| Wednesday August 18th 8:00 pm |
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| A Special 70th Anniversary Screening of | ||||
| 'CRIME WITHOUT PASSION' 1934 | ||||
| w/ Claude Rains, Margo, Whitney Bourne, | ||||
| Leslie Adams & Stanley Ridges | ||||
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To
celebrate the 70th anniversary of it's 1934 premiere, we run this
virtually unknown atmospheric noir precursor. Claude Rains puts in a
strong performance in
his third film as a successful but pathologically arrogant
attorney who believes he is far superior to the rest of society.
Freudian Psychology and Greek Mythology counter point in this
bizarre film that opens with scantly clad and airborne female
Furies peering into skyscraper windows as office workers are
struck with hypnotic drives of unbridled passion. The Art Deco sets
and a amazing sound track all add up to create a picture that
just has to be seen if you are a fan of dark film.
Co-Starring actress Margo in her first performance (Winterset 1936, Lost Horizon 1937, The Leopard Man 1943). |
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| On August 18th 1934, legendary writers Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur premiered their independent film in New York City. It wasn't your standard Hollywood opening as the film was made at a East Coast studio by a production company owned by the two men, Hecht-MacArthur Productions. While they worked together on many projects, most notably 'Front Page' 1931, their own company only made four films of which ' CRIME WITHOUT PASSION' was the first. Another early noir, 'The Scoundrel' 1935, their third effort won an Academy Award for Best Writing – Original Story. The script in our featured film is just as entertaining and is loaded with that outstanding Ben Hecht wit that runs throughout many of the noir canon's best films. | ||||
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CRIME OF PASSION' was photographed by another industry giant, Lee Garmes (The Garden of Allah 1927, Morocco 1930, City Streets 1931, Shanghai Express 1932, Scarface 1932, The Specter of the Rose 1946, Duel in the Sun 1946, Nightmare Alley 1947, Misty 1961) for over 50 years and 110 films Garmes worked behind the camera. But rumor has it, on 'CRIME WITHOUT PASSION' he stepped out from behind the lens and directed most of film, even though Hecht and MacArthur got the credit. In 1940 Garmes would go on to direct another good but obscure noir-esque film 'Angels Over Broadway' . The camerawork on 'CRIME WITHOUT PASSION' is stunning set against the bizarre special effects of Slavko Vorkapich. If this isn't enough, the film's music score was written by the brilliantly off center musical icon Oscar Levant. | |||
| "Mad Genius" describes the forces at play in one of the American cinema's strangest curiosities, 'Crime Without Passion'. | ||||
| DDKC Archivist 'Dark'Marc' will present the film and lead a discussion following the screening. | ||||
