It's Hammett Time

Dashiell Hammett, who died in 1961, lived at 891 Post Street during the years in which he penned Red Harvest, The Dain Curse, and The Maltese Falcon. The building, which boasts a plaque from the
"Friends of Libraries" places the apartment building on the "Literary Landmarks Register." The Literary Landmarks Associate was founded in 1986 and apparently guarantees you may get a plaque, but not much more. Not that we can hold this against them. Find out more about the Friends of Libraries here.

However, our man in the field (Peter L, who should be writing this), has recently brought the following to my attention: the apartment in which Hammett was believed to occupy was #401, which is occupied by Hammett aficionado Bill Arney. Mr. Arney, due to financial reasons, may have to give up the residence. He has performed a good deal of research, restoration work, and has opened his home to other fans of the late Hammett. Amongst some of Mr. Arney's reputed work involved keeping the original Murphy bed, tile restoration, and even family photos by Hammett.

I hope to speak to Mr. Arney in the near future and get the dope on the situation. It would be a shame if the apartment's 1920s decor were replaced by -- well, whatever it is that landlord's in rent controlled San Francisco tend to view as efficient.

For more information on Hammet in San Francisco, check this out and this.

Hammett fun fact: Dashiell Hammett was called before the House Un-American Activities Committee for his subversive leftist views. Hammett never named names and was jailed for five months.

To be continued ...

Summer Noir

The noir summer schedule seems to be slowing down a bit, but there are two interesting festivals, one in Vancouver, Canada (a great place to visit), and the other in New York City (home of the Mets!)

Film Noir (August 6 to 31 at Pacific Cinémathèque, www.cinematheque.bc.ca ) A perennial Vancouver favorite. This year’s month-long festival features 18 vintage titles, including Howard Hawk’s The Big Sleep, starring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall; The Blue Dahlia, written by Raymond Chandler; Gilda, featuring femme fatale Rita Hayworth; and Robert Aldrich’s classic Kiss Me Deadly.

It seems the French New Wave is hitting New York City again for the next few weeks. The Museum of the Moving Image and the Museum of Arts and Design are teaming up to screen the "French New Wave Essentials" from July 11 to August 30, with showings on Saturday and Sunday afternoons at the MAD basement theater at Columbus Circle. For more information, see http://www.madmuseum.org/DO/film%20series.aspx

San Francisco will be holding the 14th Annual Silent Film Festival. July 10-12, 2009. You really don't want to miss Aelita, Queen of Mars, do you? For more information, see http://www.silentfilm.org/event-home.html.

Finally, The Danger and Despair Knitting Circle has a special series in the works. This time, we will be showing detective television shows from the 50s and 60s, including: Peter Gunn, The Falcon, Manhunt, and more. Keep your eye on this blog and http://www.noirfilm.com/Screenings.htm for updates.

And our man in the field (Peter L) gives us this bit on Raymond Chandler and Double Indemnity: http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2009/jun/05/raymond-chandler-double-indemnity-cameo. Thank you Peter.

Noir in June? And more on The Dead?

May was an eventful month -- with both the excellent Roxie series and the Arthur Lyons' Film Festival in Palm Springs. Unfortunately, I was unable to attend the Palm Springs festival. Would anyone like to comment?

Thanks to Peter L (our mystery man in the field) for making me aware of the following film events at the Alliance Française in San Francisco. They are showing a lot of great films. Some of them are noir, and some are noir-related or have elements of noir, and some aren't. But it is a really cool line-up. I've been to events at the Alliance Française, in the past, and it is a very nice crowd. Some of the films being shown in June: Saturday, June 13, 12pm, A Bout de Souffle and Monday, June 22, 5pm, Ascenseur Pour l’Échafaud. They are subtitled in English. Also, I believe they are free, but check with the AF first.

Actually, we have to thank Peter twice, for bringing this bit regarding James Dean to our attention: http://inmotion.magnumphotos.com/essay/james-dean-0

And speaking of The Dead (both the short story by James Joyce, and John Huston's final film, The Dead), I would be remiss if I weren't to mention that June 16th is Bloomsday. Bloomsday is the international celebration of James Joyce's work Ulysses, of which all of the action takes place on June 16th, 1904 in Dublin. Bloomsday celebrations occur all over the world. My favorite place to celebrate is New York City, at the annual Bloomsday On Broadway event, held at Symphony Space on upper Broadway. In the past, I have seen Fionnula Flanagan, Frank (author of Angela's Ashes) and Malachy McCourt and Barbara Feldon (Agent 99!). This year, if you can believe it, Stephen Colbert will be performing -- so you may want to get tickets soon.

San Francisco will hold a Bloomsday event at the Mechanics Institute, but having suffered this once, I won't recommend it.