*All times are PT. Please check your local listings to confirm dates and times.
Friday, November 1, 11:30 PM
THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE (1963): In this late era noir, ex-G.I. Bennett Marco (Frank Sinatra) slowly begins to realize that he was brainwashed by the Koreans while he was a P.O.W. He soon suspects that his former comrade in arms Raymond Shaw (Laurence Harvey), who is also the stepson of a presidential candidate, is being manipulated by the Communists. Angela Lansbury gives a remarkable performance as Shaw’s icy mother. Based on the novel of the same name by Richard Condon. Dir. John Frankenheimer
Saturday, November 2, 3:00 PM
THE KILLERS (1946): Expanded from the Hemingway short story, two professional killers come to a small town looking for The Swede (Burt Lancaster). An insurance investigator (Edmond O'Brien) unravels the tangled skein of events that led up to the hit. Ava Gardner plays Kitty, the woman who led the Swede to his doom. Dir. Robert Siodmak
Saturday, November 2, 9:30 PM & Sunday, November 3, 7:00 AM
NOBODY LIVES FOREVER (1946): John Garfield is a shady ex-GI hooked up in a plot to bilk a war widow (gorgeous Geraldine Fitzgerald). When he falls for her, the gang wants them both dead. Director Jean Negulesco ladles atmospherics onto W. R. Burnett's witty screenplay. Great support from Walter Brennan, George Coulouris, Faye Emerson, and George Tobias. Dir. Jean Negulesco
Sunday, November 3, 9:00 AM
NORTH BY NORTHWEST (1959): Foreign agents mistake suave and swinging advertising man Roger Thornhill (Cary Grant) for a spy. He takes it on the lam and encounters a beautiful blonde (Eva Marie Saint) who may or may not be trusted. This film earned 3 Oscar nominations: Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color; Best Writing, Story and Screenplay - Written Directly for the Screen; and Best Film Editing. Dir. Alfred Hitchcock
Sunday, November 3, 1:15 PM – 5:00 PM
1:15 PM
THE DAMNED DON’T CRY (1950): Fed up with her small-town marriage and life of drudgery, Ethel Whitehead (Joan Crawford) goes after the big time and by sleeping with a series of mafiosi. This fantastic film noir fable, a thinly-veiled version of the life story of gangster's moll Virginia Hill, is perhaps a truer depiction of the real Joan Crawford than Mommie Dearest (1981). Right up there with Mildred Pierce as one of Crawford's finest Warner Bros. melodramas. With Steve Cochran, Kent Smith, and veteran Joan-foil David Brian. Dir. Vincent Sherman
3:00 PM
TOUCH OF EVIL (1958): Orson Welles’ masterpiece about a narcotics agent (Charlton Heston) who unintentionally put his wife (Janet Leigh) in grave danger when he investigates a crooked cop (Orson Welles). Utterly fantastic supporting performance by Marlene Dietrich as a Mexican Gypsy whore- no, really, I mean it. Dir. Orson Welles
Monday, November 4, 7:00 AM
HUNT THE MAN DOWN (1950) : A lawyer (Gig Young) uncovers secrets behind a decade-old murder case when he attempts to exonerate a convicted man by hunting down the six eyewitnesses to the crime who dispersed years earlier. Dir. George Archainbaud
Monday, November 4, 7:45 PM
GLORIA (1980): Former moll Gloria (Gena Rowlands) goes on the run with her neighbors’ young son after his parents are murdered. Meanwhile, a team of gangsters, comprised of Gloria’s old associates, are trying to track the pair down, believing that the boy possesses evidence of their criminal activities left to him by his mob accountant father. Dir. John Cassavetes
Tuesday, November 5, 6:45 AM
THE BRIBE (1949): A sultry singer (Ava Gardner) tries to tempt a federal agent (Robert Taylor) from the straight-and-narrow while he investigates an arms surplus racket on a small South American island. Charles Laughton and Vincent Price menace him. Dir. Robert Z. Leonard
Tuesday, November 5, 8:45 AM
THE WINDOW (1949): A young boy (Bobby Driscoll) with a penchant for telling tall tales overhears a murder while sleeping alone on a fire escape. Of course, no one believes him except the murderers (Paul Stewart and Ruth Roman) who ruthlessly hunt him down. This excellent adaptation of a Cornell Woolrich story will keep you on the edge of your seat. Won the Oscar for Best Editing. Dir. Ted Tetzlaff
Wednesday, November 6, 5:00 PM – Thursday, November 7, 3:30 AM
5:00 PM
GASLIGHT (1944): A newlywed (Ingrid Bergman) fears she's going mad when strange things start happening at the family mansion where her aunt was murdered ten years earlier. Joseph Cotten stars as the handsome stranger who aids her. Charles Boyer stars as the handsome husband who terrorizes her. Angela Lansbury plays the pretty maid who may be in league with Boyer. Based on Patrick Hamilton’s Angel Street. The film won two Oscars, Best Actress in a Leading Role for Ingrid Bergman and Best Art Direction-Interior Decoration, Black-and-White for Cedric Gibbons, William Ferrari, Edwin B. Willis, Paul Huldschinsky, and earned five more nominations. Dir. George Cukor
7:00 PM
NIAGARA (1953): Despite Joseph MacDonald’s Technicolor cinematography and its spectacular use of Niagara Falls, this film falls firmly into the noir category. A young couple (Jean Peters and Casey Adams) on vacation find themselves embroiled in a murderous plot involving their neighbors at the motor court. The wife (Marilyn Monroe) and her lover (Richard Allen) plot to kill her mentally unstable husband (Joseph Cotton) and things go awry. OTR greats Don Wilson and Lurene Tuttle play another vacationing married couple. Dir. Henry Hathaway
