[SkateDC] Free Film Series: Noir on New York Streets [Off Topic]

[George Marinkovich]

The National Gallery of Art (NGA) begins its "Noir on New York Streets" film festival this weekend.  Like all films at the NGA it's free.  
The entire film festival is described below (also at http://www.nga.gov/programs/film.shtm#series).  
Details about the location of the theater are described at the end of this note (also at http://www.nga.gov/programs/film.shtm).  
For a description of "film noir" see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_noir.
The films this weekend are:

October 21 (Saturday) at 3:00 p.m.
Side Street (1950, dir. Anthony Mann, w/ Farley Granger)
"Needing a little money to provide his pregnant wife with the 'finer' things in life, private mail carrier, Joe Norson [Granger], steals an envelope filled with cash from an office on his route.  Unknown to Norson, the money is a payoff in a blackmail scheme that involves several murders.  Taking some of the stolen money, Norson begins to construct his dream world.  However, he starts having second thoughts about his crime.  Attempting to return the remaining cash, he is met with feigned ignorance of its existence..." From A. Silver and E. Ward, "Film Noir: An Encyclopedic Reference to the American Style"
  

  October 21 (Saturday) at 4:30 p.m.
The House on 92nd Street (1945, dir. Henry Hathaway)
"A brilliant student, Bill Dietrich, is approached by the Nazis and asked to join the German cause, but he informs the F.B.I. of this attempted recruitment.  They ask him to become an undercover agent and report the activities of German espionage and subversion. [...] Discovering that the Germans have been getting information concerning the top secret American A-bomb project, Dietrich is determined to discover the identity of the high-level traitor..."

October 22 (Sunday) at 5:00 p.m. 
The Naked City (1948, dir. Jules Dassin, w/ Barry Fitzgerald, Howard Duff)
"The seemingly unexplained murder of a beatiful young woman sets off a police investigation headed by veteran detective Dan Muldoon [Fitzgerald].  Working with a younger and uninspired assistant, Jimmy Halloran [Duff], the two detectives begin by tracing down a number of unsubstantial leads.  The investigators eventually narrow the search down to two suspects..."
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The Schedule for the Film Series:
Noir on New York Streets October 21, 22, 28, and 29
   November 4  From Queens row houses to Brooklyn warehouses to flashing Broadway neon, New York City has inspired many of Hollywood's classic genres. This group of films depicts neither a mythic New York nor a clever recreation of a social mood. The focus instead is on real locations (even down to specific addresses) in the service of that most grisly of genres: the vintage film noir. The series is shown in association with the exhibition The Streets of New York. Special thanks to New York's Film Forum, Bruce Goldstein, and Michael Jeck.
Side Street October 21 at 3:00 p.m. Disgruntled postal worker Farley Granger, dipping his hand in the office till, finds he's been stealing from the wrong stash as Joseph Ruttenberg's taut cinematography traps him in a grid of one-way New York streets. Anthony Mann's noir nightmare, cast with men who seem plagued by obsessions they can't control, displays the director's "Germanic rigor... his original dictionary of ways in which to punish the human body." — Manny Farber (Anthony Mann, 1950, 35 mm, 80 mins.)
   
The House on 92nd Street  October 21 at 4:30 p.m. A ring of Nazi provocateurs is at work in New York City, and only German-American university student Bill Dietrich can crack it. " 'Adapted from cases in the espionage files of the FBI' as the prologue convincingly blares, The House on 92nd Street was filmed on 'actual locations,' including Bureau headquarters, while some outdoor crowd shots were taken from a special surveillance van borrowed from the Bureau" — Jason Sanders. The producer of the March of Time documentary newsreels teamed up with the FBI to create this it-really-happened thriller, complete with transvestite agents and bomb secrets. (Henry Hathaway, 1945, 35 mm, 89 mins.)
   
