[Eds. note: This essay was the inspiration for my 2022 book Interrogating Memory: Film Noir Spurs a Deep Dive Into My Family History...and My Own. If you like what you read below, I think you will love the book.] A few years ago, I turned 48. On a lark, I decided to celebrate (in part) … Continue reading Film Noir: A Personal Journey
Category: Film
How film noir made me appreciate my daughter’s birthday celebration even more
My eldest daughter (let’s call her MyED) turned nine yesterday. I know that MyED turned nine yesterday not only because I was at my wife’s side nine years ago yesterday when MyED was born, but because it is practically all anyone has heard from MyED, since…well, since her younger sister turned seven four months ago. … Continue reading How film noir made me appreciate my daughter’s birthday celebration even more
NOIR CITY 15: How Noir is “NOIR?”
My affiliation with the Film Noir Foundation (FNF) began with a “Henchman”-level donation in March 2010. I had learned about the FNF through Eddie Muller’s film noir DVD commentaries (Muller, the “Czar of Noir,” is President and Founder of the FNF), but it was not until I received my free t-shirt and NOIR CITY 8 … Continue reading NOIR CITY 15: How Noir is “NOIR?”
Charlie Chan and Film Noir, Part 3
In the first two "reels" of this series (here and here), I catalogued a series of entertaining links between the Charlie Chan film series (primarily the 27 Fox Chan films featuring Warner Oland and Sidney Toler, 1931-1942) and film noir, drawing in part upon my own experiences at successive Noir City's. I will close with … Continue reading Charlie Chan and Film Noir, Part 3
Charlie Chan and Film Noir, Part 2
My deep affection for the Charlie Chan films began one summer Saturday afternoon in 1976, when my nine-year-old self found a Chan/Sherlock-Holmes double feature on Philadelphia’s now-defunct Channel 48. By March 1977, Channel 48 was rotating through the 22 films from Charlie Chan in London (1934) to Castle in the Desert (1942) every Saturday night … Continue reading Charlie Chan and Film Noir, Part 2
Charlie Chan and Film Noir, Part 1
About 11 minutes into Charlie Chan in Egypt (1935), Nayda—a young Egyptian maid—first walks onto the screen. She delivers some cigarettes and leaves without saying a word. “Nayda” is credited to “Rita Cansino.” Rita Cansino (born Marguerita Carmen Cansino) would later adopt her mother’s maiden name—Hayworth. As Rita Hayworth, she would star in the film … Continue reading Charlie Chan and Film Noir, Part 1
Just Bear With Me... 