Tag: IN A LONELY PLACE

“Why did you shoot those puppies, John?”

Webster University presents “The Other St. Nick”, a six-film Nicholas Ray Film Festival that runs December 27th-January 5th at the University’s Moore Auditorium(470 E Lockwood Ave). The films screen Friday, Saturdays, and Sundays at 7:00pm the weekends of Dec 27-29th and Jan 3-5th. The series continues Saturday, January 4th at 7pm with REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE (1955)

Admission is:

$7 for the general public
$6 for seniors, Webster alumni and students from other schools
$5 for Webster University staff and faculty

Free for Webster students with proper I.D.

The theme of teen-age alienation received brilliant treatment in 1955 at the hands of director Nicholas Ray and stars James Dean, Natalie Wood and Sal Mineo. REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE was a poignant melodrama that made James Dean a household word. Back in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s I saw REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE several times on 35mm at The Tivoli (usually double-feature with EAST OF EDEN) back when it was a true repertory cinema, showing different classic double-bills every night.

The trio of stars do standout jobs in REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE – sensitive and compelling with Sal Mineo especially appealing as the most disturbed one of the three, Plato, whose final scenes in the Griffith Observatory bring the movie to a chilling climax. His obvious hero worship of Dean’s character is played with skill, as is his loneliness and despair. Natalie Wood is warm and appealing as Judy, lovingly photographed and at her sensitive best in a demanding juvenile role. But the picture belongs to James Dean in his second (and second to last!) screen role, lending a believability and immediacy to the role of Jim Stark, who wanted to find a niche for himself in a new neighborhood until he has to confront the local thugs and the police. As his overprotective mother Ann Doran lends a sympathetic note to the role. Jim Backus as an ineffectual father who utterly fails to understand his alienated son is excellent. The Observatory scenes are given added dimension by Leonard Rosenman’s starkly effective score underscoring the torments of its teen-age protagonists. Although some complain of the film’s datedness, it explores the theme of alienation without ever insulting the intelligence of today’s audiences. Well worth watching if only for the fantastic central performance of James Dean.

Here’s the rest of the series:

BIGGER THAN LIFE (1956)  Sunday, January 5, 2020 at 7:00pmParagraph

A film critical of the patriarchy and the nuclear family, Nick Ray’s Bigger Than Life has James Mason playing Ed Avery, a well-liked father and teacher in a quaint suburban neighborhood. When Avery falls ill and is prescribed the experimental drug cortisone, he becomes addicted and his life spirals out of control. One of the most exceptional samples of CinemaScope framing in Ray’s oeuvre, Bigger Than Life feels at once of its time and timely.

” The city can be lonely too. Sometimes people who are never alone are the loneliest. “

Webster University presents “The Other St. Nick”, a six-film Nicholas Ray Film Festival that runs December 27th-January 5th at the University’s Moore Auditorium(470 E Lockwood Ave). The films screen Friday, Saturdays, and Sundays at 7:00pm the weekends of Dec 27-29th and Jan 3-5th. The series continues tonight, December 29th at 7pm with ON DANGEROUS GROUND (1951)

A film noir more often compared to the work of Carl Theodor Dreyer than its American contemporaries, On Dangerous Ground concerns the hot-headed detective Jim Wilson (Robert Ryan), who partners up with Walter Brent (Ward Bond), the father of a murdered young girl, in the solving of the crime. Along the way they encounter a blind woman, Mary Malden (Ida Lupino), who may offer a key to the case. Featuring a memorable score from master Bernard Herrmann.

Admission is:

$7 for the general public
$6 for seniors, Webster alumni and students from other schools
$5 for Webster University staff and faculty

Free for Webster students with proper I.D.

Here’s the rest of the series:

IN A LONELY PLACE (1950) Saturday, December 28 at 7:00pm

Considered by some to be Humphrey Bogart’s finest performance, and co-starring Nick Ray’s then-wife Gloria Grahame (It’s a Wonderful Life), In a Lonely Place is a film noir that has Bogie playing a prickly screenwriter named Dixon Steele, who is the last person to see a hat-check girl (Martha Stewart) before she’s murdered. Given Steele’s history of belligerence and temper flares,everyone inevitably assumes that he is the perpetrator of the crime.

ON DANGEROUS GROUND (1951) Sunday, December 29 at 7:00pm

A film noir more often compared to the work of Carl Theodor Dreyer than its American contemporaries, On Dangerous Ground concerns the hot-headed detective Jim Wilson (Robert Ryan), who partners up with Walter Brent (Ward Bond), the father of a murdered young girl, in the solving of the crime. Along the way they encounter a blind woman, Mary Malden (Ida Lupino), who may offer a key to the case. Featuring a memorable score from master Bernard Herrmann.

