howard Hawks, but she never appeared in any movies he directed, so which "Hawksian women" would have been good parts for her? (45:35) 

We also talk about Imogen's book "In Lonely Places: Film Noir Beyond The City." We discuss its overall theme of classic noir films taking place in settings outside cities, and how that reflected post-war trends in the US (56:15), plus just what is it that makes film noir so interesting: we all love the style and the iconography, but there's way more to it that keeps us coming back to these movies that still resonate today (59:55). We conclude with the film series that Imogen programmed in connection with her book (1:08:00).

NOIR CITY Austin takes place from Friday May 19 through Sunday May 21 at Austin's Alamo Drafthouse Ritz, with FNF founder and president Eddie Muller introducing the movies. Schedule and tickets available here: https://drafthouse.com/austin/program/noir-city-austin-2017

The new Blu-ray release of The Scar (aka Hollow Triumph), with commentary track by Imogen Sara Smith, is available from Kino Lorber: https://www.kinolorber.com/product/view/id/4033

Imogen's article "Wanted Man: The Fugitive" is in the Fall 2016 issue of the NOIR CITY e-magazine. Subscribe with a donation to the Film Noir Foundation: http://www.filmnoirfoundation.org/noircityemag.html

The article "A Light In The Dark: Ella Raines and Film Noir's Working Girls" is from the Women In Film Noir issue of NOIR CITY, available for back-order here: http://www.noircitymag.com/noir_city_16.html

The book "In Lonely Places: Film Noir Beyond The City" is available here: https://www.amazon.com/Lonely-Places-Film-Noir-Beyond/dp/0786463058

Feedback: podcast@filmnoirfoundation.org

Music: Themes from The Killers (by Miklos Rozsa) and On Dangerous Ground (Bernard Herrmann). "One For My Baby (and One More For The Road)" by Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer, sung by Ida Lupino in Roadhouse.

Dialogue from The Scar, with Paul Henreid and Joan Bennett. Opening credits from The Fugitive narrated by William Conrad.

Ep 3: Film noir beyond femme fatales and beyond the city, with Imogen Sara Smith

The co-authors of the classic Hollywood mysteries "Design For Dying" and "Dangerous To Know" join us to talk noir, costume design, and mystery writing. We start with their appearance at NOIR CITY Hollywood to introduce This Gun For Hire (2:30), as well as some of this year's movies at their hometown festival of NOIR CITY Seattle, including The Taking Of Pelham 123 and The Ladykillers (4:00). We also discuss the editing and production of the Film Noir Foundation's NOIR CITY e-magazine, where Vince is the co-managing editor (13:20), plus Vince's long-running "Cocktails And Crime" e-magazine column (17:45).

Then it's on to legendary costume designer Edith Head. We talk about the Keenans' e-magazine article exploring her career and her work on film noir (21:00), her partnerships with Alfred Hitchcock and Grace Kelly (28:20), plus her work designing clothes for the Academy Awards and for Bette Davis (32:10). 

Edith Head co-stars in the Keenans' books written under the pseudonym Renee Patrick. We discuss the origins of writing mystery novels centered around costume design in classic Hollywood, plus Edith's partner in fighting crime, Lillian Frost (37:40). Then we talk about the mechanics of mystery writing (where Vince explains the term "pantser") (43:50), choosing the books' titles (46:50), some of the amazing true Hollywood stories and real-life people who appear throughout the novels (51:00), inventing names for a fictional movie studio and some particularly entertaining fake movie titles (1:05:40), and what's next for Lillian and Edith in more novels to come (1:12:55).

Contribute to the FNF to receive a year-long subscription to the quarterly NOIR CITY e-magazine: http://www.filmnoirfoundation.org/noircityemag.html

More information on the Renee Patrick novels at their website reneepatrickbooks.com, including the origin of the pseudonym here: http://reneepatrickbooks.com/blog/faq-3

Design For Dying: https://www.amazon.com/Design-Dying-Lillian-Frost-Edith/dp/0765381842/

Dangerous To Know: https://www.amazon.com/Dangerous-Know-Lillian-Frost-Edith/dp/0765381869/

Vince's classic cocktail book "Down The Hatch" is available on Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/Down-Hatch-Odyssey-Through-Cocktail-ebook/dp/B00FIU1IQC/

Please send us feedback on the podcast at podcast@filmnoirfoundation.org.

