Friday, January 31, 2014— SOUTH AMERICA 
The Black Vampire
El Vampiro Negro
Scr. and Dir. Román Viñoly Barreto. Argentina, 1953. 80 min.
7:15 PM
This clever "feminist" reworking of Fritz Lang's classic M focuses on the mothers of children stalked by a deranged pedophile. Virtually unknown outside Argentina, and presented onscreen in the U.S. for the first time ever, in a new 35mm print! Starring the radiant Olga Zubarry.
NEW 35mm PRINT!
The Wages of Fear
Le salaire de la peur
Scr. Jérôme Géronimi and H.G. Clouzot, from Georges Arnaud's novel. Dir. Henri-Georges Clouzot. France, 1953. 156 min.
9:00 PM
Four men, trapped in a pestilent South American village, agree to transport a dangerous shipment of nitroglycerine through treacherous terrain. This existentialist action movie is arguably the most suspenseful film ever made. Yves Montand and Charles Vanel star, and earn every cent.
Saturday, February 1 Matinée Triple Bill — FRANCE
PÉpÉ Le Moko
Scr. Henri La Barthe and Julien Duvivier, from La Barthe's novel. Dir. Julien Duvivier. France, 1937. 94 min.
12:00 PM
Parisian crook Pépé Le Moko (the legendary Jean Gabin) thrives within Algiers' Casbah, where the locals protect him from the police. But a canny cop uses romance as the bait when Pépé falls for a beautiful tourist. Exhibit A in the argument that the French were the first to do "Noir."
Riptide
Une si jolie petite plage
Scr. Jacques Sigurd. Dir. Yves Allégret. France, 1949. 91 min.
4:00 PM
A mysterious young man (Gerard Philipe) visits a desolate coastal town during a bleak winter, soon followed by another watchful, curious stranger. Gradually, the boy's connection to the town—and his dark secret—is revealed. A quintessentially French approach to Noir.
Jenny Lamour
Quai des orfÈvres
Scr. John Ferry and H.G. Clouzot, from Stanislas-André Steeman's novel. Dir. H.G. Clouzot. France, 1947. 106 min.
2:00 PM
Jenny Lamour (Suzy Delair), a flighty and ambitious showgirl, is the prime suspect in the death of an elderly showbiz patron. But beleaguered inspector Antoine (Louis Jouvet) overlooks no possible suspect in the bustling theatre. An exceptional policier, rich with colorful characters.
Saturday, February 1 Evening Show — FRANCE
Two Men in Manhattan
Deux hommes dans Manhattan
Scr. and Dir. Jean-Pierre Melville. France, 1959. 84 min.
7:15 PM
When a French delegate to the United Nations vanishes into thin air, two French journalists comb nocturnal Manhattan in search of answers. Melville's obsession with the look and sound of American culture is given free rein in this jazzily directed homage to film noir and New York.
Rififi
Du rififi chez les hommes
Scr. René Wheeler & Auguste Le Breton, from Breton's novel. Dir. Jules Dassin. France, 1955. 122 min.
9:00 PM
This French equivalent of The Asphalt Jungle focuses on four professional crooks determined to execute the perfect heist. Transplanted American director Dassin executes the most suspenseful robbery sequence of all time in this legendary crime classic. Jean Servais leads the gang.
Sunday, Feb 2 — THE FAR EAST, HOLLYWOOD STYLE 
Singapore
Scr. Seton I. Miller and Robert Thoeren, from a story by Thoeren. Dir. John Brahm. United States, 1947. 79 min.
1:00, 7:00 PM
A smuggler (Fred MacMurray) returns to postwar Singapore in search of the fortune in pearls he lost—along with his beloved Linda—in the bombing raids. When Linda (Ava Gardner) reappears—with amnesia, of course—nefarious intrigue runs rampant. Ceiling fans abound.
Macao
Scr. Bernard Schoenfeld and Stanley Rubin. Dir. Josef von Sternberg, Nicholas Ray (uncred.). United States, 1952. 81 min.
3:00, 8:45 PM
A fabulous cast, topped by sexy costars Robert Mitchum and Jane Russell, keep things moving at a brisk enough pace you may not notice that the plot is missing. At least there's a gambling house, hot jewels, slimy gangsters—and Gloria Grahame! Absurd, but endlessly amusing.
The Shanghai Gesture
Scr. Jules Furthman & Geza Herczeg, from the play by John Colton. Dir. Josef von Sternberg. United States, 1942. 95 min.
5:00 PM
Colton's notorious play, in which young Poppy (luminous Gene Tierney) falls into a life of drug addiction and prostitution in Mother Gin Sling's Shanghai casino gets sanitized by Hollywood, although von Sternberg compensates with his patented shimmering sensuality. With Vic Mature.
Copyright © 2013. Website design: Ted Whipple/Incite Design; poster and logo design: Bill Selby; poster and NOIRCITY photos: David M. Allen