JOHNNY GUITAR (1954) Friday, January 3, 2020 at 7:00pm

A revisionist Western made at a time when a large section of the population didn’t recognize that the Western genre could use some revising, Nick Ray’s Johnny Guitar focuses on female leads who are much stronger than their male counterparts. Witness Vienna (Joan Crawford, never anyone to take lightly), a widely-disliked saloon owner who has to defend herself and her bar when accused of crimes she did not commit by her rival Emma Small (Mercedes McCambridge).At Vienna’s side is her ex-lover, Johnny Guitar (Sterling Hayden).

REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE (1955) Saturday, January 4, 2020 at 7:00pm

Released less than a month after his death in a car crash, Rebel Without a Cause remains James Dean’s most iconic role. Here playing troubled teen Jim Stark, he takes up with Plato (Sal Mineo) and Judy (Natalie Wood) in a dangerous world of chickie runs and knife fights, thereby changing the tone and level of seriousness of every teen film released in its wake. Happily, Rebel also features some of Ray’s favorite cinematic flourishes, including strong use of the CinemaScope frame and an affection for the underdog character(s).

BIGGER THAN LIFE (1956)  Sunday, January 5, 2020 at 7:00pm

A film critical of the patriarchy and the nuclear family, Nick Ray’s Bigger Than Life has James Mason playing Ed Avery, a well-liked father and teacher in a quaint suburban neighborhood. When Avery falls ill and is prescribed the experimental drug cortisone, he becomes addicted and his life spirals out of control. One of the most exceptional samples of CinemaScope framing in Ray’s oeuvre, Bigger Than Life feels at once of its time and timely.

” This boy… and this girl… were never properly introduced to the world we live in… To tell their story… They Live by Night. “

Webster University presents “The Other St. Nick”, a six-film Nicholas Ray Film Festival that runs December 27th-January 5th at the University’s Moore Auditorium(470 E Lockwood Ave). The films screen Friday, Saturdays, and Sundays at 7:00pmthe weekends of Dec 27-29th and Jan 3-5th.The series kicks off tonight, December 27th at 7pm with THEY LIVE BY NIGHT – 1948

After seven years in prison, 23-year-old Bowie (Farley Granger) escapes alongside some bank robbers. Once out, he runs into new love Keechie (Cathy O’Donnell), and makes it a priority to prove his innocence, or at least escape to the mountains with Keechie in tow. With this, his film debut, Nicholas Ray already exhibits future preoccupations with young underdogs and offers a fine contribution to the film noir canon.

Admission is:

$7 for the general public
$6 for seniors, Webster alumni and students from other schools
$5 for Webster University staff and faculty

Free for Webster students with proper I.D.

Here’s the rest of the series:

IN A LONELY PLACE (1950) Saturday, December 28 at 7:00pm

Considered by some to be Humphrey Bogart’s finest performance, and co-starring Nick Ray’s then-wife Gloria Grahame (It’s a Wonderful Life), In a Lonely Place is a film noir that has Bogie playing a prickly screenwriter named Dixon Steele, who is the last person to see a hat-check girl (Martha Stewart) before she’s murdered. Given Steele’s history of belligerence and temper flares,everyone inevitably assumes that he is the perpetrator of the crime.

ON DANGEROUS GROUND (1951) Sunday, December 29 at 7:00pm

A film noir more often compared to the work of Carl Theodor Dreyer than its American contemporaries, On Dangerous Ground concerns the hot-headed detective Jim Wilson (Robert Ryan), who partners up with Walter Brent (Ward Bond), the father of a murdered young girl, in the solving of the crime. Along the way they encounter a blind woman, Mary Malden (Ida Lupino), who may offer a key to the case. Featuring a memorable score from master Bernard Herrmann.

JOHNNY GUITAR (1954) Friday, January 3, 2020 at 7:00pm

A revisionist Western made at a time when a large section of the population didn’t recognize that the Western genre could use some revising, Nick Ray’s Johnny Guitar focuses on female leads who are much stronger than their male counterparts. Witness Vienna (Joan Crawford, never anyone to take lightly), a widely-disliked saloon owner who has to defend herself and her bar when accused of crimes she did not commit by her rival Emma Small (Mercedes McCambridge).At Vienna’s side is her ex-lover, Johnny Guitar (Sterling Hayden).

REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE (1955) Saturday, January 4, 2020 at 7:00pm

Released less than a month after his death in a car crash, Rebel Without a Cause remains James Dean’s most iconic role. Here playing troubled teen Jim Stark, he takes up with Plato (Sal Mineo) and Judy (Natalie Wood) in a dangerous world of chickie runs and knife fights, thereby changing the tone and level of seriousness of every teen film released in its wake. Happily, Rebel also features some of Ray’s favorite cinematic flourishes, including strong use of the CinemaScope frame and an affection for the underdog character(s).

