The first weekend of Noir City, the 10th Annual Hollywood Film Noir Festival, kicked off on April 5, 2008 with a Barbara Stanwyck double feature. The evening was hosted by Alan K. Rode, Director of the Film Noir Foundation and author of Charles McGraw: Biography of a Film Noir Tough Guy. Rode pointed out in his introduction that Barbara Stanwyck was one of Film Noir's first ladies and a dame whose on-screen persona was seldom weak. However, this tribute commenced with one of the few films that portrayed Stanwyck as a helpless woman at the mercy of other people, 1948's Sorry, Wrong Number.

Sorry, also starring Burt Lancaster, tells the tale of Leona Stevenson (Stanwyck), an invalid whose poor physical health is largely due to her mental instability. Her husband Henry (Lancaster) is a small-town boy with nothing of his own who becomes Vice President of his father-in-law's pharmaceutical company. One evening while home alone, Leona tries to call her husband and inadvertently overhears two men plotting a murder. When she receives a call later in the evening that concerns Henry, her father's company and a couple of roughnecks, she realizes her life may be in danger. Sorry, Wrong Number was adapted from a radio play written by Lucille Fletcher. The print shown at the Egyptian was crisp; the audio engulfed the audience with every stab of Franz Waxman's suspenseful score. It was a very fitting first half of the Stanwyck tribute.

Following Sorry, Wrong Number, the audience was treated to a Q&A session with Darryl Hickman, the child star who played a young Van Heflin in The Strange Love of Martha Ivers, the second film of the evening. Host Alan K. Rode asked Hickman about his experiences working with different classic Hollywood personalities, including Barbara Stanwyck in Strange and Gene Tierney in Leave Her to Heaven. Hickman told an interesting story regarding his drowning scene in Leave: he'd gotten Pneumonia because the water was so cold. He spoke briefly about his role in the noir classic The Set Up and working with director Robert Wise. Hickman also informed the audience of his new book, The Unconscious Actor, a blueprint for mastering different creative approaches to acting, which has earned a wide range of endorsements from Jerry Seinfeld to Burt Reynolds.

The second half of the evening began with a more familiar Stanwyck: the aggressor. The Strange Love of Martha Ivers is the story of a Martha, a young girl under the stern rule of her aunt. After Martha attempts to sneak away with Sam Masterson, a boy regarded as a hooligan, and is caught, her aunt sends her upstairs where she finds another young boy named Walter O'Neil in her room. Walter is a skinny, but obviously intellectual child who seems to have an encyclopedic knowledge of everything his father has ever told him. While Martha is in her room with Walter, Sam climbs through the window and tells her of his plans to run away with the circus. Martha insists on going with him, but when she begins gathering a few belongings, her aunt finds her out. Martha kills her aunt with a frightened Walter by her side. Sam has slipped out of the house unnoticed. Many years later, Martha (Stanwyck) is running the family town. She's married to Walter (Kirk Douglas), now a political giant under his wife's iron fist. When Sam (Van Heflin) wanders back into town, the three childhood friends must deal with the elephant in the room, the murder of Martha's aunt, and decide if they can really trust one another to keep it a secret forever. Strange has the distinction of being Kirk Douglas's debut film. Our full review of the film can be found here.

The Barbara Stanwyck double feature was a highly enjoyable evening with young and old in attendance. The American Cinematheque and The Film Noir Foundation are to be lauded for their combined efforts in making this year's Noir City a memorable one. The festival runs through April 24, 2008.