Événement

NOIR CITY 17: 1954: PUSHOVER / PRIVATE HELL 36

Monday, January 28: 1954

7:30
PUSHOVER
(1954, Columbia [Sony Pictures]. 88 min.)

Scr. Roy Huggins, based on novels by Bill Ballinger and Thomas Walsh. Dir. Richard Quine

Following a daring bank heist, cop Paul Sheridan (Fred MacMurray) is assigned to keep covert tabs on the main suspect's girlfriend. But once he makes contact with sexy Lona McLane (budding superstar Kim Novak in her first starring role), he's on a slippery slope; she persuades Sheridan that they can escape together with the loot and leave both the crooks and the cops high and dry. A bristling, beautifully directed and photographed thriller, from a dynamite script by the redoubtable Roy Huggins. One of several films from 1954 (Witness to Murder, Rear Window) to exploit voyeurism as a theme. Touted by Jean-Luc Godard as one of the best American films of the 1950s. Presented in 35mm courtesy of Sony Pictures
Cast: Fred MacMurray (Paul Sheridan), Kim Novak (Lona McLane), Phil Carey (Rick McAllister), Dorothy Malone (Ann Stewart), E.G. Marshall (Lt. Carl Eckstrom)

9:20
PRIVATE HELL 36
(1954, The Filmakers [Paramount]. 81 min.)

Scr. Ida Lupino and Collier Young. Dir. Don Siegel

Two L.A. cops, Cal Bruner (Steve Cochran) and Jack Farnham (Howard Duff), stumble onto the money trail from an East Coast robbery. Nightclub singer Lilli Marlowe (Ida Lupino), who handled some of the hot cash, agrees to help them hunt the culprit. But when Cal and Lilli fall for each other, the law suddenly takes a backseat to larceny. The "dirty cop" trend of the 1950s reached its apotheosis with this wicked, booze-fueled thriller, with writer-producer-star Ida Lupino burning bright among the burly tough guys. Although its more character study than thriller, director Don Siegel shows flashes of the brilliance about to be unleashed in Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Presented in an archival 35mm print courtesy of the British Film Institute
Cast: Ida Lupino (Lilli Marlowe), Steve Cochran (Cal Bruner), Howard Duff (Jack Farnham), Dean Jagger (Capt. Michaels), Dorothy Malone (Francey Farnham)