Noir City 4 (January 13-26, 2006)

It's no secret that some of the greatest film noir pictures take place in San Francisco: The Maltese Falcon (a story celebrating its 75th anniversary this year), Out of the Past, The Lady from Shanghai, Dark Passage, D.O.A., This Gun for Hire, and Thieves' Highway, to name but a few. So it's fitting that San Francisco should host the world's premier film noir festival, Noir City.

In its fourth year, the brainchild of Eddie Muller (author of Dark City : The Lost World of Film Noir) unleashes its most ambitious program yet, packing all the excitement of a fistful of heat or a runaway car. Special guests Farley Granger (Strangers on a Train), Sean Penn (The Pledge), Coleen Gray (Nightmare Alley), producer Stanley Rubin (The Narrow Margin), jazz bassist Charlie Haden, and author James Ellroy (L.A. Confidential) are among the many luminaries and noir fans to grace this year's festival, where over 30 film noir classics will spill onto the big screen for rapt audiences.

Featured programs include salutes to noir scribes (Dashiell Hammett, William Bowers, Ben Hecht, and Cornell Woolrich) and stars (John Garfield, Granger, and Gray—the latter two in person), as well as a literary seminar, a jazz concert, and a program highlighting eight films from the post-war window of 1946. The festival's venues are the Palace of Fine Arts and the Balboa Theater, and the programming is courtesy of local hero Anita Monga. Read on for the program or visit NoirCity.com for more info. and to purchase tickets.

THE FOLLOWING PROGRAMS TAKE PLACE AT THE PALACE OF FINE ARTS:

Friday, January 13 (Opening Night Gala w/Farley Granger in person)

  • 7:00 STRANGERS ON A TRAIN (1951)
  • 9:15 FARLEY GRANGER ONSTAGE
  • 10:00 THEY LIVE BY NIGHT (1949)

    Saturday, January 14 (Dashiell Hammett Tribute)

  • 1:00 THE MALTESE FALCON (1931)
  • 3:00 CITY STREETS (1931)

    Saturday, January 14 (Stanley Rubin in person)

  • 7:30 THE NARROW MARGIN (1952)
  • 8:45 STANLEY RUBIN ONSTAGE
  • 9:30 DECOY (1946)

    Sunday, January 15 (William Bowers Tribute)

  • 1:00 THE WEB (1947)
  • 3:00 LARCENY (1948)

    Sunday, January 15 (James Ellroy in person)

  • 7:00 SPLIT SECOND (1953)
  • 9:00 JAMES ELLROY ONSTAGE

    Monday, January 16 (Coleen Gray in person)

  • 1:00 NIGHTMARE ALLEY (1947)
  • 3:00 COLEEN GRAY ONSTAGE
  • 4:00 KISS OF DEATH (1947)

    Tuesday, January 17 (Ben Hecht Tribute)

  • 7:30 CRIME WITHOUT PASSION (1934)
  • 9:00 THE SCOUNDREL (1935)

    Wednesday, January 18 (San Francisco Noir)

  • 7:30 THE MAN WHO CHEATED HIMSELF (1951)
  • 9:15 THIEVES' HIGHWAY (1949)

    Thursday, January 19 (John Garfield Tribute)

  • 7:00 NOBODY LIVES FOREVER (1946)
  • 9:00 THE BREAKING POINT (1950)

    Friday, January 20 (Film Restoration Tribute)

  • 7:30 CITY THAT NEVER SLEEPS (1953)
  • 9:30 HOLLOW TRIUMPH (1948)

    Saturday, January 21 (Literary Seminar)

  • 3:00 NOIRQUAKE!

    Saturday, January 21 (Sean Penn in person)

  • 7:00 THE PLEDGE (2001)
  • 9:15 SEAN PENN ONSTAGE
  • 10:00 "DIRECTOR'S CHOICE"

    Sunday, January 22 (Cornell Woolrich)

  • 1:00 DEADLINE AT DAWN (1946)
  • 3:00 THE WINDOW (1949)

    Sunday, January 22 (Charlie Haden Concert)

  • 8:00 "A NIGHT IN NOIR CITY"
  • 10:00 "DIRECTOR'S CHOICE"

    THE FOLLOWING PROGRAMS TAKE PLACE AT THE BALBOA THEATRE (FOCUS ON 1946):

    Monday, January 23

  • 2:35, 5:35, 9:00 NIGHT EDITOR
  • 3:55, 7:00 NOCTURNE

    Tuesday, January 24

  • 1:20, 5:00, 9:00 SUSPENSE
  • 3:15, 7:00 CRACK-UP

    Wednesday, January 25

  • 2:00, 5:25, 9:10 BLACK ANGEL
  • 3:35, 7:00 THE BLUE DAHLIA

    Thursday, January 26

  • 1:00, 5:10, 9:30 GILDA
  • 3:10, 7:20 THE KILLERS