Get noir fix with ‘Nocturne’
Tonight starts one of L.A.’s best annual rites of spring, the American Cinematheque’s film noir festival, where you can get your noir fix through April 19 with a rich slate of classics, many of them almost impossible to find elsewhere. Besides, the black-and-white shadows that linger in these films resonate even more ominously in a pitch-black theater. “Nocturne,” one of my favorites, lands as the second half of a double-bill on Sunday night. It stars George Raft as L.A. detective Joe Warne, who doesn’t buy the suicide of a high-style Hollywood composer who ran through women like the keys on the piano he died at. He called them all Dolores, that’s the kind of sensitive guy he was. It won’t be the best Raft you’ll ever see, but the dames are great, particularly Lynn Bari, the beautiful brunet/love interest/murder suspect, and Mabel Paige as Joe’s whip-smart mom. There is great smoky, late-night club music woven throughout, and it’s a kick to look for legendary local hangouts like the Brown Derby in the background.
-- Betsy Sharkey
