Film Noir Friday–Holiday Edition: MIDNIGHT [1934]

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Welcome! The lobby of the Deranged L.A. Crimes theater is open for a special holiday screening. It is the 117th anniversary of Humphrey Bogart’s birth. What better way to celebrate than to show one of his early films? Grab a bucket of popcorn, some Milk Duds and a Coke and find a seat. Today’s feature is the pre-code MIDNIGHT (aka CALL IT MURDER), starring Humphrey Bogart, Sidney Fox, O.P. Heggie, Henry Hull and Margaret Wycherly.

Enjoy the movie!

TCM says:

Ethel Saxon confesses in court to the murder of her errant husband John in a “crime of passion,” and also admits she took his money. Jury foreman Edward Weldon, who believes in obeying the letter of the law, convinces his peers to convict Ethel of first degree murder, despite public sympathy for her cause. On the day of her execution, reporter Bob Nolan bribes idle Joe “LeRoy” Biggers, Weldon’s son-in-law, to get him into the Weldon home to see the family’s reaction as Ethel is taken to the electric chair.

Film Noir Friday–Sunday Matinee: Missing Women [1951]

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Welcome! The lobby of the Deranged L.A. Crimes theater is open! Grab a bucket of popcorn, some Milk Duds and a Coke and find a seat. Tonight’s feature is MISSING WOMEN, starring Penny Edwards, James Millican, John Gallaudet and John Alvin.

Enjoy the movie!

TCM says:

During their honeymoon, Claudia and Phillip Rankin are approached by two car thieves, Eddie Ennis and Hans Soderling, who kill Phillip. The lecherous Hans forces Claudia to drive off with him, and some time later, slugs her, then leaves her in the car by the side of the road, where she is found by a Good Samaritan, who contacts the police. Later, after homicide lieutenant Kelleher tells her that he believes that the perpetrators belong to a ring of car thieves he is investigating, she recalls hearing the names, “Eddie” and “Hands,” which Kelleher thinks might be a nickname. Kelleher shows Claudia the files of Frank and Mae Berringer, a brother-and-sister team now behind bars, and explains that hot car rings often include women, because they attract less attention. Desperate to help find her husband’s killers, Claudia gets an idea while looking at Mae’s file.

Nightfall [1957]

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Welcome! The lobby of the Deranged L.A. Crimes theater is open! Grab a bucket of popcorn, some Milk Duds and a Coke and find a seat. Tonight’s feature is NIGHTFALL, directed by Jacques Tourneur (known for CAT PEOPLE, I WALKED WITH A ZOMBIE, and THE LEOPARD MAN). The movies stars: Aldo Ray, Brian Keith and Ann Bancroft.

Enjoy the movie!

TCM says:

As James Vanning furtively roams the street of Los Angeles, a man stops him and asks for a light. Afterward, Jim wanders into a bar and meets Marie Gardner when she asks him to lend her five dollars because she misplaced her wallet. After she shows him her driver’s license and promises to send the money to him the next morning, he hands her a five dollar bill and invites her to dinner. Meanwhile, the man in the street, an insurance investigator named Ben Fraser who has been trailing Jim for three months in hopes of retrieving $350,000 Jim allegedly stole from a bank, returns home and confides to his wife Laura that he thinks Jim may be innocent.