Eddie Muller is known in some circles as The Czar of Noir. He's written a few books on the topic. I read and loved, Dark City, myself. He also hosts and manages not just the San Francisco based Noir City festival (now in its 11th year), but he also hosts other noir festivals around the country.
I first became aware of Eddie when I went to The Alamo Ritz to see The Prowler in a print restored with proceeds earned for the Film Noir Foundation at Noir City. He's spent decades tracking down the films and some of the stars, now mostly forgotten except by the noir audience, and out of that - he's an excellent story teller, warm host for interviews and a really decent guy.
My pal Jenifer (@J__Swift) knows Eddie a bit, and so she introduced me at Noir City X. Eddie was exceedingly kind to a dopey guy from Texas, making sure we got a tour of the Hammett apartment on Pike Street, and we agreed that the cinnamon laced bourbon they were serving was more than a little iffy.
Eddie isn't going to trot out the crowd pleasers, necessarily. We've already all seen Gilda and Laura. But he will uncover gems you might not otherwise ever see, and which have special qualities or performances you don't see anywhere else.
Of the films, Eddie selected four and the fifth was chosen by TCM as a special nod to Eddie and his restoration efforts for the film.
- Cry Danger
- 99 River Street
- Tomorrow is Another Day
- The Breaking Point
- The Prowler
I've got my DVR set, and I'm looking forward to seeing the films on this list I've not caught before. Very much looking forward to the intros we'll see.
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ReplyDeleteOoops. I didn't mean to erase that. Just mentioning that I've playing LA Noir on XBox. It has its high and low points. Has some cool noir storytelling and good art. On the downside, the gameplay feels a little contrived and limiting. Interesting concept, though. Involves finding clues and interrogations and whatnot- not all shooting.
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