Noir City Film Fest Celebrates Fierce Femmes

February is a time to think of groundhogs, love, history, and (here in Seattle) film noir. 

Returning this month is Noir City, a film festival dedicated to all things seedy, nefarious, and tantalizing in the world of crime. As the weather stays frightful, it’s a great time to watch hardboiled detectives, cruel gangsters, and the women who love them in glorious black and white celluloid with a few hundred fellow genre admirers. This year's edition of Noir City highlights films "where winsome women turn wicked."

The femme fatale, a staple of the noir genre, was a typical role that helped a lot of actresses stretch their muscles beyond the love interest or the wife they typically played. In noir, women have more agency and dimension. Noir City host and Film Noir Foundation founder Eddie Muller said, "The contributions of these actresses is a major reason noir has retained its allure through many subsequent generations, more than seventy-five years after they were made." 

Many of the films in the festival lineup are classics that can be seen through a new lens and several others are rare sights that may not be available anywhere else. There are even showings of the Film Noir Foundation restoration, Cry Danger (1951), and a 4K restoration of Phantom Lady (1944).

Two great directors, who did not work exclusively in the genre but made masterful entries, will have their time to shine at the festival. One of these films is Stanley Kubrick's The Killing (1956). It is a tension-filled heist where not all the players are on the up and up. Powerful performances and a pitch perfect script make this a beautiful film not to be missed and will have you on the edge of your seat. Another classic playing the festival, this one directed by Billy Wilder, is Ace in the Hole (1951). A reporter exploits the story of a man trapped in a cave-in. He publishes story after story as the only person who can get inside the cave to interview the man. It is a film about the power of the written word and the consequences of blowing a story out of proportion.

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Movie posters for The Killing and Ace in the Hole.

All rights to United Artists and Paramount Pictures.

A couple of others stand out as going above and beyond the stated theme. Mary Ryan, Detective (1949) is about a police detective sent undercover to break up a gang of jewel thieves. On the other side of the law is Caged (1950) about a woman whose naivete and gentleness will do her no favors as she's sent to prison after being named an accessory to robbery.

This year's Noir City will run February 14-20. To get you excited for the opening night film, The Narrow Margin (1952), there will be a live performance by the Dmitri Matheny Quintet. The band will be performing jazz tunes from several film scores. Previously, Noir City was held at the SIFF Egyptian, but as that location is currently undergoing repairs, the festival will take place at the SIFF Downtown (Cinerama). Lineup, tickets, and information can be found on SIFF's website.