Today was the last of the Film Noir festival at the Castro. Actually there are two films playing tomorrow, but I’ve seen them already, and too recently. I saw many films this week that I haven’t even read about, and usually this means one of two things–they’re either not worth knowing about to begin with, or they’ve been sitting in some vault for 60 years. I was the geek standing at the front of the line an hour before each movie started, to assure my 7-11th row center seat, in the hope of discovering some forgotten gem, but, unfortunately, most of the films fell into the category of not worth remembering, but I, as a completist and student of film, had to see The Woman on Pier 13 aka I Married a Communist, just to witness the comic depiction of waterfront communists in the mid-40’s. (As really mean Chicago-style gangsters.) I didn’t revisit the films that I’ve seen a gazillion times (Out of the Past, Dark Passage, Lady from Shaghai, etc…), but focused on the rarer treats. Today’s movie featured a very young and very tasty Tony Curtis in leather police drag (!) and Gilbert Roland’s big face and hairy forearms–widescreen and luscious. The programmer of the festival really pushed the boundaries of film noir, and included many features that were more like film gris, including femmes fatale who actually loved the men they destroyed, really meant well, and didn’t even die in the end.
So what will happen in the next exciting episode of Big Chris/Little Chris? Last night I was told that “It was over,” but tomorrow we’re supposed to entertain a gaggle of international bear celebutantes. A yo-yo, on Big Chris’ string, that’s me, and who knows how long I’ll spin and flip for my beloved big dude.
Stay tuned, gentle reader.