The Killers + So Dark the Night

The Killers
(1946) dir Robert Siodmak w/Burt Lancaster, Ava Gardner, Edmond O’Brien, Albert Dekker, Charles McGraw, William Conrad [103 min; 35mm]
This landmark in the Hollywood noir movement takes a 1927 Ernest Hemingway short story as the jumping-off point for a crime saga often called the Citizen Kane of film noir. Like Kane, it starts with a death and backtracks to reveal the lust, lies, and betrayal that caused a man to welcome his execution. At the center of the whirlwind of double-crosses are white-hot stars-to-be Burt Lancaster and Ava Gardner – perhaps the sexiest pairing ever in a film noir. Presented in restored 35mm with remastered soundtrack.

So Dark the Night
(1946) dir Joseph H. Lewis w/Steven Geray, Micheline Cheirel, Eugene Borden, Ann Codee, Brother Theodore [71 min; 35mm]
Hungarian character actor Steven Geray (familiar from dozens of noir films) has his only starring role as a legendary Paris detective whose much-needed vacation in the French countryside takes a turn when he finds unexpected romance – and another puzzling case of murder. With low-budget panache, director Lewis and cameraman Burnett Guffey transform Canoga Park into the pastoral Loire Valley – and tell a mesmerizing story with a bold and brilliant twist.