Thursday May 8 Opening Night

7:30 PM Cry Wolf (1947)Warner Bros, 83 minutes, Screenplay by Catherine Turney, Produced by Henry Blanke, Directed by Peter Godfrey

Errol Flynn and Barbara Stanwyck share the screen in this darkly twisted tale about the mysterious death of a husband (Richard Basehart) whose widow (Stanwyck) confronts a forbidding uncle (Flynn) about a missing will. A creepy house, family secrets and a locked laboratory rachets up the tension in Catherine Turney’s suspenseful script as adapted from Marjorie Carleton’s 1945 novel. Co-starring Geraldine Brooks, Richard Basehart and Jerome Cowan. You don’t want to miss this ice-cold turn by Errol as he locks horns with a determined Babs who is committed to unraveling the strange death of her husband no matter at what cost.

Special Scheduled Guest: Rory Flynn who will sign her book The Baron of Mulholland: A Daughter Remembers Errol Flynn before the screening.

Festival opening night reception for all access pass holders & special guests following the screening.

Friday May 9

10:00 AM Swell Guy (1946) (35mm) Mark Hellinger Productions/Universal, 86 minutes. Screenplay by Richard Brooks, Produced by Mark Hellinger, Directed by Frank Tuttle

Mark Hellinger’s overlooked second production following his smash hit of The Killers (1946) is theatrically screened in Palm Springs for the first time anywhere in decades! Richard Brooks’ acidic adaptation of Gilbert Emery’s play concerns a famously heroic war correspondent (an improbable Sonny Tufts) who returns to his post WWII California home town and is gradually revealed to be a manipulative sociopath. Chief among those left in his destructive wake are a besotted Ann Blyth, sister Ruth Warrick, William Gargan as an oblivious brother and Mary Nash as Tuft’s long suffering mother. With: Thomas Gomez and Millard Mitchell.

1:00 PM Johnny O’Clock (1947) Sony- Columbia, 95 minutes, Screenplay by Robert Rossen, Produced by Edward G. Nealis, Directed by Robert Rossen

Dick Powell plays it tough as a gambling house overseer tied in with a gangster chieftain (Thomas Gomez), his restless wife (Ellen Drew) and a crooked policeman (Jim Bannon). When the bent cop and his girlfriend (Nina Foch) turn up missing, Powell becomes involved with the missing girl’s sister (Evelyn Keyes) while unraveling a Gordian knot of plot twists complicated by the presence of homicide detective Lee J. Cobb. A trio of top notch femme performers headed by Keyes, former Palm Desert resident Ellen Drew and Foch combine to give Powell a lot more than bargained for. Robert Rossen’s successful directorial debut of his taut script foreshadowed his Academy Award winning smash hit All the King’s Men two years later.

Eddie Muller will sign his book Dark City Dames: The Women Who Defined Film Noir before the screening.

4:00 PM Lust for Gold (1949) (35mm) Sony-Columbia, 90 minutes, Screenplay by Ted Sherdeman, Richard English adapted from a book by Barry Storm , Produced and directed by S. Sylvan Simon

The Superstition Mountains of Arizona are the setting for Glenn Ford and Ida Lupino to co-star in this compelling sagebrush noir. Barry Storm (William Prince) is obsessed to locate the elusive Lost Dutchman Gold Mine originally discovered by his grandfather Jacob Walz (Glenn Ford). Part fact, part legend, the mine has lured many fortune seekers to their deaths over generations. A parallel story, related in flashback, dramatically depicts the outcome of obsessive greed on both past and present protagonists. Striking Arizona location photography by cinematographer Archie Stout accentuates the performances of Ford, Lupino, Gig Young, Edgar Buchanan and Will Geer. The setting is the Southwest, but the story and characters are pure noir—you do not want to miss this frequently overlooked and underappreciated film!

7:30 PM Paid in Full (1950)Hal B. Wallis/Paramount, 98 minutes, Screenplay by Robert Blees, Charles Schnee. Story by Frederic M. Loomis, Produced by Hal B. Wallis, Directed by William Dieterle

Digital Theatrical Premiere!