8:45 PM
A KISS BEFORE DYING (1956): Beautiful and wealthy Ellen (Virginia Leith) falls in love with Bud Corliss, the fiancé (Robert Wagner) of her dead sister Dorie (Joanne Woodward), not realizing that he’s responsible for her sister’s death, an apparent suicide. Will she find out the truth before it is too late? Mary Astor gives an outstanding performance as Bud’s mother. Adapted from the Edgar Award winning debut novel of Ira Levin. Dir. Gerd Oswald
10:30 PM
DARK PASSAGE (1947): Adapted from a story by David Goodis, this noir follows convicted wife murderer Vincent Parry’s (Humphrey Bogart) escape from jail and subsequent hunt for the real killer of his wife. Sympathetic stranger Irene (Lauren Bacall) encounters him during his jail break and aids him. Agnes Moorehead steals the show as Irene’s shrewish friend who knew Vincent and his wife prior to the murder. Dir. Delmer Daves
12:30 AM
DEAD RINGER (1964): In this late era noir, Bette Davis stars as twins, the rich and mean Margaret and the other poor and put-upon spinster Edith meet after many years at the funeral of Margaret’s husband Frank. Edith snaps when she discovers from Margaret why Frank dumped her and married Margaret instead. Edith shoots her sister, takes her place and tries to make “Edith’s” death look like a suicide. Edith's boyfriend, police sergeant Jim Hobbson (Karl Malden) and Margaret's lover Tony (Peter Lawford) soon complicates things. Dir. Paul Henreid
Thursday, November 7, 5:00 PM – Friday, November 8, 3:00 AM
Here’s the noirish stuff but you should watch all of this mini-marathon
5:00 PM
MADE IN ENGLAND: THE FILMS OF POWELL AND PRESSBURGER (2024): Martin Scorsese reflects on the impressive careers and cinematic influence of the British film-making partners Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger including Powell’s downfall due to the then reviled and now lauded Peeping Tom (1960). Dir. David Hinton
7:30 PM
THE RED SHOES (1948): Ballerina Victoria Page (Moira Shearer) lives to dance, but finds her desire torn between two men: the impresario Lermontov, who can fulfill her artistic ambitions, and Julian Craster, the young composer with whom she truly is in love. Her quandary culminates in a majestic staging of the classic fairy tale "The Red Shoes." One of the cinema's most vivid uses of Technicolor, this gorgeously designed film is one of the darkest and most compelling films ever made about artistic compulsion. Dir. Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger
Friday, November 8, 5:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Here are the noirs...
10:15 AM
CROSSROADS (1942): A recently wed French diplomat (William Powell) is accused of being a master criminal. He is suffering from amnesia and must find out for himself if the accusations are true. The women in the case are his new bride (Hedy Lamarr) and a witness against him (Claire Trevor). Dir. Jack Conway
3:15 PM
EXPERIMENT IN TERROR (1962): A San Francisco bank teller (Lee Remick) is forced into being an accomplice to a daring robbery scheme when her sister (Stefanie Powers) is taken hostage by a perverted criminal genius. Glenn Ford is the taciturn old-school FBI agent charged with hunting down the mysterious mastermind. Typically light and breezy Blake Edwards shows masterful skill with suspense, ratcheting up the tension to Hitchcockian heights—while making abundant and evocative use of actual San Francisco locales. Not only a time capsule of the city circa 1962, but arguably the most intense thriller ever set in San Francisco. Dir. Blake Edwards
Saturday, November 9, 9:45 PM & Sunday, November 10, 7:00 AM
LE DEUXIÈME SOUFFLE aka Second Breath (1966): After a daring prison break, Gustave Minda (Lino Ventura) embarks on one last heist to get money to go abroad with his lover. An intrepid policeman, Inspector Blot (Paul Meurisse), hunts him. As it is a Melville film, there’s a spectacular heist sequence and meditations on loyalty, betrayal and fate. Dir. Jean-Pierre Melville
Sunday, November 10, 11:30 PM
LA CHIENNE aka Isn't Life a Bitch? (1931): Meek cashier and aspiring painter Maurice Legrand (Michel Simon), Lucienne "Lulu" Pelletier (Janie Marèse) by chance on the street. Maurice protects Lulu and brings her home. Eventually, Maurice rents an apartment for Lulu, and she becomes his mistress. Soon he brings his paintings to the apartment, since his wife Adèle intends to throw them out. Dédé (Lulu’s pimp whom she has introduced to Maurice as her brother) sells the paintings to an art dealer for a large amount, claiming that Lulu had painted them under an alias. Trouble follows. The film is based on the eponymous story by Georges de La Fouchardière. Fritz Lang had Dudley Nicholas adapt the Fouchardière novel a second time for his film Scarlet Street (1945). Dir. Jean Renoir
Monday, November 11, 9:30 PM
MEAN STREETS (1973): In this neo-noir, set in Little Italy, debt collector Charlie (Harvey Keitel) is mired in Catholic guilt, while his friend Johnny Boy (Robert De Niro) desires the mafia lifestyle. When John Boy gets in over his head, he turns to Charlie for help with disastrous results. Director Martin Scorsese stated that he based the dynamic of the pair on Bing Crosby and Bob Hope’s characters in their “Road Pictures”. Dir. Martin Scorsese
Tuesday, November 12, 5:00 PM – Wednesday, November 13, 2:00 AM
Here are the noirs...
