Événement

NOIR CITY 7: CRY OF THE HUNTED / ACE IN THE HOLE

1:00, 5:00, 9:20
CRY OF THE HUNTED
(1953, MGM, 80 min., scr. Jack Leonard, dir. Joseph H. Lewis)
We discovered this crazy "swamp noir" last year and promptly booked it for NOIR CITY 7. Barry Sullivan is an L.A. cop hunting a Cajun fugitive (Vittorio Gassman) back to the bayou, "assisted" by a hateful partner (William Conrad). Sounds straightforward . . . but nothing is "straight" in Leonard's screwy script or Lewis's delirious direction, which veers from goofy to brutal without missing an off-kilter beat. NOT ON DVD!

2:45, 7:00
ACE IN THE HOLE
(1951, Paramount, 111 min., scr.-dir. Billy Wilder)
On its release, critics called this the most bitter, cynical, mean-spirited movie ever made. It still might hold the honor. What's certain is the scary prescience of Wilder's tale of media manipulation. Kirk Douglas is stupendously rotten as a disgraced reporter reclaiming the spotlight by prolonging the plight of a trapped miner. Jan Sterling is unforgettable as the miner's less-than-compassionate wife.