Music: Themes from The Sniper (by George Antheil), Double Indemnity (Miklos Rozsa), The Ladykillers (Tristram Cary), and Rear Window (Franz Waxman).

Edith Head's narration from the Motion Picture Academy short film "The Costume Designer": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCmXDnneSlg

Ep 4: Edith Head - When Facts Become Fiction, with Vince and Rosemarie Keenan

The art director for the Film Noir Foundation's NOIR CITY e-magazine joins us to talk graphic design, comic books, and boxing. We begin with how Michael first started working with the FNF (3:00), plus designing the website and other projects for Eddie Muller's Black Pool Productions (5:50). We also discuss the process of designing each issue of NOIR CITY (8:30), including the use of multi-media video and audio clips (15:00).  

Then we talk about the NOIR CITY comics issue, starting with Michael's article "Batman in the '70s: First Rebirth of the Bat" on the character's development over the years (19:40), and how Batman's dark turn in the 1970s is still influencing comics and movies today (30:35). We also delve into Michael's choices for the all-time Top 10 noir comics (35:30).

Next we discuss how Marvel's movie production chief is combining the approach of classic Hollywood studio moguls and Marvel legend Stan Lee (42:00), plus some indications that DC is starting to move in that direction with their movies (49:50). Your host then seizes the opportunity to coach everyone on saying the chronically mispronounced name of Wonder Woman star Gal Gadot (53:10).  

We conclude with the sweet science, including Michael's love of boxing inherited from his ex-prizefighter dad (55:00), his all-time Top 5 boxing movies (56:40), and his new boxing e-magazine Ringside Seat (1:06:00).

Michael's designs for Black Pool Productions, including Eddie Muller's book "Gun Crazy: The Origin Of American Outlaw Cinema" available at: http://blackpoolproductions.com/

NOIR CITY comics issue: http://www.noircitymag.com/noir_city_14.html

The Batcave Companion: https://www.amazon.com/Batcave-Companion-Michael-Eury/dp/1893905780

Ringside Seat magazine: http://ringsideseatmag.com/

Light And Noir Film Festival in Sacramento on July 22: http://www.crestsacramento.com/event/1508401-light-noir-film-festival-pass-sacramento/

Please send us any feedback you have on our show to podcast@filmnoirfoundation.org.

Music: Themes from Sunset Blvd (by Franz Waxman) and Gun Crazy (Victor Young), Guglielmo Ratcliff: Intermezzo (Pietro Mascagni) from Raging Bull.

Dialogue from The Dark Knight (with Heath Ledger and Christian Bale) and Batman: Mask Of The Phantasm (Mark Hamill).

Ep 5: Noir meets graphic design, comics, and boxing, with Michael Kronenberg

Crime novelist Jake Hinkson joins us to discuss his articles about film noir and his other writing. We begin with the upcoming NOIR CITY Chicago festival, featuring a special anniversary screening of L.A. Confidential with author James Ellroy in person, plus some other hard-hitting heist films (2:25). Then we discuss how how Jake got started writing for the FNF's NOIR CITY e-magazine, during the long-ago internet era of Myspace (15:55).

Two of Jake's NOIR CITY profiles focus on lesser-known actors with sad stories off-screen as well as on. We talk about the dramatic and scandalous life of Detour star Tom Neal (17:50) and the ill-fated Peggie Castle, who made striking impressions with great noir performances in 99 River Street and I, The Jury (33:10).

Then we lighten the mood with Jake's article on the B-movie cult classic Wicked Woman, which led to a happy ending off-screen in the lifelong marriage of star Beverly Michaels and director Russell Rouse (45:20). We also share some fun stories about seeing the movie with appreciative audiences at NOIR CITY film festivals (51:45).

We conclude with Jake discussing his approach and themes in his novels and other writing (55:10), plus meeting and talking with his well-read and noir-crazy readers in France (58:30).

NOIR CITY CHICAGO 2017 schedule and tickets: https://www.musicboxtheatre.com/events/noir-city-chicago-2017

"Tom Neal: The Broken Man" from NOIR CITY #6: http://www.noircitymag.com/noir_city_6.html

"The Girl They Loved to Kill: The Many Deaths of Peggie Castle" from NOIR CITY #8: http://www.noircitymag.com/noir_city_8.html

"Wicked Woman: Beverly Michaels and Russell Rouse" from NOIR CITY #13: http://www.noircitymag.com/noir_city_13.html

More info on Jake's books and other writings at: https://www.jakehinkson.com/

Please send us any feedback you have on our show to podcast@filmnoirfoundation.org.