BIGGER THAN LIFE (1956)  Sunday, January 5, 2020 at 7:00pm

A film critical of the patriarchy and the nuclear family, Nick Ray’s Bigger Than Life has James Mason playing Ed Avery, a well-liked father and teacher in a quaint suburban neighborhood. When Avery falls ill and is prescribed the experimental drug cortisone, he becomes addicted and his life spirals out of control. One of the most exceptional samples of CinemaScope framing in Ray’s oeuvre, Bigger Than Life feels at once of its time and timely.

Admission is:

$7 for the general public
$6 for seniors, Webster alumni and students from other schools
$5 for Webster University staff and faculty

Free for Webster students with proper I.D.

” I’ve got the bullets! “

Webster University has announced “The Other St. Nick”, a six-film Nicholas Ray Film Festival that runs December 27th-January 5th at the University’s Moore Auditorium(470 E Lockwood Ave). The films screen Friday, Saturdays, and Sundays at 7:00pm the weekends of Dec 27-29th and Jan 3-5th.

Jean-Luc Godard once famously wrote that “Cinema is Nicholas Ray.” Champion of the underdog, one of the earliest masters of Cinemascope, forward thinking in depictions of the aligned and marginalized, Mr. Ray’s contributions to film continue to resonate with modern filmmakers and audiences. Sure, you can spend the holiday season with an old man in a red suit, but Nicholas Ray is the one giving the gifts that keep on giving.

Here’s the lineup:

THEY LIVE BY NIGHT (1948) Friday, December 27 at 7:00pm

After seven years in prison, 23-year-old Bowie (Farley Granger) escapes alongside some bank robbers. Once out, he runs into new love Keechie (Cathy O’Donnell), and makes it a priority to prove his innocence, or at least escape to the mountains with Keechie in tow. With this, his film debut, Nicholas Ray already exhibits future preoccupations with young underdogs and offers a fine contribution to the film noir canon.

IN A LONELY PLACE (1950) Saturday, December 28 at 7:00pm

Considered by some to be Humphrey Bogart’s finest performance, and co-starring Nick Ray’s then-wife Gloria Grahame (It’s a Wonderful Life), In a Lonely Place is a film noir that has Bogie playing a prickly screenwriter named Dixon Steele, who is the last person to see a hat-check girl (Martha Stewart) before she’s murdered. Given Steele’s history of belligerence and temper flares,everyone inevitably assumes that he is the perpetrator of the crime.

ON DANGEROUS GROUND (1951) Sunday, December 29 at 7:00pm

A film noir more often compared to the work of Carl Theodor Dreyer than its American contemporaries, On Dangerous Ground concerns the hot-headed detective Jim Wilson (Robert Ryan), who partners up with Walter Brent (Ward Bond), the father of a murdered young girl, in the solving of the crime. Along the way they encounter a blind woman, Mary Malden (Ida Lupino), who may offer a key to the case. Featuring a memorable score from master Bernard Herrmann.

JOHNNY GUITAR (1954) Friday, January 3, 2020 at 7:00pm

A revisionist Western made at a time when a large section of the population didn’t recognize that the Western genre could use some revising, Nick Ray’s Johnny Guitar focuses on female leads who are much stronger than their male counterparts. Witness Vienna (Joan Crawford, never anyone to take lightly), a widely-disliked saloon owner who has to defend herself and her bar when accused of crimes she did not commit by her rival Emma Small (Mercedes McCambridge).At Vienna’s side is her ex-lover, Johnny Guitar (Sterling Hayden).

REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE (1955) Saturday, January 4, 2020 at 7:00pm

Released less than a month after his death in a car crash, Rebel Without a Cause remains James Dean’s most iconic role. Here playing troubled teen Jim Stark, he takes up with Plato (Sal Mineo) and Judy (Natalie Wood) in a dangerous world of chickie runs and knife fights, thereby changing the tone and level of seriousness of every teen film released in its wake. Happily, Rebel also features some of Ray’s favorite cinematic flourishes, including strong use of the CinemaScope frame and an affection for the underdog character(s).

BIGGER THAN LIFE (1956)  Sunday, January 5, 2020 at 7:00pm

A film critical of the patriarchy and the nuclear family, Nick Ray’s Bigger Than Life has James Mason playing Ed Avery, a well-liked father and teacher in a quaint suburban neighborhood. When Avery falls ill and is prescribed the experimental drug cortisone, he becomes addicted and his life spirals out of control. One of the most exceptional samples of CinemaScope framing in Ray’s oeuvre, Bigger Than Life feels at once of its time and timely.

Admission is:

$7 for the general public
$6 for seniors, Webster alumni and students from other schools
$5 for Webster University staff and faculty

Free for Webster students with proper I.D.