5:00 AM
STRANGERS ON A TRAIN (1951): Childlike but charming psychopath Bruno (Robert Walker) suggests that he and Guy (Farley Granger), a tennis player with political ambitions, crisscross murders. Unfortunately, Guy realizes too late that Bruno wasn’t joking. Guy’s unwanted wife shows up murdered and he has no alibi. He also has a motive, he’s in love with a Washington socialite (Ruth Roman) whom he wants to marry, and his wife refused a divorce. Screenplay by Raymond Chandler and Czenzi Ormonde, based on the novel by Patricia Highsmith. D.P. Robert Burks’ outstanding work earned an Oscar nomination for Best Cinematography, Black-and-White. Dir. Alfred Hitchcock
7:00 PM
TOMORROW IS ANOTHER DAY (1951): I’ll leave this one to FNF president and Noir Alley host Eddie Muller to describe. “When I first encountered this exceptional film more than a decade ago, I declared it "Gun Crazy [1950] scripted by John Steinbeck." A minor masterpiece in the filmography of the virtually forgotten Felix Feist, this is one of the best "love on the lam" tales in all noir. Steve Cochran--the Elvis of Noir—is perfect as a vulnerable ex-con who falls hard for bruised "taxi dancer" Ruth Roman (as a blonde! And never better!). Thwarted passions, a dank hotel room, a dirty cop—a gunshot! And suddenly our luckless lovers are fugitives fleeing cross-country. It's high time for this fantastic film to finally come out of hiding and get the recognition it deserves.” Dir. Felix Feist
8:45 PM
DOWN THREE DARK STREETS (1954): An FBI (Broderick Crawford) agent pursues three separate cases that lead him to a murderer. A victim of an extortion racket (Ruth Roman), that he takes more than a professional interest in, proves the key to unlocking the mystery. Dir. Arnold Laven
10:30 PM
LIGHTNING STRIKES TWICE (1951): After being stranded in a small Texas town, an actress (Ruth Roman) champions the cause of a man (Richard Todd) recently acquitted in a re-trial for murdering his wife, but still under suspicion by the local townsfolk. Dir. King Vidor
Wednesday, November 13, 7:00 AM
REAR WINDOW (1954): A wheelchair-bound photographer passes the time of his disability by spying on his neighbors. One day he witnesses a murder. Or does he? This iconic mystery was adapted from a story by Cornell Woolrich and earned a Best Writing, Screenplay Oscar nomination for screenwriter John Michael Hayes. The film earned three more Oscar nods for Best Director, Best Cinematography, Color and Best Sound, Recording. Dir. Alfred Hitchcock
Wednesday, November 13, 9:00 PM
MIRAGE (1965): After a power blackout in his office building, accountant David Stillwell (Gregory Peck) suddenly can't remember the past two years of his life. Discovering that a rich humanitarian died after falling from the same building and that there are gunmen after him, Stillwell tries to piece together the past two years’ events. He enlists the help of a rookie private eye (Walter Matthau) and a reluctant old flame (Diane Baker). Based on Walter Ericson’s novel Fallen Angel. Dir. Edward Dmytryk
Thursday, November 14, 1:30 PM
PITFALL (1948): This independently produced gem is one of the most realistic explorations of adultery produced in 1940s. Bored suburbanite insurance salesman (Dick Powell) drifts into a dalliance with an anti-femme fatale, hard-luck model Mona (Lizabeth Scott), only to find his life and family threatened by an obsessive private eye (Raymond Burr) and a jealous ex-con. Director de Toth had the gifted Bill Bowers rewrite the script. The result is truly believable noir—a wrenching tale of repressed lust and suburban ennui. Dir Andre de Toth
Thursday, November 14, 5:00 PM – Friday, November 15, 3:30 AM
Run time is for all the films, we recommend watching all the films even though they aren’t noirs
5:00 PM
MADE IN ENGLAND: THE FILMS OF POWELL AND PRESSBURGER (2024): Martin Scorsese reflects on the impressive careers and cinematic influence of the British film-making partners Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger including Powell’s downfall due to the then reviled and now lauded Peeping Tom (1960). Dir. David Hinton
Saturday, November 16, 3:00 PM
