There’s no shadow of a doubt that Palm Springs will soon be swarming with damsels in distress, gregarious gangsters, diminutive dicks, lascivious ladies and odoriferous oddballs.
Welcome to the 25th Annual Palm Springs Film Noir Festival, officially known as the Arthur Lyons Film Noir Festival.
The festival runs May 9-12 at the Palm Springs Cultural Center, where 12 films will be screened all for the first time, along with a small handful of special guest appearances. It takes about a half a year to pull together this excursion into shadowy cinema. The festival was founded in 2000 by noir enthusiast and film historian Arthur Lyons; when he died in 2008, the festival was renamed in his honor.
“I’ve always defined ‘noir’ as films that treat light and shadow like characters,” explains Eric Smith, General Manager of the Palm Springs Cultural Center at The Historic Camelot Theatre.
Opening night’s film is Body and Soul, the 1947 gem starring John Garfield and Lilli Palmer (below), Anne Revere and Canada Lee. The flick is described as “the undisputed champion of boxing movies” [that] “depicts the seamy world of the so-called ‘sweet science’ as an unforgettable metaphor for loss and redemption.” Scheduled special guest is actor/writer Jim Beaver, who also wrote a biography of Garfield.
All access pass holders and special guests are invited to the opening night reception. Expect to see the wild and wooly: One patron likes dressing as Mickey Spillane; one year the celebratory cake featured an inside filling resembling blood. More food for thought: The center’s cafe has been renamed Mildred’s, as in Mildred Pierce.
None of the films shown since 2001 have been repeated, not an easy task since films are always undergoing restoration and being pulled from circulation. This is one of the reasons the festival has been successful every year; Smith says that the festival has continually made money. He’s proud to admit that 29% of attendees are repeat customers.
Why has the festival lasted a quarter of a century?
“There’s nothing better than sitting together in a dark theater with like-minded people watching rare, lost and rarely-seen films,” explains Smith. “These films are black-and-white classics. And they’re never seen on Netflix.”
For a complete schedule of films and screening times, visit arthurlyonsfilmnoir.org/
TICKETS
Tickets can be purchased at the Cultural Center’s box office (2300 East Baristo Road, Palm Springs, CA) or in advance at eventbrite.com/e/2024-arthur-