British invade Noir City film festival

Film
brit-noir-1 IT ALWAYS RAINS ON SUNDAY
1947, Rialto, 92 min, UK
Dir: Robert Hamer

A former barmaid, now the harried matriarch of a family in impoverished Bethnal Green, jeopardizes everything to shelter the escaped fugitive who was once her lover. A slice-of-life noir and prototype of British “kitchen sink” drama.

BRIGHTON ROCK
1947, Rialto, 92 min, UK
Dir: John Boulting

Archetypal British noir tells the taut and tragic tale of young gangster Pinkie (Richard Attenborough) and the turmoil he brings to a beleaguered resort town trying to emerge from the ruins of war. Voted #15 in BFI’s poll of Britain’s greatest films.
brit-noir-2

If you like your ‘noir’ with a cockney accent, as we do, then get to Noir City: 16th Annual Festival of Film Noir, now on at the Egyptian Theatre. This Wednesday evening examples of veddy British versions of the dark cinema genre that spread throughout film culture after World War II. Just last night we viewed a wonderful French duo at this year’s internationalized festival: Jean-Pierre Melville’s “Two Men in Manhattan” and Jules Dassin’s sweeping crime masterpiece, “Rafifi,” the latter glorious on big screen.

British Noir double bill | Egyptian Theatre | Wed, March 26, 7:30 pm | tickets

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