PSYCHO (1960): Marion Crane (Janet Leigh) impulsively embezzles $10,000 dollars from her employer and takes it on the lam. She checks into the Bates Motel, meets the queer but attractive Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins), takes a shower and makes cinematic history. A detective (Martin Balsam), Miriam’s sister (Vera Miles) and her boyfriend (John Gavin) all arrive to look for the missing Miriam. Long time Hitchcock collaborator Bernard Herrmann created the rightfully legendary score. The immensely talented old time radio actress Virginia Gregg provides the voice of Norman’s mother Norma Bates. Dir. Alfred Hitchcock
Saturday, November 16, 9:00 PM & Sunday, November 17, 7:00 AM
THE BIG COMBO (1955): Lt. Leonard Diamond (Cornel Wilde), a police detective, tries to convict a mob boss Mr. Brown (Richard Conte) by going to the man's suicidal girlfriend Susan (Jean Wallace). Diamond’s obsessive desire to catch Mr. Brown may be due to his love for Susan. Cinematographer John Alton provided the iconic noir visual style of the film. Dir. Joseph Lewis
Saturday, November 16, 11:00 PM
BLUE VELVET (1986): Back when David Lynch was a genius, he created this neo-noir about a small-town boy back from college, Kyle MacLachlan, who gets sucked into the dark world festering in the heart of his hometown. Isabella Rossellini and Dennis Hopper play his underworld guides. Laura Dern plays his Beatrice. Dir. David Lynch
Sunday, November 17, 8:45 AM
D.O.A. (1950): This classic and rather convoluted noir tells the tale of small-town businessman Frank (Edmond O'Brien) who is slipped a dose of luminous toxin while out on the town in San Francisco. He determines to track down his own killer during the 24 hours that he has left to live. Existential doom and great San Francisco locations abound. Dir. Rudolph Mate
Tuesday, November 19, 5:15 AM – 1:00 PM
5:15 AM
FOG OVER FRISCO (1934): Heiress Val Bradford (Margaret Lindsay) investigates the disappearance of her reckless sister Arlene (Bette Davis) who has been playing around in the San Francisco underworld, along with her ineffectual fiancé (Lyle Talbot), In the process, Val joins up with reporter Tony Sterling (Donald Woods) and press photographer Izzy Wright (Hugh Herbert). Dir. William Dieterle
6:30 AM
THE MALTESE FALCON (1941): How do I love this movie, let me count the ways… In arguably the first, and greatest, film noir, hard-boiled detective Sam Spade (Humphrey Bogart) gets caught up in the deadly search for a priceless statue. Along the way he tangles with a murderous liar (Mary Astor), a foppish thug (Peter Lorre) and an obese mastermind (Sydney Greenstreet). Director John Huston brilliantly adapted it from the Dashiell Hammett novel and earned an Oscar nomination for Best Writing, Screenplay. The film also garnered nominations for Best Picture and for Sydney Greenstreet, in his film debut, Best Actor in a Supporting Role. Dir. John Huston
8:15 AM
DARK PASSAGE (1947): Adapted from a story by David Goodis, this noir follows convicted wife murderer Vincent Parry’s (Humphrey Bogart) escape from jail and subsequent hunt for the real killer of his wife. Sympathetic stranger Irene (Lauren Bacall) encounters him during his jail break and aids him. Agnes Moorehead steals the show as Irene’s shrewish friend who knew Vincent and his wife prior to the murder. Dir. Delmer Daves
10:15 AM
THE FALCON IN SAN FRANCISCO (1945): Tom Lawrence (Tom Conway) aka “The Falcon” travels to San Francisco and, of course, there’s a murder on the train. When he arrives in the City by the Bay, he’s arrested for kidnapping a little girl whose nurse was the murder victim. He has to solve the murder and rescue the child. Helmed by noir auteur Joseph H. Lewis whose credits include My Name is Julia Ross (1945), Gun Crazy (1950), and The Big Combo (1950). Dir. Joseph H. Lewis
11:30 AM
