First: whither the Castro? We figure that if we are back to "normal" in January 2023, chances are high that NC will be back there, as there's too much money to be made. Expect ticket prices to jump, however--especially if enough folks pay $25 a double feature at the Grand Lake next month. (People are buying "passports" both out of fealty to noir and to Eddie, but also to try to get the unit cost per film down to something recognizable.)
Second: a "grand return" to SF would suggest the scenario for NC/SF 20 that we've been pushing for years: a reprise of the "San Francisco noir" series as a valentine to the folks at home.
Let's examine the "SF noirs" and see what we might come up with...
From NC 1, the original "San Francisco noir" festival:
Maltese Falcon, The (1941)
Dark Passage
Lady From Shanghai
Woman on the Run
Sudden Fear
Shadow of a Woman
Out of the Past
Where Danger Lives
Race Street
Thieves' Highway
Born to Kill
House on Telegraph Hill, The
Nora Prentiss
Woman on Pier 13, The
Shakedown
Raging Tide, The
Sniper, The
Midnight Story, The
Lineup, The
Experiment in Terror
From subsequent festivals:
I Want to Live!
Man Who Cheated Himself, The
Crime of Passion
Raw Deal
D.O.A.
Story of Molly X, The
Point Blank
Address Unknown
Red Light
Escape in the Fog
This Gun For Hire
Once A Thief (1965)
So far, 36 films that have at least some connection to San Francisco have been screened at NC. Those screened more than once are shown in bold type.
Other "San Francisco noirs" not yet screened at NC:
49th Man, The
Bigamist, The
Blonde Ice
Chinatown at Midnight
Girl on the Late, Late Show (1974 TV movie with Gloria Grahame essentially playing herself...)
Hell on Frisco Bay
House Across the Bay, The
House of Numbers
Impact
Julie
Mr. Dynamite
No Escape
Once A Thief (1950)
Pier 23
Roaring City
San Quentin
Sea Wolf, The
Serenade
Shock
They Drive By Night
To The Ends of the Earth
Treasure of Monte Cristo
Undercurrent
Vertigo
Walk A Crooked Mile
Waterfront
Of these 26 films not yet screened at NC, it must be said that there are slim pickings here for titles worthy for inclusion in a "SF noir" reprise. The problem with VERTIGO, as so astutely pointed out by the Bitter One, is that it has been a "go-to" movie for the Castro for more than twenty years and has been screened frequently since its restoration. Some miracle of timing would be required for it to appear in the NC lineup, despite the fact that it's probably the most iconic SF film (noir) of all.
Most of the films not repeated from NC 1 are the weaker entries, though there are four notable exceptions (BORN TO KILL, LADY FROM SHANGHAI, THE LINEUP, NORA PRENTISS). The good news is that all of these films can be the "A" slot in a double feature, so it's possible to feature them with a "not seen since 2003!" tag. And you can throw a 70s films like THE CONVERSATION into the mix as well, since it's already a tradition at NC to cross the blood-brain barrier.
So, with that, here's one man's conception of NC 20 as a "Return to the Scene of the Crime" SF noir extravaganza:
Friday, Jan 27 2023
THE MALTESE FALCON (1941)/DARK PASSAGE
Saturday, Jan 28, 2023
matinee
MR. DYNAMITE/HAMMETT (1982)
evening
NORA PRENTISS/WOMAN ON THE RUN
Sunday, Jan 29, 2023
matinee
TREASURE OF MONTE CRISTO/THE GIRL ON THE LATE, LATE SHOW
evening
OUT OF THE PAST/WHERE DANGER LIVES
Monday, Jan 30, 2023
RED LIGHT/RACE STREET
Tuesday, Jan 31, 2023
D.O.A./THE BIGAMIST
Wednesday, Feb 1, 2023
RAW DEAL/BLONDE ICE
Thursday, Feb 2, 2023
BORN TO KILL/SAN QUENTIN (1946)
Friday, Feb 3, 2023
SUDDEN FEAR/I WANT TO LIVE!
Saturday Feb 4, 2023
matinee
THE HOUSE ACROSS THE BAY/EXPERIMENT ALCATRAZ
evening
LADY FROM SHANGHAI/EXPERIMENT IN TERROR
Sunday Feb 5, 2023
matinee
POINT BLANK/THE CONVERSATION
evening
SHAKEDOWN/THE LINEUP
...
...
...
So...we tossed in a few extras, such as Wim Wenders' neo-retro HAMMETT (not sure if Eddie likes the film, but he clearly loves Hammett) and the odd atomic thriller EXPERIMENT ALCATRAZ (for all those Joan Dixon fans out there).
All in all, I'd go to this one, just like I went to the first one so long, long ago...