Music: Themes from Classe Tous Risques (by Georges Delerue), L.A. Confidential (Jerry Goldsmith), and The Night Of The Hunter (Walter Schumann). "Wicked Woman" (Buddy Baker and Joe Mullendore) sung by Herb Jeffries.

Dialogue from Detour (with Tom Neal and Ann Savage) and 99 River Street (Peggie Castle and John Payne).

Ep 6: Profiles in noir, at home and abroad, with Jake Hinkson

Emmy-nominated producer and author Steven C. Smith joins us for a tour of film noir musical scores and their composers. This is the first of a two-part episode. The composers and movie scores we discuss, including music clips, are indicated below:

Adolph Deutsch - The Maltese Falcon (6:30)
Miklos Rozsa - Double Indemnity (10:45), Criss Cross (18:40), The Killers (21:40)
George Bassman - The Postman Always Rings Twice (28:45)
David Raksin - Laura (31:40), Force Of Evil (38:50)
Roy Webb - Murder My Sweet (43:20)
Max Steiner - The Big Sleep (47:05)

NOIR CITY Detroit tickets and All Movie Pass available at: http://redfordtheatre.com/

Steven C. Smith's "Bernard Herrmann and the Music of Desire: An essay on the Composer’s Noir soundtracks" from NOIR CITY #3: http://www.noircitymag.com/noir_city_3.html

A Heart At Fire's Center: The Life And Music Of Bernard Herrmann: https://www.amazon.com/Heart-Fires-Center-Bernard-Herrmann/dp/0520229398

Please send us any feedback you have on our show to podcast@filmnoirfoundation.org.

Intro music: Theme from Out Of The Past, by Roy Webb.

Ep 7: Hollywood Nocturne -- Classic Film Noir Scores, with Steven C. Smith (Part 1)

Part 2 of our survey of film noir musical scores and their composers, with Emmy-nominated producer and author Steven C. Smith, covers the following composers and film scores:

Bernard Herrmann - Concerto Macabre Part 1 (1:55), Part 2 (9:50), from Hangover Square
Max Steiner - White Heat (18:55)
Alfred Newman - Cry Of The City (22:20)
Max Steiner - Treasure of the Sierra Madre (25:10), Mildred Pierce (27:25) 
Franz Waxman - Sunset Blvd (31:10)
Dmitri Tiomkin - Angel Face (37:50)
Bernard Herrmann - On Dangerous Ground (41:50)
David Raksin - The Big Combo (47:00)
Arthur Schwartz - The Band Wagon (MGM musical noir parody) (49:30)

NOIR CITY DC schedule and ticket info available here: http://afi.com/silver/films/2017/p83/headnotes.aspx#noir-city-dc

The FNF is co-presenting a screening of Gaslight at AFI Silver with a post-movie discussion panel on "gaslighting": https://silver.afi.com/Browsing/Movies/Details/m-0100000121

Steven C. Smith's "Bernard Herrmann and the Music of Desire: An essay on the Composer’s Noir soundtracks" from NOIR CITY #3: http://www.noircitymag.com/noir_city_3.html

A Heart At Fire's Center: The Life And Music Of Bernard Herrmann: https://www.amazon.com/Heart-Fires-Center-Bernard-Herrmann/dp/0520229398

Woody Haut's "On The Down Beat: Investigating the Special Relationship Between Film Noir and Jazz" from NOIR CITY #15: http://www.noircitymag.com/noir_city_15.html

Please send us any feedback you have on our show to podcast@filmnoirfoundation.org.

Intro music: Theme from Kansas City Confidential, by Paul Sawtell.  

Exit music: Theme from Chinatown, by Jerry Goldsmith.

Ep 8: Hollywood Nocturne -- Classic Film Noir Scores, with Steven C. Smith (Part 2)

We pay tribute to actress and FNF Advisory Council member Marsha Hunt on the milestone of her 100th birthday, October 17th, 2017. FNF treasurer and charter director Alan K. Rode discusses her early life and film roles (2:15), her guest appearances at NOIR CITY film festivals (6:15), plus her fight against the Hollywood blacklist and its effect on her movie career (9:00). We also discuss Marsha's humanitarian work and activism (15:15), as well as her prominent role in the film community throughout her life, both on-screen and off (17:30), plus more stories about her from over the years (28:30).

