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A Weekend of Film Noir
ArtsEmerson: The World on Stage Presents: Noir Nights
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If you have ever dreamed of a four day festival that played classic film noir films from the 40s and 50s, then you are in luck. From June 9th-12th, ArtsEmerson will hold a weekend festival called Noir Nights, showing six classic films of the film noir genre. Noir Nights showcases directors and actors that helped define the genre, and gives the audience an opportunity to watch classic Hollywood styled dramas that once ruled theaters many decades ago.
On June 9th, the festival kicks off with a double feature of one of the genre’s memorable directors, Robert Siodmak. His film The Dark Mirror (1946), starts the festival at 6 p.m. The film stars Olivia de Haviland, who inhabits the roles of identical twin sisters, one of them identified by witnesses as responsible for a grisly murder. But which one? Oscar nominated for best original story, this mystery will keep you guessing. (85 mins) Up next is Siodmak’s Cry of the City (1948), a dark crime drama that puts a ruthless New York hood (Richard Conte) against once childhood friend, now adversary Lieutenant Candella (Victor Mature).A dark film filled with murder and betrayal. (95 mins)
June 10th focuses on the film noir roles of Ray Milland, best known for his Oscar winning performances in The Lost Weekend (1945) and Dial M for Murder (1954). His first film of the night is So Evil My Love (1948), directed by Lewis Allen, starts at 7 p.m. In one of his first brazenly bad guy roles, Milland plays a con artist who wiles his charming way into the heart of a missionary’s widow (Ann Todd), who abandons her morals to help her lover in deception, theft and blackmail.(112 mins) Following is Milland’s Alias Nick Beal (1949) directed by John Farrow. Milland stars as the mysterious Nick Beal, the Mephistophelean tempter. District Attorney Joseph Foster (Thomas Mitchell) is after an elusive gangster when Beal offers his assistance. (93 mins)
June 11th features films by two directors whose grim visions put their characters in scenarios of violence and crime, along with questioning the modern systems of justice. At 7pm, the night starts off with Phil Karson’s Tight Spot (1955). In the adaption to Lenard Kantor’s play Dead Pigeon, Ginger Rogers stars as a former moll and now endangered material witness for the prosecution of a notorious gangster. (97 mins) Following that is Fritz Lang’s Beyond a Reasonable Doubt (1956); Lang displays a film that is a pessimistic portrait of the modern world, with its characters tortured by questions of guilt, innocence and their own dark destinies. (80 mins)
On June 12th, the last night of the festival, Beyond Reasonable Doubt (1956) plays again at 5:30 p.m., followed by The Dark Mirror (1946) at 7:15 p.m.
Films are screened at Emerson College’s Paramount Center (559 Washington St., Boston), in the Bright Family Screening Room. Tickets are $10, or $7.50 for members, and are available in advance at www.ArtsEmerson.org, or by calling 617-824-8400. Discounted tickets for seniors are $7.50, and $5 for all students with valid ID and children under 18. A festival pass, good for four admissions to any of the screenings in Noir Nights will be available for $30 ($40 value). Discounted tickets are available in person at the Box Office only. For more information visit www.ArtsEmerson.org