WOMAN ON THE RUN (1950): A lost gem rediscovered! Thanks to the efforts of the Film Noir Foundation, this terrific 1950 film noir, the only American print of which was burned in a 2008 fire, has been rescued and restored to its original luster. Join the wild chase around San Francisco as a man goes into hiding after witnessing a gangland execution. Police bird-dog his wife Eleanor (Ann Sheridan), certain she’ll lead them to her husband, whose testimony against the killer could bring down a crime kingpin. But Eleanor and her hubbie are Splitsville—she never wants to see him again. When roguish newspaperman Danny Leggett (Dennis O’Keefe) charms Eleanor into helping him track down the hidden husband—there are unexpected, stunning, and poignant results. This nervy, shot-on-location thriller is a witty and wise look at the travails of romance and marriage, and perhaps the best cinematic depiction ever of mid-20th century San Francisco. Dir. Norman Foster
Wednesday, Nov 20, 5:00 PM – Thursday, Nov 21, 3:00 AM
5:00 PM
DIABOLIQUE (1955): In this twisting and turning French thriller, the wife (Vera Clouzot) and lover (Simone Signoret) of a sadistic headmaster (Paul Meurisse) plot to kill him. When American producer and schlock-master William Castle saw kids standing in line in the pouring rain to watch this film, he decided that making thrillers was the direction in which to take his independent film production career. Dir. Henri-Georges Clouzot
7:15 PM
BUNNY LAKE IS MISSING (1965): In this 1960’s post noir, based on the novel by Evelyn Piper, a distraught mother (Carol Lynley) searches for her daughter, while the police, led by a seasoned detective (Laurence Olivier), question the girl’s very existence. Is she just a figment of the woman’s imagination? Noël Coward and Kier Dullea play Ann’s lecherous landlord and brother respectively. Dir. Otto Preminger
9:15 PM
SISTERS (1973): Director Brian De Palma mixes noir, Hitchcock and horror in this unusual thriller. Inquisitive journalist Grace Collier (Jennifer Salt) witnesses her neighbor, fashion model Danielle Breton (Margot Kidder), violently murder a man Rear Window style. Panicking, she calls the police who find nothing amiss at the crime scene. So, Grace takes matters into her own hands. She hires a quite noir private investigator, Joseph Larch (Charles Durning), to help her uncover the shocking truth driving Danielle’s homicidal behavior. Dir. Brian De Palma
11:00 PM
THE BRIDE WORE BLACK aka La Mariée était en noir (1968): In this French adaptation of the Cornell Woolrich classic, a beautiful woman (Jeanne Moreau) seeks revenge on the five men who she believes murdered her fiancé. Director Truffaut gave this La Belle Dame Sans Merci tale a definite classic Hollywood feel with his choice of Bernard Hermann as composer. Dir. François Truffaut
1:00 AM
BLOW-UP (1966): A womanizing photographer (David Hemmings) discovers a murder in the background of a candid photo. His investigation tests his deductive skills and his sanity. Vanessa Redgrave has a memorable supporting role as a mysterious woman who may be trying to stymy his efforts. Nominated for two Oscars: Michelangelo Antonioni for Best Director and Best Writing, Story and Screenplay - Written Directly for the Screen for Michelangelo Antonioni (screenplay/story), Tonino Guerra (screenplay) and Edward Bond (screenplay) Dir: Michelangelo Antonioni
Thursday, Nov 21, 5:00 PM – Friday, Nov 22, 2:30 AM
Here’s the noirs… But you should watch all the films in the series
6:45 PM
BLACK NARCISSUS (1947): A group of Anglican nuns, played by an impressive lineup of British actresses, including Deborah Kerr, Kathleen Byron, and Flora Robson, attempt to establish a school and hospital on a mountain in the Himalayas. Isolation, extreme weather, altitude, and culture clashes all conspire to drive the well-intentioned missionaries to their limits. A man arrives, unintentionally setting a match to gasoline. The film won two Oscars for Alfred Junge's art direction and Jack Cardiff's cinematography Dir. Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger
8:30 PM
THE SMALL BLACK ROOM (1949): Brilliant but tormented bomb expert Sammy Rice (David Farrar) works for the British government during World War II. Despite the caretaking of his secretary and girlfriend, Susan (Kathleen Byron), Rice's increasingly problematic alcoholism and a recent injury threaten his ability to work. Based on the acclaimed novel by Nigel Balchi. Dir. Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger
Friday, November 22, 5:00 PM – Saturday, November 23, 2:00 AM
Stay at home and turn off your phone!
