Stay ConnectedNOIR TALK is a podcast devoted to discussing the Film Noir Foundation. It is the foundation’s mission to find and preserve noir films in danger of deterioration, damage or loss, and to ensure that high quality prints of these classic films remain in circulation for theatrical exhibition to future generations.
The views and opinions of guests do not necessarily reflect those of the Film Noir Foundation, or its directors and advisors.
Emmy-nominated producer and author Steven C. Smith joins us for a tour of film noir musical scores and their composers. This is the first of a two-part episode. The composers and movie scores we discuss, including music clips, are indicated below: Adolph Deutsch - The Maltese Falcon (6:30) Miklos Rozsa - Double Indemnity (10:45), Criss Cross (18:40), The Killers (21:40) George Bassman - The Postman Always Rings Twice (28:45) David Raksin - Laura (31:40), Force Of Evil (38:50) Roy Webb - Murder My Sweet (43:20) Max Steiner - The Big Sleep (47:05) NOIR CITY Detroit tickets and All Movie Pass available at: http://redfordtheatre.com/ Steven C. Smith's "Bernard Herrmann and the Music of Desire: An essay on the Composer’s Noir soundtracks" from NOIR CITY #3: http://www.noircitymag.com/noir_city_3.html A Heart At Fire's Center: The Life And Music Of Bernard Herrmann: https://www.amazon.com/Heart-Fires-Center-Bernard-Herrmann/dp/0520229398 Please send us any feedback you have on our show to podcast@filmnoirfoundation.org. Intro music: Theme from Out Of The Past, by Roy Webb.
Crime novelist Jake Hinkson joins us to discuss his articles about film noir and his other writing. We begin with the upcoming NOIR CITY Chicago festival, featuring a special anniversary screening of L.A. Confidential with author James Ellroy in person, plus some other hard-hitting heist films (2:25). Then we discuss how how Jake got started writing for the FNF's NOIR CITY e-magazine, during the long-ago internet era of Myspace (15:55). Two of Jake's NOIR CITY profiles focus on lesser-known actors with sad stories off-screen as well as on. We talk about the dramatic and scandalous life of Detour star Tom Neal (17:50) and the ill-fated Peggie Castle, who made striking impressions with great noir performances in 99 River Street and I, The Jury (33:10). Then we lighten the mood with Jake's article on the B-movie cult classic Wicked Woman, which led to a happy ending off-screen in the lifelong marriage of star Beverly Michaels and director Russell Rouse (45:20). We also share some fun stories about seeing the movie with appreciative audiences at NOIR CITY film festivals (51:45). We conclude with Jake discussing his approach and themes in his novels and other writing (55:10), plus meeting and talking with his well-read and noir-crazy readers in France (58:30). NOIR CITY CHICAGO 2017 schedule and tickets: https://www.musicboxtheatre.com/events/noir-city-chicago-2017 "Tom Neal: The Broken Man" from NOIR CITY #6: http://www.noircitymag.com/noir_city_6.html "The Girl They Loved to Kill: The Many Deaths of Peggie Castle" from NOIR CITY #8: http://www.noircitymag.com/noir_city_8.html "Wicked Woman: Beverly Michaels and Russell Rouse" from NOIR CITY #13: http://www.noircitymag.com/noir_city_13.html More info on Jake's books and other writings at: https://www.jakehinkson.com/ Please send us any feedback you have on our show to podcast@filmnoirfoundation.org. Music: Themes from Classe Tous Risques (by Georges Delerue), L.A. Confidential (Jerry Goldsmith), and The Night Of The Hunter (Walter Schumann). "Wicked Woman" (Buddy Baker and Joe Mullendore) sung by Herb Jeffries. Dialogue from Detour (with Tom Neal and Ann Savage) and 99 River Street (Peggie Castle and John Payne).
