Événement

NOIR CITY 14: THE LODGER / BLUEBEARD / SCARLET STREET

Saturday, January 30: PAINTERS

The price of admission gets you into the afternoon triple bill.

1:00
THE LODGER
(1944, 20th Century-Fox. 84 min.)

Scr. Barre Lyndon, based on the novel by Marie Belloc Lowndes
Dir. John Brahm

In this adaptation of the 1913 novel exploring the legend of Jack the Ripper, the notorious killer is depicted as a tortured soul, using the alias Mr. Slade (Laird Cregar), compelled to avenge the death of his artist brother, the victim of a beautiful actress. Slade insanely channels his brother's artistic sensitivity into his own "art" -- the vengeful murder of attractive young women. John Brahm's expressionistic handling of the lurid material makes this the most affecting of all the many Ripper tales.

2:50
BLUEBEARD
(1944, Producers Releasing Corp. 73 min.)

Scr. Pierre Gendron, based on a story by Werner H. Furst and Arnold Phillips
Dir. Edgar G. Ulmer

The folkloric tale of French murderer Bluebeard is given a stylish interpretation by B-movie maestro Edgar G. Ulmer. Veteran character actor John Carradine steps to the center of the frame as Gaston Morrell, a puppeteer and painter to whom women have a fatal attraction. Ulmer produced his best films (like Detour) in the 1940s, his resourcefulness and creativity trumping paltry budgets, as evinced by his re-creation of Paris for this film, which he considered one of his best.

4:15
SCARLET STREET
(1945, Universal-International. 102 min.)

Scr. Dudley Nichols, from the novel La Chienne by Georges de La Fouchardiere
Dir. Fritz Lang

On the night of his retirement, aging, mild-mannered cashier Christopher Cross (Edward G. Robinson) becomes an accidental hero -- rescuing a gorgeous young woman, Kitty March (Joan Bennett), from a would-be attacker. The poor sap doesn't realize he's stumbled upon a dust-up between a hooker and her pimp (Dan Duryea), and before long the devious duo is playing him for a prize chump, selling to tony galleries the paintings the love-struck Cross bestows on Kitty. This roundelay can only end in tragedy.