Événement

NOIR CITY 17: 1961: UNDERWORLD, U.S.A. / BLAST OF SILENCE

Sunday, February 3: 1961

The price of admission gets you into the double bill. If you choose the 1:00 ticket option, you are welcome to arrive at 3:00 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, 4:40, 8:40
UNDERWORLD, U.S.A.
(1961, Columbia [Sony]. 99 min.)

Scr. & Dir. Samuel Fuller

Teenaged Tolly Devlin is the lone witness when a gang of hoods kill his father. As an adult ex-con, Devlin (Cliff Robertson) dedicates himself to avenging the murder. After rescuing a female drug courier, he uses her to gain access to the syndicate. When the FBI offers a deal as an informant, Devlin strings them along while hatching a plan to eliminate his father's killers. But revenge is so sweet, Devlin doesn't know when to stop. One of Fuller's punchiest smash-mouth crime dramas, Underworld, U.S.A. uses the never-ending war between the cops and crooks as backdrop to an all-consuming vendetta. Presented in DCP courtesy of Sony Pictures
Cast: Cliff Robertson (Tolly Devlin), Dolores Dorn (Cuddles), Beatrice Kay (Sandy), Paul Dubov (Gela), Gerald Milton (Gunther), Allan Gruener (Smith), Roger Emhardt (Connors), Richard Rust (Gus), Larry Gates (John Driscoll)

3:00, 7:00
BLAST OF SILENCE
(1961, Universal. 77 min.)

Scr. & Dir. Allen Baron

This maverick independent production from the end of the classic noir era, shot entirely on location in New York, tracks a stoic hit-man (played by director Baron himself) returning to his home turf for what's meant to be a quick, efficient assignment. Fate, guilt, and double-crosses intervene. One of the bleakest crime films ever, highlighted by a unique, omniscient "second person" voice-over narration. Like Kubrick's The Killing and Wendkos' The Burglar, this represented the transition from studio noir to independently produced "neo-noir." Presented in 35mm courtesy of Universal Pictures
Cast: Allen Baron (Frankie Bono), Molly McCarthy (Lori), Larry Tucker (Big Ralph), Peter H. Clune (Troiano), Milda Memenas (Troiano's girl), Danny Meehan (Petey), Charles Creasap (contact man on ferry), Don Saroyan (Lori's boyfriend), Ruth Kaner (building superintendent), Lionel Stander (narrator)