This month’s “Noirvember” at The Brattle Theatre includes American classics from Stanley Kubrick, Orson Welles and more
The Brattle Theatre in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is featuring a selection of 1950s American noir films in the coming weeks for their yearly “Noirvember” celebration. The independent theater is known for promoting lesser-known films, both contemporary and historical, but will be screening many classics during this run, with movies from Billy Wilder, Stanley Kubrick, and Orson Welles. The following films, among others, will run from November 7–20.
Friday, Nov. 7 | “The Asphalt Jungle” (1950) dir. John Huston
Starring Sterling Hayden and featuring Marilyn Monroe in one of her earliest roles, “The Asphalt Jungle” tells the story of ex-con Dix Handley (Sterling Hayden) looking to steal $1 million in jewels just after his release from prison. Handley assembles a team of amateur robbers, including a safecracker, a driver and a lawyer. After the heist takes a nasty left turn, the men attempt to get their bearings–and their money–all of them unsure of whom to trust and whom to betray.
Friday, Nov. 7 | “Sunset Boulevard” (1950) dir. Billy Wilder
This classic Billy Wilder film is considered by many to be one of the most impactful films of the 20th century, and is ranked 12th on AFI’s “100 Greatest American Movies Of All Time.” After a strange series of events, struggling screenwriter Joe (William Holden) finds himself moving in with a now forgotten silent movie star, Norma Desmond (Gloria Swanson). As Gillin spends more time with Desmond, he realizes that she has not accepted her fall from fame, and still believes she is just as famous as she always was. As her delusions become more dangerous, Joe begins to fear the former superstar and believes his life may be in danger.
Sunday, Nov. 9 | “Pickup on South Street” (1953) dir. Samuel Fuller
On the streets of New York City, arrogant pickpocket Skip McCoy (Richard Widmark) steals the wallet of Candy (Jean Peters), a former prostitute. Initially thinking nothing of it, the pickpocket soon realizes that Candy had inadvertently been making deliveries of top-secret information to communist spies and was being tracked by the FBI. Now with microfilm that contains classified government documents, McCoy is pursued both by the American government and Candy’s employers.
Sunday, Nov. 9 | “Cry Danger” (1951) dir. Robert Parrish, Dick Powell
Looking for the criminal who set him up, Rocky Mulloy (Dick Powell) leaves prison after serving a five-year sentence for a crime he did not commit. Mulloy suspects that Louie Castro (William Conrad), a bookie he knows, was responsible for his prison sentence, and vows to hunt him down and recover a stockpile of stolen money with help from a strange group of new accomplices. Making his plans even more difficult is a detective (Regis Toomey) who has his eye on Mulloy.
Tuesday, Nov. 11 | “Clash by Night” (1952) dir. Fritz Lang
In this picture from legendary Austrian filmmaker Fritz Lang, Mae Doyle (Barbara Stanwyck) returns to her California hometown after a decade on the East Coast, having originally left for an affair with a married politician who has since died. Settling down with a local fisherman (Paul Douglas), Mae begins to adapt to a new, stable lifestyle. But as time passes, Mae falls for the aggressive and unkind Earl (Robert Ryan), and puts her relationships and all she holds dear in jeopardy.
Staff Pick! Wednesday, Nov. 12 | “The Night of the Hunter” (1955) dir. Charles Laughton
In actor Charles Laughton’s only directorial venture, “The Night of the Hunter” tells the story of a missing $10,000 and the deceitful preacher Harry Powell (Robert Mitchum) who will do anything to find it. The two young children (Billy Chapin, Sally Jane Bruce) who possess the wad of cash run for their lives as they’re chased down the Ohio River by the preacher. The film features stunning cinematography by Stanley Cortez and a career-defining performance from Mitchum.
Tuesday, Nov. 18 | “Sweet Smell of Success” (1957) dir. Alexander Mackendrick
J.J. Hunsecker (Burt Lancaster) is a successful theater critic for a New York City newspaper, but is plagued by his younger sister’s (Susan Harrison) romantic relationship with an aspiring guitarist (Marty Milner). Hunsecker uses his connections in an attempt to split up the young couple by any means necessary. When his initial plans fail, Hunsecker has to resort to more ruthless tactics.
Tuesday, Nov. 18 | “The Killing” (1956) dir. Stanley Kubrick
Longtime crook Johnny Clay (Sterling Hayden) is looking to pull off one last big job before going straight and marrying the love of his life, Fay (Coleen Gray). The plan is to steal millions from a local racetrack, and Clay assembles a team of criminals to stage the heist. But when one of the team members (Elisha Cook Jr.) reveals the plan to his wife (Marie Windsor), she throws a wrench in the operation by creating a plot of her own, one that is sure to turn things deadly.
Thursday, Nov. 20 | “Touch of Evil” (1958) dir. Orson Welles
Directed by and starring Orson Welles, the mind behind “Citizen Kane,” “Touch of Evil” begins with a car bomb exploding on the north side of the United States/Mexico border, prompting questioning from Mexican DEA agent Miguel Vargas (Charlton Heston). After being forced to work alongside an American police captain (Orson Welles), Vargas begins to believe that the American officers are planting evidence and framing suspects. As he looks into the deceitfulness of the U.S. officers, he inadvertently puts himself and his new family in grave danger.
Check out these noir films at The Brattle Theatre in Cambridge, Massachusetts, from November 7–20.