The art director for the Film Noir Foundation's NOIR CITY e-magazine joins us to talk graphic design, comic books, and boxing. We begin with how Michael first started working with the FNF (3:00), plus designing the website and other projects for Eddie Muller's Black Pool Productions (5:50). We also discuss the process of designing each issue of NOIR CITY (8:30), including the use of multi-media video and audio clips (15:00). Then we talk about the NOIR CITY comics issue, starting with Michael's article "Batman in the '70s: First Rebirth of the Bat" on the character's development over the years (19:40), and how Batman's dark turn in the 1970s is still influencing comics and movies today (30:35). We also delve into Michael's choices for the all-time Top 10 noir comics (35:30). Next we discuss how Marvel's movie production chief is combining the approach of classic Hollywood studio moguls and Marvel legend Stan Lee (42:00), plus some indications that DC is starting to move in that direction with their movies (49:50). Your host then seizes the opportunity to coach everyone on saying the chronically mispronounced name of Wonder Woman star Gal Gadot (53:10). We conclude with the sweet science, including Michael's love of boxing inherited from his ex-prizefighter dad (55:00), his all-time Top 5 boxing movies (56:40), and his new boxing e-magazine Ringside Seat (1:06:00). Michael's designs for Black Pool Productions, including Eddie Muller's book "Gun Crazy: The Origin Of American Outlaw Cinema" available at: http://blackpoolproductions.com/ NOIR CITY comics issue: http://www.noircitymag.com/noir_city_14.html The Batcave Companion: https://www.amazon.com/Batcave-Companion-Michael-Eury/dp/1893905780 Ringside Seat magazine: http://ringsideseatmag.com/ Light And Noir Film Festival in Sacramento on July 22: http://www.crestsacramento.com/event/1508401-light-noir-film-festival-pass-sacramento/ Please send us any feedback you have on our show to podcast@filmnoirfoundation.org. Music: Themes from Sunset Blvd (by Franz Waxman) and Gun Crazy (Victor Young), Guglielmo Ratcliff: Intermezzo (Pietro Mascagni) from Raging Bull. Dialogue from The Dark Knight (with Heath Ledger and Christian Bale) and Batman: Mask Of The Phantasm (Mark Hamill).
The co-authors of the classic Hollywood mysteries "Design For Dying" and "Dangerous To Know" join us to talk noir, costume design, and mystery writing. We start with their appearance at NOIR CITY Hollywood to introduce This Gun For Hire (2:30), as well as some of this year's movies at their hometown festival of NOIR CITY Seattle, including The Taking Of Pelham 123 and The Ladykillers (4:00). We also discuss the editing and production of the Film Noir Foundation's NOIR CITY e-magazine, where Vince is the co-managing editor (13:20), plus Vince's long-running "Cocktails And Crime" e-magazine column (17:45). Then it's on to legendary costume designer Edith Head. We talk about the Keenans' e-magazine article exploring her career and her work on film noir (21:00), her partnerships with Alfred Hitchcock and Grace Kelly (28:20), plus her work designing clothes for the Academy Awards and for Bette Davis (32:10). Edith Head co-stars in the Keenans' books written under the pseudonym Renee Patrick. We discuss the origins of writing mystery novels centered around costume design in classic Hollywood, plus Edith's partner in fighting crime, Lillian Frost (37:40). Then we talk about the mechanics of mystery writing (where Vince explains the term "pantser") (43:50), choosing the books' titles (46:50), some of the amazing true Hollywood stories and real-life people who appear throughout the novels (51:00), inventing names for a fictional movie studio and some particularly entertaining fake movie titles (1:05:40), and what's next for Lillian and Edith in more novels to come (1:12:55). Contribute to the FNF to receive a year-long subscription to the quarterly NOIR CITY e-magazine: http://www.filmnoirfoundation.org/noircityemag.html More information on the Renee Patrick novels at their website reneepatrickbooks.com, including the origin of the pseudonym here: http://reneepatrickbooks.com/blog/faq-3 Design For Dying: https://www.amazon.com/Design-Dying-Lillian-Frost-Edith/dp/0765381842/ Dangerous To Know: https://www.amazon.com/Dangerous-Know-Lillian-Frost-Edith/dp/0765381869/ Vince's classic cocktail book "Down The Hatch" is available on Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/Down-Hatch-Odyssey-Through-Cocktail-ebook/dp/B00FIU1IQC/ Please send us feedback on the podcast at podcast@filmnoirfoundation.org. Music: Themes from The Sniper (by George Antheil), Double Indemnity (Miklos Rozsa), The Ladykillers (Tristram Cary), and Rear Window (Franz Waxman). Edith Head's narration from the Motion Picture Academy short film "The Costume Designer": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCmXDnneSlg
Our guest this month is film critic and historian Imogen Sara Smith. We start by discussing her background as a film writer and how she started writing about noir in particular (1:40). Then we discuss her commentary track for the new DVD/Blu-ray release of The Scar (aka Hollow Triumph), including the central role of star/producer/director Paul Henreid (5:30), the movie's theme of people not noticing things right in front of them and how that relates to film noir in general (10:25), the great cinematography by John Alton and expressionism in noir (13:40), and one quote from the movie that sums up film noir all in one phrase (18:35). Then we discuss Imogen's NOIR CITY e-magazine article "Wanted Man: The Fugitive" from the Fall 2016 issue about noir transitioning to TV in the 1960s: how The Fugitive exemplified themes and style common to film noir (20:20), older TV shows not being designed for binge-watching (28:50), and the influence of the show's creator Roy Huggins in designing TV concepts that sustain suspense and interest from one episode to the next (31:05). Next up is Imogen's article "A Light In The Dark: Ella Raines and Film Noir's Working Girls" from the Fall 2015 issue of NOIR CITY. We talk about the background and career of 1940s leading lady Ella Raines (35:40) and how she epitomized the working girl character that briefly flourished in film noir, a positive companion to the more widely known femme fatale character (40:00). Then we play a game of hypotheticals: Raines was discovered and groomed by Howard Hawks, but she never appeared in any movies he directed, so which "Hawksian women" would have been good parts for her? (45:35) We also talk about Imogen's book "In Lonely Places: Film Noir Beyond The City." We discuss its overall theme of classic noir films taking place in settings outside cities, and how that reflected post-war trends in the US (56:15), plus just what is it that makes film noir so interesting: we all love the style and the iconography, but there's way more to it that keeps us coming back to these movies that still resonate today (59:55). We conclude with the film series that Imogen programmed in connection with her book (1:08:00). NOIR CITY Austin takes place from Friday May 19 through Sunday May 21 at Austin's Alamo Drafthouse Ritz, with FNF founder and president Eddie Muller introducing the movies. Schedule and tickets available here: https://drafthouse.com/austin/program/noir-city-austin-2017 The new Blu-ray release of The Scar (aka Hollow Triumph), with commentary track by Imogen Sara Smith, is available from Kino Lorber: https://www.kinolorber.com/product/view/id/4033 Imogen's article "Wanted Man: The Fugitive" is in the Fall 2016 issue of the NOIR CITY e-magazine. Subscribe with a donation to the Film Noir Foundation: http://www.filmnoirfoundation.org/noircityemag.html The article "A Light In The Dark: Ella Raines and Film Noir's Working Girls" is from the Women In Film Noir issue of NOIR CITY, available for back-order here: http://www.noircitymag.com/noir_city_16.html The book "In Lonely Places: Film Noir Beyond The City" is available here: https://www.amazon.com/Lonely-Places-Film-Noir-Beyond/dp/0786463058 Feedback: podcast@filmnoirfoundation.org Music: Themes from The Killers (by Miklos Rozsa) and On Dangerous Ground (Bernard Herrmann). "One For My Baby (and One More For The Road)" by Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer, sung by Ida Lupino in Roadhouse. Dialogue from The Scar, with Paul Henreid and Joan Bennett. Opening credits from The Fugitive narrated by William Conrad.
