Événement

NOIR CITY 16: 1941: I WAKE UP SCREAMING / AMONG THE LIVING

Friday, January 26

The price of admission gets you into the double bill.

7:30
I WAKE UP SCREAMING
(1941, 20th Century-Fox. 82 min.)

Scr. Dwight Taylor, from the novel by Steve Fisher. Dir. H. Bruce Humberstone

A Broadway promoter (Victor Mature), suspected of murder, is persecuted by a vengeful cop (Laird Cregar). Can he find the real killer of his glamorous protege (Carole Landis)? Originally released as The Hot Spot, this rarely screened early noir has all the visual flourishes soon to be synonymous with the style, courtesy of the spectacular cinematography of Edward Cronjager. Betty Grable may be the female lead, but noirheads go wild for the menacing Cregar and weaselly Elisha Cook Jr., both memorable in juicy supporting roles.

9:30
AMONG THE LIVING
Archival 35mm Print--Not on DVD!
(1941, Paramount [Universal]. 67 min.)

Scr. Lester Cole and Garrett Fort. Dir. Stuart Heisler

Industrialist Paul Raden (Albert Dekker) returns to his ancestral home to attend his father's funeral. He's shocked to learn from the family doctor (Harry Carey) that his twin brother John, who he believed died as a boy, has been locked in the attic of the abandoned mansion, insane from a scandalous childhood trauma. Soon enough, John is loose and making up for lost time, particularly with lushly nubile Susan Hayward. Heisler's strong, swift direction of this Southern Gothic is abetted by the stunning cinematography of Renoir collaborator Theodor Sparkuhl.