Arthur Lyons Film Noir Festival

Film Schedule:

Sunday May 11, 2025

10:00 AM Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye (1950)Cagney Productions/Warner Bros./Paramount ,102 minutes, Screenplay by Harry Brown adapted from Horace McCoy’s novel , Produced by William Cagney, Directed by Gordon Douglas

James Cagney plumbs frigid depths of cinematic cruelty in his most cynical gangster portrayal this side of Cody Jarrett in White Heat! As Ralph Cotter, Cagney crashes out of prison, murders his confederate and shacks up with his departed cellmate’s sister (Barbara Payton). Orchestrating a crime wave abetted by corrupt cops (Ward Bond and Barton MacLane) and a savvy, politically connected lawyer (Luther Adler), he finds time to romance a comely heiress (Helena Carter) while playing everybody off against each other. This uncompromisingly violent adaptation of Horace McCoy’s novel was banned in Ohio and heavily censored in other locales. Not for the faint of heart!

1:00 PM Act of Violence (1948)MGM/Warner Bros. 82 minutes, Screenplay by: Robert L. Richards, Collier Young, Produced by William H. Wright, Directed by Fred Zinneman

The only film noir helmed by pantheon director Fred Zinneman (High Noon, From Here to Eternity, A Man for All Seasons) is a gut-wrenching story about the consequences of a catastrophic moral failure occurring during World War II. A former Army pilot and liberated Prisoner of War, Fred Enley (Van Heflin) seemingly has it made: A heroic war record parlayed into successful post war home building business with a lovely young wife (Janet Leigh) and baby in the suburbs. However, a dark wartime secret in the person of a vengeful Joe Parkson (Robert Ryan) emerges to turn his sedate suburban life into a nightmarish race through the shabby streets of downtown LA towards a shattering conclusion. Co-starring Mary Astor (an unforgettable turn), Phyllis Thaxter, a slimy Berry Kroeger and Taylor Holmes.

4:00 PM On the Waterfront (1954) Horizon-American/Sony-Columbia, 108 minutes, Screenplay by Budd Schulberg (based on the journalism of Malcolm Johnson), Produced by Sam Spiegel, Directed by Elia Kazan

One of the most acclaimed American films makes its first appearance at the Arthur Lyons Film Noir Festival! Budd Schulberg’s story of waterfront corruption and moral redemption was nominated for twelve Academy Awards, winning eight including: Best Picture, Best Director (Elia Kazan) Best Actor (Marlon Brando), Best Supporting Actress (Eva Marie Saint) and Best Cinematography (Boris Kaufman). Buttressed by the memorable supporting performances of Rod Steiger and Lee J. Cobb with a brilliant ensemble cast plus Leonard Bernstein’s unforgettable score, one can debate Waterfront’s noir credentials but its visceral dramatic power remains as soulfully vibrant during the picture’s seventieth year from its initial release.

7:00 PM Nightmare Alley

(2021)

Searchlight Pictures/Disney, 150 minutes

Special Ticketed Event! (Not included in All Access Pass. All Access Passholders can purchase this ticket for 50% off.)

Screenplay by Guillermo Del Toro and Kim Morgan. Based on William Lindsay Gresham’s novel., Produced by J. Miles Dale, Guillermo Del Toro and Bradley Cooper, Directed by Guillermo Del Toro

Guillermo Del Toro’s mesmerizing adaptation of William Lindsay Gresham’s dark novel is a brilliant realization of carny grifter Stan Carlisle’s (Bradley Cooper) twisted odyssey. Carlisle gloms onto a mindreading spiritualist act run by a fellow carnival huckster (Toni Colette) and her drunken husband (David Strathairn). The manipulative Carlisle elevates the act to the top of the nightclub circuit where he meets a beautifully diabolical psychoanalyst (Cate Blanchett) who has her own set of mind games to play. Nominated for four Academy Awards, this passionate film takes the viewer into Gresham’s nightmarish midway world with stunning production design, a superbly crafted script and set piece performances: Also starring: Willem Dafoe, Richard Jenkins, Rooney Mara, Ron Perlman and Mary Steenburgen,

Scheduled special guests: Guillermo Del Toro and Kim Morgan

Note: Nightmare Alley is a Special Ticketed Event of the Arthur Lyons Film Noir Festival: This screening is not included as part of the All-Access Festival Pass. All Access Passholders can purchase tickets for 50% off.

Tickets and Passes

Date: May 8 - 11, 2025