A Trip Down a Darkened Memory Lane

Watching Horror and Science Fiction movies from the 1950’s is a serendipitous journey back to my boyhood. Yes, Virginia, before film noir, I was a Monster Kid. Growing up in the greater New York metro area during the pre-cable and video era, I feasted on scary fare...

Forgotten Hollywood: The Masquers Club

WELCOME! THRICE WELCOME ALL -Behind these curtains, tightly drawnAre Brother Masquers, tried and true,Who have labored diligently, to bring to youA Night of Mirth – and mirth ‘twill be,But, mark you well, although no text we preachA little lesson, well defined,...

The Seventh Annual Palm Springs Film Noir Festival

The temperature in Palm Springs, California during the first weekend of June was as warm as the ambience at Arthur Lyons seventh annual Film Noir Festival in this desert oasis. In returning for my fifth year at this festival, I always think of this event as film...

The Hustler: Creating a Legend

There is an extraordinary amount of writing out there about “seminal” films. These are movies which are rightly adjudged as works of art like Citizen Kane, films that initiated a style as Double Indemnity did for film noir or a picture that captured a...

Coverage of the Madman

The L.A. Film Noir Festival really gained traction this week with some superb screenings and great attendance for the hypercompetitive Tinseltown movie market. Thursday’s double bill at the Egyptian was Cry of the City (1948) and City of Fear (1959). The former...