I made it through Among the Living, Street of Chance, Dr. Broadway, Smooth As Silk, and So Dark the Night. Like Dan, as 10pm rolled around, I saw little need to revisit The Argyle Secrets.
The 35mm prints of the first four were excellent and, for So Dark the Night, good, all the better to admire the work of Theodor Sparkuhl, Woody Bredell, and Burnett Guffey.
My first time viewings were Dr. Broadway and Smooth As Silk. The former was quite enjoyable, made even better knowing that it was Anthony Mann's first film.* I would say, however, that even though I am one of those folks open to accepting a wide variety of films as film noir, I would come down on the "not noir" side. It didn't help that I wanted to slug Macdonald Carey to get that smarmy smirk off of his face. Smooth As Silk started slowly for me, but its web of deceit sped up nicely halfway through. It, however, will not supplant, thanks to Elliot, Island of Doomed Men (1940) as my favorite Charles Barton movie.
Elliot also introduced me to the big screen wonders of Among the Living and So Dark the Night years ago at the Roxie, and they have lost none of their charms.
Several people told me that the theatre had nary an empty seat for Friday night's salute to James Caan with Thief, but that the second feature, Flesh and Bone, played to about a half-filled room. My estimate for most of Saturday: two-thirds full.
* Jonathan Rosenbaum sat directly across the aisle from me to watch Dr. Broadway. That was the only film he came to see.
Responses