Then FNF president and founder Eddie Muller joins us to talk about developing his 2008 short film The Grand Inquisitor with Marsha in mind for one of its roles (42:00), plus behind-the-scenes stories of working with her on-set (46:50). 

This episode includes audio clips of Marsha Hunt from her appearances at NOIR CITY film festivals. Video available at: http://filmnoirfoundation.org/video.html

For more on The Grand Inquisitor, including a link to watch the film online: http://www.eddiemuller.com/grandinquisitor/index.html

Information on Marsha Hunt's Sweet Adversity: The Documentary: https://www.facebook.com/marshahuntdoc/

Please send us any feedback you have on our show to podcast@filmnoirfoundation.org.

Music: Themes from Raw Deal (by Paul Sawtell) and The Grand Inquisitor (Ian D. Thomas).

Ep 9: Marsha Hunt 100th Birthday Tribute

The Film Noir Foundation co-presented an October screening and panel discussion of the 1944 classic Gaslight at the AFI Silver Theatre in Silver Spring, MD, as part of Domestic Violence Awareness Month. We talk with the event's organizer, Aha! Moment Founder Tali Elitzur (aka the Noir Talk host's better half), about the origins of her idea for the event (2:15), as well as how therapists define and deal with the pattern of emotional abuse known as "gaslighting" (4:50). 

Film writer and historian Imogen Sara Smith, who introduced the screening and participated in the panel discussion, joins us to talk about the 1944 movie and its portrayal of an abuse victim's experience (10:50), how Gaslight fits in as a film noir (17:20), and how the 1940 British movie version compares with the Hollywood version (27:00).

Author and domestic violence survivor Paula Lucas, the Founder of Pathways to Safety International, recounts her own experience with gaslighting (44:10) and describes how accurately the patterns of abuse are portrayed in the movie (51:50). We wrap up with how some of the recent high-profile stories of sexual harassment and the #MeToo movement can impact the fight against abuse going forward (53:30).

Donate to the FNF to receive a year's subscription to NOIR CITY, including the current issue: http://filmnoirfoundation.org/contribute.html

Details on the October screening, including full audio of the post-movie panel discussion, are available here: https://www.ahamomentdc.org/events/gaslight/

Pathways To Safety International: http://pathwaystosafety.org/

Please send us any feedback you have on our show to podcast@filmnoirfoundation.org.

Music: Themes from Le Doulos (by Paul Misraki), Gaslight 1944 version (Bronislaw Kaper), and Gaslight 1940 version (Richard Addinsell). 

Dialogue from Gaslight (1944), with Ingrid Bergman and Charles Boyer.

Ep 10: Gaslight and the impact of "gaslighting"

Film Noir Foundation charter director and treasurer Alan K. Rode joins us to discuss his new biography of Michael Curtiz, one of classic Hollywood's greatest directors. We start with Curtiz's early life and career in Europe (2:45), his first years in Hollywood (11:15), and his wife and close collaborator Bess Meredyth (14:35). Then we talk about his breakthrough success with Captain Blood and other hits with Errol Flynn, including The Adventures of Robin Hood and The Sea Hawk (17:15). We also discuss the peak of Curtiz's career with Yankee Doodle Dandy (28:05) and Casablanca (34:40).

We then delve into some of Curtiz's major noir films: Mildred Pierce (39:45), The Unsuspected (47:35), the new restoration of The Sea Wolf (53:10), and his post-war masterpiece, The Breaking Point (1:00:25).

We wrap up with a few titles from late in Curtiz's career (1:08:00) and a discussion of why he has not been more of a household name (1:10:20).

Michael Curtiz: A Life In Film available at: https://www.amazon.com/Michael-Curtiz-Life-Screen-Classics/dp/0813173914

Excerpts from Alan's book are available at these links:
. 
http://www.classicmoviehub.com/blog/the-politics-of-yankee-doodle-dandy-exclusive-guest-post-by-author-alan-k-rode/

https://alankrode.com/index.php/75th-anniversary-of-casablanca

All-access festival passes for NOIR CITY 16 available at: https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/3195503

Please send us any feedback you have on our show to podcast@filmnoirfoundation.org.