The troubled relationship between two sisters (Lizabeth Scott and Diana Lynn) and stolid Robert Cummings is presented as a flashback of noir stained histrionics via an original story penned by an actual MD. William Dieterle gives free rein to the “good sister-bad sister” parable with a daring (for its time) screenplay that tested the forbearance of the MPAA’s Censor’s Office. With: Eve Arden, Ray Collins, Frank McHugh and Stanley Ridges. Paid in Full hasn’t been screened theatrically for decades nor released to home video or streaming. This sparkling new digital version is making its world premiere at the Arthur Lyons Film Noir Festival!

Saturday May 10

10:00 AM Unmasked (1950)Republic/Paramount, 60 minutes., Screenplay by Albert DeMond, Norman S. Hall, Manuel Self, Paul Yawitz., Directed by George Blair

Digital Theatrical Premiere!

Is there a film noir aficionado who can resist noir’s heaviest heavy Raymond Burr dominating the action as an odious sleaze of a scandal sheet publisher who seduces women and resorts to murder in order finance his schemes? This fast paced Republic programmer is firmly in the tradition of the “Death on the Cheap” noir genre with which the late Arthur Lyons began this festival over a quarter century ago. With: Hlllary Brooke, Robert Rockwell, Barbara Fuller and Paul Harvey.

1:00 PM Angel Face (1953)RKO/Warner Bros. 91 min. Screenplay by Frank Nugent and Oscar Millard., Story by Chester Erskine, Produced and directed by Otto Preminger
Ambulance driver Frank Jessop (Robert Mitchum) responds to an emergency at a hilltop Beverly Hills mansion and becomes smitten by heiress Diane Tremayne (Jean Simmons). Their heated affair quickly goes off the rails after Diane’s parents unexpectedly drop out of the picture. With a story inspired by an actual Southern California criminal case, Otto Preminger wrung wonderful performances from his duo of stars even though they couldn’t stand him. Simmons related how Preminger had Robert Mitchum “slap me till my face was black and blue!” After Mitchum informed Preminger that his next swing would deck the autocratic director, filming was suspended for the rest of the day! With: Mona Freeman, Herbert Marshall, Barbra O’Neil, Leon Ames, and Kenneth Tobey.

4:00 PM The Friends of Eddie Coyle (1973) Paramount, 102 minutes, Screenplay by Paul Monash based on the novel by George V. Higgins., Directed by Peter Yates

Robert Mitchum is superb as a low-level New England gangster treading in dangerous waters by attempting to avoid a return trip to prison. Paul Monash’s script perfectly adapts the Boston organized crime milieu captured in George V. Higgins acclaimed 1970 novel (Elmore Leonard said Higgins’ book permanently altered his outlook on writing crime fiction with its emphasis on characterization) with a terrific ensemble cast including Peter Boyle, Richard Boyle, Richard Jordan and Stephen Keats. One of the finest neo-noir films of the 1970s is deftly helmed by Peter Yates (Bullitt, The Deep) on location in Boston and its environs (Rated R for moderate violence and profanity).

7:30 PM The Unseen (1945)Paramount/Universal, 81 minutes, Screenplay by Hagar Wilde, Raymond Chandler, Ken Englund Based on Ethel Lina White’s novel., Produced by John Houseman, Directed by Lewis Allen

This seldom-seen unofficial “sequel” to The Uninvited (1944) stars Joel McCrea as a widower who hires a young governess (Gail Russell) for his two young children (Nona Griffith and Richard Lyon). Russell becomes intensely curious about a supposedly shuttered brownstone across the street and her employer’s guarded personality amid the recent murder of a homeless woman. Three writers including Raymond Chandler labored to adapt Ethel Lina White’s Her Heart in Her Throat, folding in supernatural, horror and noir elements in a suspenseful tale co-starring Herbert Marshall, Phyllis Brooks and previous festival guest Norman Lloyd.