5:00 PM
DOUBLE INDEMNITY (1944): Barbara Stanwyck—in a platinum blonde wig—plays Phyllis Dietrichson—the consummate femme fatale who lures insurance salesman and all-around chump Walter Neff (Fred MacMurray) into a plot involving murder and insurance fraud. His friend, and insurance adjuster, Barton Keyes (Edward G. Robinson) smells a rat. Nominated for seven Oscars: Best Actress in a Leading Role; Best Cinematography, Black-and-White; Best Director; Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture; Best Picture; Best Sound, Recording; and Best Writing, Screenplay. Dir. Billy Wilder
7:00 PM
LAURA (1944): In this film noir based on the Vera Caspary novel, dedicated detective Mark McPherson (Dana Andrews) investigates the death of the beautiful Laura (Gene Tierney), brutally gunned down at the door of her flat. As he interviews her friends and lovers, a complicated portrait of her emerges and he finds himself falling for the deceased girl. Clifton Webb and Vincent Price give outstanding performances as two bickering rivals for Laura’s affections. Joseph LaShelle won the Oscar for Best Cinematography, Black-and-White for his work on the film. Dir. Otto Preminger
8:45 PM
MURDER, MY SWEET (1944): The film that graduated Dick Powell from romantic musical lead to noir tough guy. Raymond Chandler’s detective and knight errant, Philip Marlowe's (Powell) search for a singer name Velma, leads him through a tangled web of blackmail and murder. Along the way, he finds himself embroiled with a wealthy man’s unscrupulous gold-digging wife (Claire Trevor) and the step-daughter that despises her (Anne Shirley). Mike Mazurki gives a standout performance as the mentally challenged and extremely physically powerful ex-con that hires Marlowe to find Velma. “Cute as pants.” Dir. Edward Dmytryk
10:30 PM
PHANTOM LADY (1944): In this adaptation of a Cornell Woolrich novel, Carol Richman (Ella Raines), the loyal secretary of murder suspect Scott Henderson (Alan Curtis), descends into darkness to confirm Scott's alibi and find the real killer. Scott claims to have spent the evening with a mystery woman wearing a spectacular hat, a woman all witnesses claim never existed. Woolrichian paranoia at its finest. Produced by Hitchcock’s protégé, Joan Harrison Dir. Robert Siodmak
12:15 AM
THE MASK OF DIMITRIOS (1944): The eternal noir duo of Sydney Greenstreet and Peter Lorre star in this film adaptation of the Eric Ambler novel which also features Zachary Scott in his film debut. Novelist Cornelius Leyden (Lorre) investigates the mysterious death of international criminal Dimitrios Makopoulus (Scott) after Dimitrios’ body is discovered in Istanbul. The mysterious Peters (Greenstreet) encourages Leyden and promises him a financial reward. But what is Peters’ motivation for the investigation? The always wonderful character actress Fay Emerson plays a supporting role as a lover formerly fleeced by Dimitrios. Dir. Jean Negulesco
Saturday, November 23, 6:45 PM
GUN CRAZY (1949): In this justly legendary noir, a gun obsessed reform school graduate (John Dall) meets the girl of his dreams, a circus sharpshooter (Peggy Cummins). They get married in a fever, but she gets fed up living without the finer things of life. The two go on a crime spree, but her blood lust had fatal consequences. Dir. Joseph H. Lewis
Saturday, November 23, 9:00 PM & Sunday, November 30, 7:00 AM
TRAPPED (1949): T-Men investigating a flood of phony $20s spring convicted counterfeiter Tris Stewart (Lloyd Bridges) from the joint to use as an undercover operative. But Tris is only stringing the feds along until he makes a score and scoots to Mexico with his red-hot squeeze, Meg (Barbara Payton). The double- and triple-crosses come fast and furious as no one's sure who's a crook and who's a copper. A hasty and hard-edged B from director Richard Fleischer, with exceptional camerawork by DP Guy Roe. Restoration funded by the Film Noir Foundation and performed by the UCLA Film & Television Archive. Dir. Richard Fleischer
Sunday, November 24, 5:00 PM – 9:00 PM
5:00 PM
THE MALTESE FALCON (1941): How do I love this movie, let me count the ways… In arguably the first, and greatest, film noir, hard-boiled detective Sam Spade (Humphrey Bogart) gets caught up in the deadly search for a priceless statue. Along the way he tangles with a murderous liar (Mary Astor), a foppish thug (Peter Lorre) and an obese mastermind (Sydney Greenstreet). Director John Huston brilliantly adapted it from the Dashiell Hammett novel and earned an Oscar nomination for Best Writing, Screenplay. The film also garnered nominations for Best Picture and for Sydney Greenstreet, in his film debut, Best Actor in a Supporting Role. Dir. John Huston
7:00 PM
THE BIG SLEEP (1946): In Howard Hawks’ clever and sophisticated adaptation of Raymond Chandler’s novel, private eye Philip Marlowe’s (Humphrey Bogart) investigates the involvement of an opium addled (and nymphomaniacal) society girl (Martha Vickers) in the murder of a pornographer. He also must determine if her sister (Lauren Bacall) is helping or hindering him. Dir. Howard Hawks
Monday, November 25, 5:45 AM
THE UNHOLY WIFE (1957): Wealthy vintner Paul Hochen (Rod Steiger) meets call girl Phyllis (Diana Dors) in a bar and seemingly impulsively marries her. Winds up Paul only wed her so he could adopt her son, a war wound left him incapable of having any of his own. Evidently this “wound” prevents him from loving her physically or mentally. She soon finds solace with rodeo rider San (Tom Tyron). Her thoughts soon turn to murder. A rare Hollywood outing for Britain’s answer to Marilyn Monroe, Marie Windsor has a small role as her co-hooker and friend. Dir. John Farrow
Monday, November 25, 9:00 AM
ILLEGAL (1955): D.A. Victor Scott (Edward G. Robinson) resigns in shame after he successfully prosecutes an innocent man for a capital crime. He successfully embarks in private practice but gets mixed up with a mob boss Frank Garland (Albert Dekker). Meanwhile, his assistant Ellen (Nina Foch) tries to make him jealous by announcing she’s marrying another man. Trivia: In the scene where Frank Garland shows off his art to Victor, the production employed actor Robinson’s personal collection. When Dir. Lewis Allen
Monday, November 25, 1:15 AM
GASLIGHT (1944): A newlywed (Ingrid Bergman) fears she's going mad when strange things start happening at the family mansion where her aunt was murdered ten years earlier. Joseph Cotten stars as the handsome stranger who aids her. Charles Boyer stars as the handsome husband who terrorizes her. Angela Lansbury plays the pretty maid who may be in league with Boyer. Based on Patrick Hamilton’s Angel Street. The film won two Oscars, Best Actress in a Leading Role for Ingrid Bergman and Best Art Direction-Interior Decoration, Black-and-White for Cedric Gibbons, William Ferrari, Edwin B. Willis, Paul Huldschinsky, and earned five more nominations. Dir. George Cukor
Tuesday, November 26, 5:00 PM – 4:30 AM
Here are the noirs...
