By Now in its third year, the Dr. Saul and Dorothy Kit Film Noir Festival returns to Columbia University’s Lenfest Center for the Arts. Running from Wednesday, March 25th to Sunday, March 29th, this year’s celebration of film noir classics focuses on movies exploring the Jewish experience in the aftermath of World War II.
The 11 films screened during the festival include Billy Wilder’s Ace in the Hole, Alfred Hitchcock’s Notorious, Orson Welles’ The Stranger, and Edgar G. Ulmer’s Detour. Many of the movies will screen in 35mm.
In addition to the films, the Kit Noir Festival will feature lectures and discussions from film scholars Ann Douglas (Columbia University), Noah Isenberg (University of Texas at Austin), Vincent Brook (UCLA), and Steven J. Ross (USC).
The first and second Kit Noir fests were nicely curated explorations of the beloved genre of shadows and cynicism. If you love film noir or are new to the world of film noir, it’s worth a gander.
The full lineup is listed below. To learn more about the festival and to purchase tickets, visit the official Kit Noir Festival website.
Wednesday, March 25
7:30pm – “Violence and Visionary Pessimism: The Jewish Contribution to Film Noir,” Keynote lecture by Ann Douglas, Columbia University
Thursday, March 26: Edgar G. Ulmer Double Bill
7:30pm – Detour (Edgar G. Ulmer, 1945)
9:15pm – Ruthless (Edgar G. Ulmer, 1948)
Introduced by Noah Isenberg, University of Texas at Austin
Friday, March 27
7:00pm – Crossfire (Edward Dmytryk, 1947)
8:55pm – Ace in the Hole (Billy Wilder, 1951)
Saturday, March 28: World War II and the Holocaust
1:00pm – The Spiral Staircase (Robert Siodmak, 1946)
3:30pm – Act of Violence (Fred Zinnemann, 1949); followed by a lecture by Vincent Brook, UCLA
7:00pm – Notorious (Alfred Hitchcock, 1946)
9:00pm – The Stranger (Orson Welles, 1946)
Sunday, March 29: The Blacklist and the Media
1:00pm – He Ran All the Way (John Berry, 1951)
3:30pm – “Kill the Hollywood Jews: The Prewar Origins of Film Noir,” Lecture by Steven Ross, USC
5:30pm – Scandal Sheet (Phil Carlson, 1952)
8:00pm – Sweet Smell of Success (Alexander Mackendrick, 1957)