Music: Themes from Mildred Pierce (by Max Steiner), The Sea Hawk (Erich Wolfgang Korngold), The Adventures Of Robin Hood (Korngold), Yankee Doodle Dandy (George M. Cohan), and The Sea Wolf (Korngold). "Crawfish" from King Creole. 

Dialogue from Mildred Pierce (1945), with Joan Crawford, and from The Breaking Point (1950), with John Garfield and Patricia Neal.

Ep 11: Michael Curtiz - A Life In Film, with Alan K. Rode

What was it like to be a devotee of film noir before most people had ever heard of it? Brooklyn College film professor Foster Hirsch, from the Film Noir Foundation's board of directors, joins us to talk about how the concept of noir became widely known in America--and the time when it wasn't. 

We focus much of our discussion on the writing of his ground-breaking book Film Noir: The Dark Side Of The Screen (1981), one of the first books about noir published in the US. We discuss noir's French origins and how it first became known to American film scholars and cineastes in the 1970s (3:00), the impact of younger filmmakers bringing noir influences to their own work in the early 1980s (16:00), and some of the reasons for the explosion of interest in classic noir since the 1990s (22:45). 

FNF president Eddie Muller also joins us to preview NOIR CITY 16, including details on the restoration of The Man Who Cheated Himself and other rare titles being shown on this year's festival circuit (32:00). 

The Dark Side Of The Screen: https://www.amazon.com/Dark-Side-Screen-Film-Noir/dp/0306817721/ref=mt_paperback?_encoding=UTF8&me=

Full schedule and tickets for NOIR CITY 16 available at: http://www.noircity.com/

Please send us any feedback you have on our show to podcast@filmnoirfoundation.org, and rate/review us on iTunes.

Music: Themes from The Big Heat (by Henry Vars), Sudden Fear (Elmer Bernstein), Body Heat (John Barry), and In A Lonely Place (George Antheil).

Ep 12: Film noir before it was famous, with Foster Hirsch + NOIR CITY 16 preview

For the NOIR CITY 16 film festival, we broke out of the studio and went on location with numerous guests from the historic Castro Theatre in San Francisco:

Annabelle Zakaluk, Ms. NOIR CITY 2018, talks about the Castro Theatre, how she became Ms. NOIR CITY, the making of this year's festival poster, and her glamorous vintage outfits for each night of the festival. (1:45)

Bill Arney, the voice of NOIR CITY in San Francisco since 2006, on introducing the festival's shows, how his mom's pies helped him meet Eddie Muller, and living in the apartment where Dashiell Hammett wrote The Maltese Falcon. (16:40)

Brian and Stacey Homan of Jacksonville, FL on what's inspired them to attend NOIR CITY every year since 2009, plus a special guest appearance on opening night of this year's festival. (25:20)

Bill Selby, art director for the NOIR CITY film festival, on building the original Noir City website before the festivals began, as well as designing the festival posters over the years and working with the women who've been Ms. NOIR CITY. (34:45)

Matthias Merkelbach, creator of the largest European database for film noir and neo-noir, on how he first learned about film noir growing up in Germany, traveling from Stuttgart to attend NOIR CITY, and Address Unknown, the terrific 1944 film set in 1930s Germany that was shown in this year's festival. (45:45)

Greg Andrew, who's been attending NOIR CITY from England since 2013, on film noir in Britain and the international noir festival from 2014. (58:00)

Marya Gates, assistant manager at Turner Classic Movies, on TCM's presence at the festival promoting Noir Alley, her own experience attending NOIR CITY and meeting an iconic Hollywood star, and doing a month-long noir immersion each year during "Noirvember." (1:04:50) 

Monica Nolan, a San Francisco-based writer and contributor to the FNF's NOIR CITY e-magazine, on attending NOIR CITY every year since it started in 2003, the festival's place within the local repertory movie culture, some highlights from this year's festival, and the massive showing every year from devoted Bay Area noir fans. (1:14:20)

Images and info about previous NOIR CITY posters at these links: http://filmnoirfoundation.tumblr.com/tagged/NOIR-CITY-poster-week

http://www.noircity.com/noircityware.html

Matthias Merkelbach's German-language film noir database: http://www.der-film-noir.de/

Annabelle Zakaluk sings vintage harmonies as part of The Century Sisters: https://www.centurysisters.com/   

Please send us any feedback you have on our show to podcast@filmnoirfoundation.org, and rate/review us on iTunes.