5:00 PM
5 STEPS TO DANGER (1956): John Emmett’s car breaks down in New Mexico while traveling from L.A. to Texas. He’s picked up by a beautiful woman (Ruth Roman) and finds himself embroiled in an espionage plot. Dir. Henry S. Kesler
6:30 PM
JOE MACBETH (1956): Shakespeare’s classic play retold with gangsters in modern times. Joe MacBeth (Paul Douglas) plots with his wife Lily (Ruth Roman) to become a mob kingpin. You should already know how this ends. Dir. Ken Hughes
12:00 AM
LOOK IN ANY WINDOW (1961) : A rather unsettling film about troubled teenage voyeur Craig (Paul Anka) who spies on his neighbors and finds the ugliness under the surface. Craig's father Jay (Alex Nicol) is an under-achieving alcoholic who's recently been fired, and his mother Jackie (Ruth Roman) is a social climber who favors the playboy-next-door Gareth (Jack Cassidy in his film debut). Dir. William Alland
Tuesday, November 26, 4:30 AM
STAKEOUT ON DOPE STREET (1958): Three teens (Yale Wexler, Morris Miller, Jonathon Haze) get into the drug business when they discover heroin in a stolen briefcase, things end badly. Dir. Irvin Kershner
Wednesday, November 27, 9:00 PM – 1:00 AM
9:00 PM
WAIT UNTIL DARK (1967): A commercial artist unknowingly brings a stash of heroin into his home. A trio of bad guys (Richard Crenna, Jack Weston and Alan Arkin) trace the dope to him. They trick him into leaving the house, but, unfortunately, his blind wife (Audrey Hepburn) is there alone. They proceed to first try to trick and then to terrorize her while she tries to figure out how to turn the tables on her unknown assailants. Hepburn earned an Oscar nomination for Best Actress for her remarkable performance. Adapted from the Broadway hit written by Fredrick Knott and directed by Arthur Penn. Dir. Terence Young
11:00 PM
CAPE FEAR (1962): Ex-convict, sex offender, and sociopath Max Caddy (Robert Mitchum) plots to destroy Sam Bowden (Gregory Peck) the district attorney who sent him to prison. Caddy wages a ruthless game of psychological warfare on Bowden, seemingly threatening Sam’s wife (Polly Bergen) and 12-year-old daughter without breaking any actual laws. Dir. J. Lee Thompson
Friday, November 29, 12:45 PM
12:45 PM
WHITE HEAT (1949): “Top of the world, Ma!” A G-man (Edmond O'Brien) infiltrates a gang run by a mother-fixated psychotic, James Cagney in a standout performance. This film marks the cinematic movement away from the traditional Warner Brothers’ portrayal of the gangster to the more cynical and psychological film noir interpretation. Virginia Kellogg garnered an Oscar nomination for Best Writing, Motion Picture Story for the film. Pointless trivia: Naked Gun 33 1/3 borrowed the plot. Dir. Raoul Walsh
3:00 PM
THE THIRD MAN (1949): This fantastic film about a naive American, Joseph Cotten, investigating the death of his friend, Orson Welles, in post-World War II Vienna never loses its impact no matter how many times you watch it. “Like the fella says, in Italy for 30 years under the Borgias they had warfare, terror, murder, and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and the Renaissance. In Switzerland they had brotherly love - they had 500 years of democracy and peace, and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock”. Director of Photography Robert Krasker won the Oscar for Best Cinematography, Black-and-White for the film. The film also garnered Oscar nominations, Carol Reed for Best Director and Oswald Hafenrichter for Best Film Editing. Dir. Carol Reed
Saturday, November 30, 1:00 PM – Friday, November 30, 7:00 PM
Run time is for all the films, we recommend watching all the films even though they aren’t noirs
1:00 PM
PEEPING TOM (1960): Voyeuristic cinematographer Mark (Karl Boehm) murders women as a result of a childhood spent as the guinea pig for his psychiatrist father’s experiments in fear which the doctor filmed for prosperity. A budding romance with his sweet neighbor (Anna Massey), a children’s book authoress, precipitates an emotional crisis for Mark. This classic film perfectly balances both horror and sympathy for the protagonist which along with the onscreen violence outraged critics of the time. Dir. Michael Powell
2:45 PM
