This past Tuesday evening, TCM had a movie-based "launch party" for Eddie's revised/expanded DARK CITY DAMES (DCD 2.0 for short), screening four noirs with Eddie regaling his later-in-life re-envisioning of "Miss Noir City" (his bubbly TCM cohost Alicia Malone) with brief remembrances of several actresses who featured his 2000 first edition. Here are the films (with actress names in italics)

Killing, The (1956) Marie Windsor, Coleen Gray
Tension (1949) Audrey Totter
Johnny O'Clock (1947) Evelyn Keyes
They Won't Believe Me (1947) Jane Greer

That covered five of the six actresses whose stories are still the focal point of DCD 2.0, who also featured prominently in the 2025 "Noir City" series (with, of course, an oscillating set of revisions depending on the specific city in the festival lineup). Only Ann Savage was omitted.

Interestingly, however, Eddie and/or TCM decided not to feature any of the actresses who were added to DCD 2.0 as part of this "launch party." To remind you of just who they are, here's an excerpt from the NOIR CITY website that name-checks them:

In addition to those acclaimed favorites, the program also highlights films starring nine other actresses notable for their performances in crime films of the era: Joan Bennett, Peggie Castle, Rhonda Fleming, Marsha Hunt, Ella Raines, Ruth Roman, Jan Sterling, Claire Trevor, and Helen Walker. (Not coincidentally, the expanded edition of Muller’s book includes new profiles of these women.)

Some of the sixteen "dames" really didn't play femme fatales: there are only two in the "launch party" films--both conniving wives (Windsor, Totter). Coleen Gray is one of several "dames" who never played a femme fatale: others on the list who also don't include Ella Raines (only impersonating one briefly in PHANTOM LADY), Marsha Hunt, and Ruth Roman (a moll-like dime-a-dance girl "redeemed" by going on the lam with Steve Cochran in TOMORROW IS ANOTHER DAY). For that matter, Evelyn Keyes never really played a femme fatale, either--her closest brush with that is in 99 RIVER STREET (where it's Castle that has the much darker arc).

So it was an odd (albeit enjoyable) sequence of films that didn't quite nail the full premise of the new book. I think OUT OF THE PAST would have covered Jane Greer more properly than THEY WON'T BELIEVE ME (where Susan Hayward is much closer to the "femme fatale" type), and would have at least showcased Rhonda Fleming. The previously-mentioned 99 RIVER STREET would have doubled up as well (Keyes and Castle), and RAW DEAL would have captured Trevor and Hunt).

So, some missed programming opportunities to cover more of the "not-so-sweet sixteen." Tomorrow night, the "Pulp Fiction" feature running this month covers more film noir--possibly we'll see Eddie again, even though only one of the films features an actress from DCD 2.0:

Maltese Falcon, The (1941)
Murder, My Sweet (1944) Claire Trevor
My Gun Is Quick (1957)
Postman Always Rings Twice, The (1946) Totter in a brief appearance
Harper (1966)
Getaway, The (1972)

(As you can see, this grouping captures a big swatch of well-known crime novelists: Hammett, Chandler, Spillane, Cain, McDonald, Thompson. It's a good idea that should be extended into something more akin to an NC festival. Maybe NC 23 will do just that.)