The Naked City  October 22 at 5:00 p.m. From 52 West 83rd, the site of a murder, Barry Fitzgerald and Don Taylor of the 10th Precinct (230 West 23rd) track down leads from Stillman's Gym to the Roxy Theater to the City Morgue to Roosevelt Hospital, with a memorable showdown at the Williamsburg Bridge. William Daniels' on-location camerawork, inspired in part by Weegee, won the Oscar for best cinematography. (Jules Dassin, 1948, 35 mm, 96 mins.)
   
Force of Evil  October 28 at 2:00 p.m. The urban lyricism of soon-to-be blacklisted Abraham Polonsky's script, the modern textures of David Raskin's music, and the realism of George Barnes' photography (with key scenes at the George Washington Bridge, Federal Hall, 28 Wall Street, and the final East River rendezvous) make Force of Evil "a masterpiece — poetic, terse, beautifully exact, a re-creation in highly personal terms of the American underworld...." — Hollywood in the Forties (Abraham Polonsky, 35 mm, 1949, 80 mins.) Preservation funded by The Film Foundation and Archive Council.
   
Kiss of Death October 29 at 4:00 p.m. Norbert Brodine filmed on New York streets for this underrated if off-beat classic. Richard Widmark makes his debut as a sadistic killer, and Victor Mature is the stool pigeon trapped between two kinds of family loyalty — "the Mob and the Missus." Definitely of its period, Kiss of Death's nighttime New York is "peopled by daylight's misfits and when Mature's wife kills herself, a neighbor happily takes her place." — Paul Kerr (Henry Hathaway, 1947, 35 mm, 98 mins.)
   also
   Edge of the City
   From the mid-1950s cycle of Hollywood films about race problems, Edge of the City holds up especially well thanks to Martin Ritt's use of his New York milieu. Neurotic Axel Nordman (John Cassavetes), an army deserter with a guilt complex over the death of a brother, finds a job as a freight handler and gets therapy-by-example from his life-loving buddy, played by Sidney Poitier. The waterfront shooting (including the brutal baling-hook battle with foreman Charles Malik, played by Jack Warden) is among the best ever. (Martin Ritt, 1957, 35 mm, 85 mins.)
   
Killer's Kiss Introduction by critic James Naremore
   November 4 at 4:30 p.m. Down-on-his-luck boxer Davy Gordon (Jamie Smith) falls hard for Pleasureland hostess Gloria Price (Irene Kane), but club boss Vincent Rapallo (Frank Silvera) has his own plans. This Cassavetes-like blend of New York avant-garde and mood-drenched noir was shot, written, edited, produced, and directed on a miniscule budget by Stanley Kubrick (whose earlier career as a Look photographer came in handy here, especially in the surreal climactic fight in a mannequin-filled warehouse). (Stanley Kubrick, 35 mm, 1955, 67 mins.)   
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About NGA Film Programs



"An ongoing program of independent film, major retrospectives,   classic cinema, and area premieres occurs each weekend in the   500-seat National Gallery of Art auditorium. Documentary films   and videos on individual artists and film programs related   to National Gallery exhibitions are also a weekly feature.   Visiting filmmakers and scholars are often invited to discuss   films with the audience following screenings.

All programs are shown in the East Building Auditorium , 4th Street at Constitution Avenue NW. Film programs are free of charge, but seating is on a limited first-come, first-served basis. Seating for films begins approximately 30 minutes in advance of the program. To ensure a seat, please plan to arrive at least 10 minutes before show time. Programs are subject to change; for the latest information call (202) 842-6799.


  East Building Map: http://www.nga.gov/ginfo/ebmaps.shtm#concourse
The films are shown on the concourse level, one floor down from where you enter the museum, in the room labeled "Auditorium" on the map.
    

The East Building Auditorium is equipped with an FM wireless listening system for visitors who are hard of hearing. Receivers, ear phones, and neck loops are available at the East Building Art Information Desk near the main entrance. Please see our accessibility page for more information.
 To obtain a free quarterly film calendar by mail, contact us by e-mail at film-department at nga.gov. Please include your name and mailing address."

Enjoy,
George