MADE IN ENGLAND: THE FILMS OF POWELL AND PRESSBURGER (2024): Martin Scorsese reflects on the impressive careers and cinematic influence of the British film-making partners Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger including Powell’s downfall due to the then reviled and now lauded Peeping Tom (1960). Dir. David Hinton
Saturday, November 30, 1:00 PM & Sunday, December 1, 7:00 AM
NAKED ALIBI (1954): A murder suspect (Gene Barry), released for lack of evidence, vows vengeance on the cops who brutalized him. When one of those cops turns up dead, his partner (Sterling Hayden) hunts down the "innocent" man to prove him guilty. Both end up in thrall to border town bad girl Gloria Grahame, whose unique sexiness is on full display in this ultra-rare potboiler! Dir. Jerry Hooper
Saturday, November 30, 11:15 AM
THE LAST OF SHELIA (1973): Movie producer Clinton Greene hopes to solve the mystery surrounding his wife's death the year before by inviting the suspects aboard his yacht and engaging them in an elaborate mystery game. He assigns everyone a secret that they are not to share with anyone. Every day for the next six days, they will call into a port where they will be given clues to discover one person's secret. The game takes a deadly twist when a murder takes place. The guests comprise Richard Benjamin, James Mason, Joan Hackett, Raquel Welch, Dyan Cannon, and Ian McShane. Co-writers Stephen Sondheim and Anthony Perkins used to host murder mystery parlor games. Guests included producer and director Herbert Ross, who encouraged them to write a script based on this type of party. Dir. Herbert Ross
The Manchurian Candidate on November 2
Eddie Muller presents Nobody Lives Forever on the November 2-3 edition of NOIR ALLEY
Joan Crawford stars in The Damned Don't Cry on November 3
Gig Young stars in Hunt the Man Down on November 4
Ava Gardner, John Hodiak, and Robert Taylor in The Bribe on November 5
Ingrid Bergman in Gaslight on November 6
Robert Wagner homme fatal in A Kiss Before Dying on November 6
On location in San Francisco for Dark Passage screening November 6
Director Michael Powell's The Red Shoes on November 7
Crossroads screens November 8
Arriving incognito—Experiment in Terror on November 8
Eddie Muller presents Le deuxième souffle on the November 9-10 edition of NOIR ALLEY
Michel Simon stars in La Chienne on November 10
Harvey Keitel in Mean Streets on November 11
Hitchcock's Stranger on a Train on November 12
Steve Cochran and Ruth Roman in Tomorrow Is Another Day on November 12
Broderick Crawford and Ruth Roman in Down Three Dark Streets on November 12
Gregory Peck and Diane Baker star in Mirage on November 13
Made in England: the Films of Powell and Pressburger screens November 7, 14, and 30
Gavin and Leigh - on the set of Psycho playing November 16
Eddie Muller presents The Big Combo on the November 16-17 edition of NOIR ALLEY
Noir classic D.O.A. screens November 17
Mary Astor in The Maltese Falcon on November 19 and 24
Tom Conway stars in The Falcon in San Francisco on November 19
Ann Sheridan and Dennis O'Keefe in San Francisco — Woman on the Run on November 19
Bunny Lake Is Missing on November 20
Jeanne Moreau in The Bride Wore Black on November 20
Vanessa Redgrave and David Hemmings in Blow-Up on November 21
The Small Black Room screens November 22
Noir classic Double Indemnity on November 22
Robert Siodmak's Phantom Lady screens November 22
The Mask of Dimitrios on November 22
Peggy Cummins in Gun Crazy on November 23
Eddie Muller presents Trapped on the November 23-24 edition of NOIR ALLEY
Bogey & Bacall in The Big Sleep on November 24
Marie Windsor and Diana Dors in The Unholy Wife on November 25
Jayne Mansfield in Illegal on November 25
Sterling Hayden and Ruth Roman in 5 Steps to Danger on November 26
Paul Anka and Ruth Roman in Look in Any Woman on November 26
Director Irvin Kershner's Stakeout on Dope Street on November 26
Alan Arkin and Audrey Hepburn in Wait Until Dark on November 27
James Cagney stars in White Heat on November 29
Joseph Cotten in post-war Berlin—The Third Man on November 29
Director Michael Powell's Peeping Tom screens November 30
Eddie Muller presents Naked Alibi on the November 30-December 1 edition of NOIR ALLEY
Dyan Cannon in The Last of Shelia on November 30