Noir City Chicago 2024 Recap

by Rosalie Lewis

This year had everything: prison breaks, night club brawls, 3D brain surgery, cats, birds, and seats with cup holders.

Best of the Fest: Le Trou

Harry Styles Lookalike Contest: Dirk Bogarde, Cast a Dark Shadow

Vilest Villain: Edward G. Robinson, Black Tuesday

Nightclub Stefon Would Love to Hype: Cabaret Chango in Victims of Sin

Most Remarked-Upon Cat: The Postman Always Rings Twice

Wears the Hell Out of a Dirty Torn Up Undershirt: Massimo Girotti, Ossessione

Quote That Made the Whole Audience Laugh Out Loud: [After a kidnapping victim wails and cries to her captors]:“Don’t know anybody who’d pay 100 grand to have that around the house.”—Lyle Bettger, Union Station

After Hours, But Make It Noir: Odd Man Out

Home Alone, But Make It Noir: The Window

Most Shots of Old Timey Amusement Park Staple “Laughing Sal”: Man in the Dark

Best Use of 3-D: The roof caves in, Inferno

Most Complicated Plot: Zero Focus

Movie I Skipped Because I Had to Do an Airport Pick Up and I’d Already Seen It: Brute Force

Movie I Watched at Home Because the Theater Had Technical Difficulties and Couldn’t Play it: Cairo Station

Most Surprisingly Helpful Movie Pet: Jef’s bird in Le Samourai

Protagonist I Kinda Wanted to Punch: Jose, Hardly a Criminal

Even the Bad Guy Wants to Save Her: Veronica Lake, This Gun for Hire

You Could Hear a Pin Drop During: “The Hummingbird Comes Home” segment of Never Open That Door

Other Thoughts:

While I love every Noir City, this year was special for a few reasons. First, I didn’t get to attend last year due to a work trip so it was my triumphant return. Second, it coincided with the re-opening of Theater 1 at Music Box following weeks of restoration work for their “Revive at 95” campaign. The proscenium arch was repainted, new seats with cupholders were installed, aisle lights were added to every seat, a T-coil was installed so that folks with hearing aids can automatically have sound piped directly to their device instead of relying on closed captions, and there’s new carpeting and flooring as well. Finally, I love that this fest featured so many international films—it’s great to see how the film noir style shows up in Japan, Egypt, France, Argentina, Mexico, and Ireland.

It was encouraging to see really big (and mostly very well behaved) crowds for not just the well-known titles but even for the obscure ones. I’m happy to see that enthusiasm for classic film continues to infect younger generations and inspire trips to repertory screenings. Regardless of the current state of cinema, there absolutely is a niche audience for awesome older movies and that makes me feel great.

I have some new noir rabbit holes to go down following this festival, and that sense of excitement and discovery keeps me going all year round. First, I want to check out more Luchino Visconti films—Ossessione got me intrigued for sure. Second, I want to delve into the detective fiction of Seicho Matsumoto, who authored the book that was adapted into Zero Focus. Third, I need to watch Le Trou over and over because that has skyrocketed into my top films of all time—truly incredible movie and I was blown away. Fourth, I need to watch way more movies starring two incredible actresses: Ninon Sevilla (Victims of Sin) and Hind Rostom (Cairo Station). Holy cow are they powerhouse women, and absolutely mesmerizing on screen!

If you attended this year’s Noir City (or played along at home), let me know in the comments! I’d love to know your favorite discoveries as well. Til next year, au revoir!