Scheduled Special Guest: Wyatt McCrea

Sunday May 11

 10:00 AM Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye (1950)Cagney Productions/Warner Bros./Paramount ,102 minutes, Screenplay by Harry Brown adapted from Horace McCoy’s novel , Produced by William Cagney, Directed by Gordon Douglas

James Cagney plumbs frigid depths of cinematic cruelty in his most cynical gangster portrayal this side of Cody Jarrett in White Heat! As Ralph Cotter, Cagney crashes out of prison, murders his confederate and shacks up with his departed cellmate’s sister (Barbara Payton). Orchestrating a crime wave abetted by corrupt cops (Ward Bond and Barton MacLane) and a savvy, politically connected lawyer (Luther Adler), he finds time to romance a comely heiress (Helena Carter) while playing everybody off against each other. This uncompromisingly violent adaptation of Horace McCoy’s novel was banned in Ohio and heavily censored in other locales. Not for the faint of heart!

1:00 PM Act of Violence (1948)MGM/Warner Bros. 82 minutes, Screenplay by: Robert L. Richards, Collier Young, Produced by William H. Wright, Directed by Fred Zinneman

The only film noir helmed by pantheon director Fred Zinneman (High Noon, From Here to Eternity, A Man for All Seasons) is a gut-wrenching story about the consequences of a catastrophic moral failure occurring during World War II. A former Army pilot and liberated Prisoner of War, Fred Enley (Van Heflin) seemingly has it made: A heroic war record parlayed into successful post war home building business with a lovely young wife (Janet Leigh) and baby in the suburbs. However, a dark wartime secret in the person of a vengeful Joe Parkson (Robert Ryan) emerges to turn his sedate suburban life into a nightmarish race through the shabby streets of downtown LA towards a shattering conclusion. Co-starring Mary Astor (an unforgettable turn), Phyllis Thaxter, a slimy Berry Kroeger and Taylor Holmes.

 4:00 PM On the Waterfront (1954) Horizon-American/Sony-Columbia, 108 minutes, Screenplay by Budd Schulberg (based on the journalism of Malcolm Johnson), Produced by Sam Spiegel, Directed by Elia Kazan

One of the most acclaimed American films makes its first appearance at the Arthur Lyons Film Noir Festival! Budd Schulberg’s story of waterfront corruption and moral redemption was nominated for twelve Academy Awards, winning eight including: Best Picture, Best Director (Elia Kazan) Best Actor (Marlon Brando), Best Supporting Actress (Eva Marie Saint) and Best Cinematography (Boris Kaufman). Buttressed by the memorable supporting performances of Rod Steiger and Lee J. Cobb with a brilliant ensemble cast plus Leonard Bernstein’s unforgettable score, one can debate Waterfront’s noir credentials but its visceral dramatic power remains as soulfully vibrant during the picture’s seventieth year from its initial release.

 7:00 PM Nightmare Alley
(2021)
Searchlight Pictures/Disney, 150 minutes

Special Ticketed Event! (Not included in All Access Pass. All Access Passholders can purchase this ticket for 50% off.)
Screenplay by Guillermo Del Toro and Kim Morgan. Based on William Lindsay Gresham’s novel., Produced by J. Miles Dale, Guillermo Del Toro and Bradley Cooper, Directed by Guillermo Del Toro

Guillermo Del Toro’s mesmerizing adaptation of William Lindsay Gresham’s dark novel is a brilliant realization of carny grifter Stan Carlisle’s (Bradley Cooper) twisted odyssey. Carlisle gloms onto a mindreading spiritualist act run by a fellow carnival huckster (Toni Colette) and her drunken husband (David Strathairn). The manipulative Carlisle elevates the act to the top of the nightclub circuit where he meets a beautifully diabolical psychoanalyst (Cate Blanchett) who has her own set of mind games to play. Nominated for four Academy Awards, this passionate film takes the viewer into Gresham’s nightmarish midway world with stunning production design, a superbly crafted script and set piece performances: Also starring: Willem Dafoe, Richard Jenkins, Rooney Mara, Ron Perlman and Mary Steenburgen,

Scheduled special guests: Guillermo Del Toro and Kim Morgan

Note: Nightmare Alley is a Special Ticketed Event of the Arthur Lyons Film Noir Festival: This screening is not included as part of the All-Access Festival Pass. All Access Passholders can purchase tickets for 50% off.

Scheduled Festival Special Guests are subject to availability