Événement

NOIR CITY 17: 1958: TOUCH OF EVIL / MURDER BY CONTRACT

Friday, February 1: 1958

7:30
TOUCH OF EVIL
(1958, Universal. 95 min.)

Scr. Orson Welles, from the novel by Whit Masterson. Dir. Orson Welles

Mexican cop Mike Vargas (Charlton Heston) and his American wife Susan (Janet Leigh) encounter more than they bargained for when they drive into the California border town of Los Robles--extortion, kidnapping, and murder are par for the course in the dusty fiefdom of veteran sheriff Hank Quinlan (Orson Welles). Can Vargas unveil decades of corruption and protect his bride from a marauding gang? Welles' return to Hollywood from European exile is the stuff of legend--a crime drama so extraordinarily stylish it looms symbolically as the end of the classic noir era. Time and changing tastes have led some critics to laud it as the equal of Welles' earlier masterworks. Presented in 35mm courtesy of Universal Pictures
Cast: Charlton Heston (Miguel "Mike" Vargas), Janet Leigh (Susan Vargas), Orson Welles (Capt. Hank Quinlan), Joseph Calleia (Sgt. Pete Menzies), Akim Tamiroff (Uncle Joe Grandi), Joanna Moore (Marcia Linnekar), Ray Collins (DA Adair), Dennis Weaver (motel night manager), Marlene Dietrich (Tana), Zsa Zsa Gabor (nightclub owner), Joseph Cotten (coroner), Mercedes McCambridge (gang leader)

9:30
MURDER BY CONTRACT
(1958, Columbia [Sony Pictures]. 81 min.)

Scr. Ben Simcoe (with Ben Maddow, uncredited). Dir. Irving Lerner

Cold, ruthless Claude (Vince Edwards) has no prospects in his young life--so he decides to stake his place in the world as a hired killer. But when he's sent to sunny California to kill a gangland witness, his sudden discovery of "ethics" could prove fatal. An ultra-low-budget gem from director Irving Lerner, shot in only seven days, with a strangely hypnotic pace and a spare, haunting musical theme by guitarist Perry Botkin. A personal favorite of director Martin Scorsese, who's admitted this film's stylistic influence on Taxi Driver, particularly the Travis-in-training sequences. Presented in 35mm courtesy of Sony Pictures
Cast: Vince Edwards (Claude), Phillip Pine (Marc), Herschel Bernardi (George), Caprice Toriel (Billie Williams), Michael Granger (Mr. Moon), Kathie Brown (Mary), Joseph Mell (hotel waiter), Frances Osborne (Miss Wiley)