Music: Themes from This Gun For Hire, Night Editor, I Wake Up Screaming, Shadow Of A Doubt, The Blue Dahlia, I Walk Alone, and The Unsuspected.

"Laura" sung by Annabelle Zakaluk. Dialogue from The Underworld Story.

Ep 13: On location from NOIR CITY 16 in San Francisco

The co-managing editor of the FNF's NOIR CITY e-magazine joins us to discuss some of his wide-ranging articles from the past few years. We start with how Steve started writing for the FNF alongside his brother Michael after many years of working together on the classic horror magazine Monsters From The Vault (1:30), and we take a look at noir-themed lyrics in songs from the 1950s-70s era of classic rock (8:20).

We discuss the career of one of noir's most accomplished cinematographers, Nicholas Musuraca, best known for Out Of The Past. We start with his early years as one of the founding craftsmen of RKO, groundbreaking expressionism in Stranger On The Third Floor, darkness and light in Val Lewton-produced classics including Cat People and The Seventh Victim, voyeurism in The Spiral Staircase, and panic and dread in The Hitchhiker (21:50).

Then we delve into the wild history of EC Comics, whose horror-themed titles such as Tales From The Crypt led to industry-wide censorship under pressure from Congress in the mid-1950s. EC migrated their grisly tales into "adult-themed" magazines that paralleled 1950s noirs such as While The City Sleeps and Kiss Me Deadly, before ultimately shifting their focus to producing one of the most successful humor magazines of all time! (41:25)

“Dancing in the Dark: Rock, Roll, and Noir” from NOIR CITY #15: http://www.noircitymag.com/noir_city_15.html

"Shoot Out The Lights: Nicholas Musuraca" from NOIR CITY #19: http://www.noircitymag.com/noir_city_19.html

“Two-Bit Crimes: How Comics Became ‘Adult Entertainment’” from NOIR CITY #8: http://www.noircitymag.com/noir_city_8.html

Please send us any feedback you have on our show to podcast@filmnoirfoundation.org, and rate/review us on iTunes.

Music: Theme from Wicked As They Come (by Malcolm Arnold). "Who Do You Love" (Bo Diddley), "Long Cool Woman In A Black Dress" (The Hollies), "We Gotta Get Out Of This Place" (The Animals), "Moonlight Drive" (The Doors).

Ep 14: Censorship, Noir, and Rock & Roll, with Steve Kronenberg

NOIR CITY Hollywood showrunner Brian Light joins us to discuss the festival's 20th edition, as well as some of his articles for the NOIR CITY e-magazine. We start with some behind-the-scenes details of how the festival is organized, and we delve into some of this year's screenings: James Ellroy appearing with LA Confidential to receive the FNF's "Modern Noir Master" award; a triple bill from director Joseph Losey; and a pair of 1950s rarities, The Turning Point and The Scarlet Hour, in newly restored presentations courtesy of Paramount Pictures (1:50).
  
Brian's numerous "Book vs Film" articles for NOIR CITY include "La Chienne vs Scarlet Street," a comparison of the 1920s French novel with two film versions, Jean Renoir's French adaptation and Fritz Lang's noir classic Scarlet Street. Brian details how hard it was to track down an English translation of the novel, as well as the differences between the two films in their overall tone and endings (17:30).

"Scoring Evil: The Henry Mancini Touch" dives into one of classic noir's best soundtracks. We discuss Orson Welles' unique concept for scoring the 1958 film Touch Of Evil, plus Henry Mancini assembling top jazz musicians to record his ground-breaking compositions. Naturally, we spin several great themes from the soundtrack along the way (35:30). 

Schedule and tickets for NOIR CITY Hollywood: http://www.americancinemathequecalendar.com/content/noir-city-hollywood-the-20th-annual-los-angeles-festival-of-film-noir

"Book vs Film: La Chienne vs Scarlet Street" from NOIR CITY #17: http://www.noircitymag.com/noir_city_17.html

Also available to read at: http://www.filmnoirfoundation.org/noircityemag.html 

"Scoring Evil: The Henry Mancini Touch" from NOIR CITY #15: http://www.noircitymag.com/noir_city_15.html

Please send us any feedback you have on our show to podcast@filmnoirfoundation.org, and rate/review us on iTunes. 

Music: Themes from The Damned Don't Cry (by Daniele Amfitheatrof), The Scarlet Hour (Leith Stevens), and Scarlet Street (H.J. Salter).

