#foster hirsch

NOIR CITY returns to the AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center in Silver Spring, Maryland, October 10-23 with a slate of films highlighting women whose cinematic legacies are entwined with the rise of film noir. Many of this year’s films star the six actresses profiled in Muller’s 2001 book Dark City Dames: The Wicked Women of Film Noir which was reissued in April of this year in a newly revised and expanded edition with the title Dark City Dames: The Women Who Defined Film Noir. 

Please note: FNF prez Eddie Muller will not be in attendance this year. FNF board member, author, and film historian Foster Hirsch will introduce screenings October 10–12. FNF board member, author, and film historian Alan K. Rode will introduce screenings October 17–19.

Jane Greer, Marie Windsor, Audrey Totter, Evelyn Keyes, Coleen Gray, and Ann Savage are the core cadre of women featured in this year’s program, which includes many of their signature films, including, respectively, Out Of The Past (1947), The Narrow Margin (1952), Tension (1949), The Prowler (1951), The Killing (1956), and Detour (1945). 

In addition to those acclaimed favorites, the program also highlights films starring nine other actresses notable for their performances in crime films of the era: Joan Bennett, Peggie Castle, Rhonda Fleming, Marsha Hunt, Ella Raines, Ruth Roman, Jan Sterling, Claire Trevor and Helen Walker. (Not coincidentally, the recently expanded edition of Muller’s book includes new profiles of these women.)

NOIR CITY: Boston will return to its home at Cambridge’s Brattle Theatre, June 12-14, with an exciting program of crime and mystery films featuring … musicians. From early examples of Hollywood noir like Blues in the Night (1941) to jazz-fueled sixties’ gems like All Night Long (1962) and A Man Called Adam (1966), this year’s NOIR CITY: Boston movies feature genuine musical legends performing alongside film noir favorites including Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Rita Hayworth, Dan Duryea, and Kim Novak. Among the real-life musicians appearing onscreen are Louis Armstrong, Hoagy Carmichael, Sammy Davis, Jr., Frank Sinatra, and Duke Ellington.

The Film Noir Foundation’s latest restoration, The Yellow Canary (1963), will be included in the lineup for NOIR CITY: Boston on Saturday night, June 14, at 6:00 p.m. on a double bill with 1945’s 64-minute The Crimson Canary.

Foster Hirsch — FNF board member, film historian, and Brooklyn College professor — will host the three-day event. Hirsch is the author of sixteen books on theatre and film, the most recent being Hollywood and the Movies of the Fifties: The Collapse of the Studio System, the Thrill of Cinerama, and the Invasion of the Ultimate Body Snatcher--Television.

As a no-host bonus film, The Brattle will screen 1957’s Sweet Smell of Success (starring Burt Lancaster and Tony Curtis) on Monday, June 15 at 8:00 pm.

For film schedule, please visit BrattleFilm.org.

TICKETS NOW ON SALE!

NOIR CITY: Boston 2025

NOIR CITY Boston will return to its home at The Brattle, June 13-15. This year’s program comprises five double features that turn a spotlight on the women of film noir, inspired by Eddie Muller’s Dark City Dames: The Wicked Women of Film Noir, reissued in April 2025 in a newly revised and expanded edition with the title Dark City Dames: The Women Who Defined Film Noir.

Five of this year’s films star actresses profiled in Muller’s book, Jane Greer, Marie Windsor, Audrey Totter, Evelyn Keyes, and Coleen Gray in, respectively, Out of the Past (1947), The Narrow Margin (1952), Tension (1949), 99 River Street (1951), and The Sleeping City (1950).

FNF board member, author, and film historian Foster Hirsch will be your host. Hirsch is also the author of author of Film Noir: The Dark Side of the Screen and Hollywood and the Movies of the Fifties: The Collapse of the Studio System, the Thrill of Cinerama, and the Invasion of the Ultimate Body Snatcher--Television.

Schedule, individual tickets and ticket packs available on the Brattle’s website.

NOIR CITY: Boston will return to its home at the Brattle Theatre, June 13-15. This year’s program will turn a spotlight on the women of film noir. FNF board member and film historian Foster Hirsch will host the three-day event. Hirsch is the author of "Film Noir: The Dark Side of the Screen" and, most recently, "Hollywood and the Movies of the Fifties: The Collapse of the Studio System, the Thrill of Cinerama, and the Invasion of the Ultimate Body Snatcher--Television".

NOIR CITY: D.C. starts Friday!

NOIR CITY: D.C. begins October 11 at the AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center running for 14 days through Thursday, October 24. Following this year’s festival theme "Darkness Has No Borders," the D.C. lineup features 15 thematically linked double bills connecting non-English language noir films with movies made in the United States and United Kingdom.

FNF founder Eddie Muller will introduce screenings during the festival's opening weekend, October 11–13. Film historian and FNF board member Foster Hirsch will introduce screenings October 18–20.

NOIR CITY All-Access Pass - $200

The All-Access pass gives you admission to every screening at 2024’s NOIR CITY: D.C. at a significant discount, plus the opportunity to attend an exclusive passholder reception with Eddie Muller on Thursday evening, October 10.

Three more chances to see Eddie Muller in person at NOIR CITY DC. Eddie wraps ups his time at AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center today:

ROAD HOUSE (1948) + intro by Eddie Muller 4:45

WALK A CROOKED MILE (1948) + intro by Eddie Muller 7:00 - free for Star Level+ Silver Cinema Club members!

RUTHLESS (1948) + intro by Eddie Muller 9:15

The festival continues through October 26. Foster Hirsch, FNF board member and author of "Hollywood and the Movies of the Fifties The Collapse of the Studio System, the Thrill of Cinerama, and the Invasion of the Ultimate Body Snatcher—Television" will introduce screenings Oct. 20–22.