Our guest this month is Film Noir Foundation charter director and treasurer Alan K. Rode. We discuss the recent NOIR CITY Hollywood festival, starting with a brief history of the festival and some of this year's movies including Address Unknown and Quiet Please Murder (4:15), a nod to the studios supporting the FNF with great prints of rare titles for the NOIR CITY festivals (8:40), how B-movies were promoted with unusual titles and innovative screenwriting (9:50), a few anecdotes on alternate movie titles from old Hollywood (12:25), plus the challenges of finding film prints of long-unseen movies, including one with no opening credits, and untangling issues involving multiple rights-owners (14:20). Then we talk about the upcoming Arthur Lyons Film Noir Festival in Palm Springs. We discuss the festival's origins and Alan continuing the work of its late founder (20:50), behind-the-scenes stories with guests over the years including Ernest Borgnine, Norman Lloyd, Barbara Hale, Nancy Olson, and Jon Polito (25:00), the unique festival atmosphere of Palm Springs, with unplanned cast and crew reunions (30:50), videos available online of guest interviews, such as June Lockhart on acting with dogs on Lassie and battling vegetables on Lost In Space (34:45), and a preview of this year's festival guests and movie lineup, including Meet Danny Wilson and All The King's Men (38:35). We also discuss how Alan's family connections with old Hollywood influenced him growing up (45:10), his biography of Charles McGraw and narrating Hollywood history through a non-superstar's perspective (48:05), reviving interest in McGraw's movies (52:50), and background on Alan's upcoming Michael Curtiz biography (55:00). The 18th annual Arthur Lyons Film Noir Festival will be held from May 11-14: http://arthurlyonsfilmnoir.ning.com/ Video interviews of festival guest appearances at Palm Springs are available at: http://www.filmnoirfoundation.org/video.html Alan details his Hollywood family remembrances at his website: https://alankrode.com/index.php/dinner-with-alfonse-a-family-remembrance Alan's book "Charles McGraw: Film Noir Tough Guy" is available at: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0786471727/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0786471727&linkCode=as2&tag=%20mywebsite6008-20&linkId=7f2e1fb4113f877af109260a30572b8b "Michael Curtiz: A Life In Film" will be available in November: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06WVDXBQV/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B06WVDXBQV&linkCode=as2&tag=%20mywebsite6008-20&linkId=60ae087f92eda5d0feebd6ceca5160f2 NOIR CITY film festival posters, souvenir program, and e-magazine back issues are available at: http://www.noircity.com/noircityware.html Feedback: podcast@filmnoirfoundation.org Music: Themes from The Asphalt Jungle (by Miklos Rozsa) and The Accused (Victor Young). "That Old Black Magic" (Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer) from Meet Danny Wilson (sung by Frank Sinatra). Dialogue from The Narrow Margin, with Charles McGraw and Marie Windsor.
Welcome to NOIR TALK, a podcast devoted to discussing the Film Noir Foundation. Our first guest is FNF founder and president Eddie Muller. We start with a tribute to the late Turner Classic Movies host Robert Osborne (3:00), and then we discuss Eddie's new TCM series Noir Alley (9:00), his scheduled appearance at the upcoming TCM Festival (22:00), and the NOIR CITY Annual compendium of e-magazine articles from 2016 (26:00). Then we talk about the NOIR CITY festival theme for the year, The Big Knockover (37:00), heist movies featuring terrific ensemble casts (47:00), NOIR CITY festival audiences (50:00), an interesting Italian film in this year's festival lineup (52:00), this year's festival poster featuring Ms. NOIR CITY 2017 (56:00), a local guest at the San Francisco festival (1:02:00), a preview of NOIR CITY Hollywood (1:05:00), Eddie's approach to programming film festivals with both rare and famous titles (1:10:00), and showing movies digitally while still supporting film preservation (1:14:00). Sign up for the FNF email list and contribute for a NOIR CITY e-magazine subscription: http://www.filmnoirfoundation.org/signup.html NOIR CITY Annual 2016 available at: https://www.amazon.com/Noir-City-Annual-No-9/dp/0692808329/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1489529589&sr=1-1 See the NOIR CITY 2017 movie lineup and poster at http://noircity.com/index.html Feedback: podcast@filmnoirfoundation.org Music: Themes from The Asphalt Jungle (by Miklos Rozsa), Sweet Smell Of Success (Elmer Bernstein), Rififi (Georges Auric)
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