Événement

NOIR CITY 16: 1953: WICKED WOMAN / THE BIG HEAT

Sunday, February 4

The price of admission gets you into the double bill. If you choose the 1:00 ticket option, you are welcome to arrive at 2:30 and watch the afternoon matinee double-feature starting then. The evening show starts at 7:00; if you want to come in the evening you must choose the 7:00 ticket option.

1:00, 4:20, 8:45
WICKED WOMAN
(1953, MGM Repertory [Park Circus]. 77 min.)

Scr. Clarence Greene and Russell Rouse. Dir. Russell Rouse

In this racy little "B" movie, scarlet woman Beverly Michaels (Pickup) cons saloon owner Richard Egan into bilking his boozy wife out of her dough, then toys with the affections of slavering devotee Percy Helton (as you've never seen him before). She plans on dumping both and leaving a dust trail to Mexico. Michaels was definitely director Rouse's kind of woman: they married after making this picture--an extra twist to this juicy noir. Featuring a title song that's a cult favorite!

2:30, 7:00
THE BIG HEAT
(1953, Columbia [Sony]. 90 min.)

Scr. Sydney Boehm, from the novel by William P. McGivern. Dir. Fritz Lang

One of Fritz Lang's best Hollywood films tells the tale of a virtuous cop (Glenn Ford) out for revenge against the gangster who killed his wife. Assisting him in his one-man crusade against the city's corrupt power base is a kooky, sexy dame (Gloria Grahame, in perhaps her signature role) who's out for a little vengeance of her own. Featuring an all-time thuggish turn by a young Lee Marvin, The Big Heat is as compact and compelling as any crime film ever made.