by Frank Calvillo
For every Austin cinephile, the teaming up between the Alamo Drafthouse and the Film Noir Foundation continues to be one of the most rewarding partnerships, with large numbers of the genre’s local fans turning up every year to experience the seedier side of life on the big screen. For one weekend each year, the FNF and the Alamo Drafthouse Ritz come up with an assortment of titles, beloved staples and lost treasures recently unearthed by the foundation, each of which bear that unmistakable noir stain. It’s a weekend where the indellible work from the likes of Barbara Stanwyck, Edward G. Robinson and Susan Hayward can run wild and free in all its dark glory.
However, it wouldn’t be the Alamo Drafthouse if there weren’t some one-of-a-kind twist in the programming. This year’s Noir City Austin, presented in co-operation with the Austin Film Society, is certainly no exception as the lineup spotlighted the art of the B-movie with each screening being presented as a double bill. On the A-side of every showing there was a beloved noir classic starring an instantly recognizable face, while on the B-side a virtually unknown title featuring an assortment of underrated character actors immediately followed. As always, each title included a vast and interesting history, which was delivered courtesy of FNF President and Founder Eddie Muller, who was on hand once again as Noir City Austin’s host, promising the audience: “an entertaining crash course in the history of film noir.”
Each of the A-side titles of Noir City Austin were, as expected, enthralling and diverse as can be with a number of specific highlights. The festival kicked off with the classic This Gun For Hire, the first teaming of powerhouse on-screen couple Veronica Lake and Alan Ladd, while Lucille Ball showed a different side of herself in the flawless The Dark Corner. Meanwhile, Scarlet Street saw the one and only Fritz Lang in perfect noir mode directing Greenstreet, Joan Bennett and Dan Duryea in one of the festival’s darker entries and The Fallen Sparrow starring John Garfield and Maureen O’Hara beautifully mixed noir elements with a sharp commentary on the effects of war.
But this year’s Noir City Austin was definitely a celebration of the B-movie and all its unheralded storytelling prowess. Muller wasted no time in dispelling the myth that anything labeled a B-movie instantly made it cinematic garbage. “Movie audiences back then always saw a double bill: an A-film and a B-film,” he explained. “It had nothing to do with the quality of the film. This is as close to what going to the movies was like in the film noir era.”
Muller was proven to be right as the collection of B-sides were a treasure trove of involving plots featuring top level work by some of the era’s most underrated performers, writers and directors. There was Fly-by-Night (so rare that only one print remains), which brilliantly mixed a Hitchcockian plot with elements of romantic comedy, and My Name is Julia Ross, a deeply maddening exercise which Muller branded as one of the essential “woman in jeopardy” titles. Elsewhere, Night Editor (largely forgotten due to its inability to launch a successful film series) eloquently displayed suspense and pathos as only the genre can, while Blindspot (easily the best of the B-movies shown during the weekend) was a noirish whodunit like no other.
The ultimate highlight of Noir City Austin without question was the screening of the virtually unavailable Flesh and Fantasy, a dark, somewhat surreal anthology, which strung together a collection of various stories dealing in crime, romance and fate. The film was directed by French Director Julien Duvivier, whose innovative European approach was considered too artistic by mainstream Hollywood. Upon completion of Flesh and Fantasy, the powers that be hacked off the film’s first vignette reportedly due to studio star Deanna Durbin’s insistence stemming from her envy over rising talent Gloria Jean’s breathtaking work in the film. The studio then recruited director-for-hire Reginald LeBorg to film additional scenes resulting in the pieced-together Destiny, which screened this year as the B-side to Flesh and Fantasy. The entire screening proved bittersweet for yours truly. While I found both films diverting in their own ways (one more than the other obviously), I couldn’t help but weep a bit at the surrealist noir masterpiece that was lost.
While there’s nothing but great fun to be had at Noir City for many a genre fan, it should never be forgotten that the reason for the festival’s existence in the first place is the relentlessly committed efforts of the FNF and their ongoing tireless mission of preserving these films in any way they can. The most visible of these ways can certainly be found in the very many items on display for purchase at every Noir City. Swag such as t-shirts, books, films and poster art are all up for grabs with proceeds going straight to the foundation. Seeing films such as Too Late for Tears and Woman on the Run (both once lost titles which were also Noir City Austin openers of previous years) now being available on Blu-Ray by the FNF, it’s hard not to find some level of comfort and security at the idea of such an organization existing.
It was inevitable that there should be a sadness that accompanied the end of Noir City Austin. I’m fairly certain in saying that there wasn’t a single person in that theater who didn’t want to spend more time in that world watching these men and women displaying their dark antics, while at the same time, offering up different and surprising shades of humanity. Even more overpowering than the sadness of the festival ending however, was the sense of fulfillment at all the rich and dynamic storytelling which had filled the weekend as Muller and company once again succeeded in re-defining of one of every movie lover’s favorite film genres.
For more information on Noir City, including ways of contributing to the Film Noir Foundation:
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