Themes from Touch Of Evil, by Henry Mancini: Main Title, Strollin' Blues, Something For Susan, Background to Murder, Tana's Theme.

Ep 15: NOIR CITY Hollywood, Book Vs Film Adaptations, and A Touch Of Mancini, with Brian Light

Brandeis professor Tom Doherty joins us to discuss his new book about the 1947 Congressional hearings that led directly to Hollywood's anti-Communist blacklist. We start by untangling a few terms often used to describe the events of the time--HUAC, McCarthyism, the Red Scare--and the overall timeline of events in and around the hearings (2:15). 

Then we discuss the perspectives and strategies adopted by each of the main factions from Hollywood who were involved in the 1947 hearings: the studio bosses and their industry representatives from the MPAA (19:20), the staunch anti-Communist conservatives of the Motion Picture Alliance for the Preservation of American Ideals (34:55), the activist anti-HUAC liberals of the Committee for the First Amendment (44:45), and the Communist party members and sympathizers known as the Unfriendly Nineteen, whose ranks were randomly culled to the Hollywood Ten (51:30). 

We finish with how the end of the hearings led rapidly to the blacklist (1:03:30), the role that film noir played in smuggling what may have been considered subversive content into movies of the time (1:10:00), and a story about one of the last surviving people who was directly involved in the hearings, Marsha Hunt (1:15:00). 

Tom Doherty's book is available at: https://www.amazon.com/Show-Trial-Hollywood-Blacklist-Culture/dp/0231187785

Screenshots from several noir films where Diego Rivera's painting The Flower Carrier appears in the background, a possible sign of solidarity with victims of the blacklist: https://twitter.com/EddieMuller/status/934043742280884225  

NOIR CITY Austin schedule and tickets: https://drafthouse.com/austin/program/noir-city-austin-2018

NOIR CITY Boston schedule and tickets: http://www.brattlefilm.org/category/noir-city-boston/

Please send us any feedback you have on our show to podcast@filmnoirfoundation.org, and rate/review us on iTunes. 

Music: Themes from I Walk Alone (by Victor Young), Crossfire (Roy Webb), and Dark Passage (Franz Waxman).

Ep 16: Show Trial - Hollywood, HUAC, and the Birth of the Blacklist, with Tom Doherty

East Bay Express film reviewer Kelly Vance joins us to talk about the "Now Playing" feature on filmnoirfoundation.org, a newly added guide to noir-tinged movie and streaming news. We also round up a bunch of great classic noir releases on Blu-ray in the last few years from specialty outlets who've all been releasing terrific films mostly unavailable on home video before now:
 
-- KL Studio Classics: Pitfall, 99 River Street, Cry Of The City, Deadline USA. Hollow Triumph, Boomerang, The Woman In The Window, He Ran All The Way, Roadhouse, I Wake Up Screaming, The Chase, A Kiss Before Dying, I Walk Alone, The Taking of Pelham 123

-- Olive: Cry Danger, Try And Get Me, The Big Combo, Body And Soul, Plunder Road, Crashout, Odds Against Tomorrow

-- Flicker Alley: Too Late For Tears, Woman on the Run, The Man Who Cheated Himself

-- VCI: The Prowler, New York Confidential (DVD only)

-- ClassicFlix: T-Men, Raw Deal, He Walked By Night, You Only Live Once

-- Cohen Film Collection: Jamaica Inn, Sudden Fear

-- Twilight Time: Kiss Of Death, Inferno 3D

-- Warner Archive: Gun Crazy

Follow the FNF's Now Playing listings here: http://filmnoirfoundation.org/now-playing.html

Please send us any feedback you have on our show to podcast@filmnoirfoundation.org, and rate/review us on iTunes.  

Music: Themes from The Prowler, 99 River Street, Pitfall, Plunder Road, Deadline USA

Dialogue from New York Confidential, with Anne Bancroft, Richard Conte, and Broderick Crawford.

Ep 17: "Now Playing" movies + streaming guide and noir on Blu-ray, with Kelly Vance

NOIR TALK is a podcast devoted to discussing the Film Noir Foundation. It is the foundation’s mission to find and preserve noir films in danger of deterioration, damage or loss, and to ensure that high quality prints of these classic films remain in circulation for theatrical exhibition to future generations.

The views and opinions of guests do not necessarily reflect those of the Film Noir Foundation, or its directors and advisors.

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