When
Wed 17 May 2023
The second great noir Lancaster would make with Siodmak (after his 1946 debut, The Killers). A potent sense of doom permeates this cynical portrayal of a postwar Los Angeles where no one can be trusted. With a visual style echoing German Expressionism (brilliantly shot by Franz Planer), it features a surreal, unforgettable heist scene whose spectral images of masked faces emerging from tear gas evoked wartime horrors. Concluding with one of the genre’s bleakest endings, this noir tour de force hurtles towards the inevitable double- and triple-cross suggested by the title. With Yvonne De Carlo and Dan Duryea.
Also screening on Wed 17 May
Program
Soft and Hard: The high-wire career of Burt Lancaster
Sweet Smell of Success (1957) – Wed 3 May, 7pm
The Crimson Pirate (1952) – Wed 3 May, 8.55pm
The Swimmer (1968) – Wed 10 May, 7pm
Conversation Piece (1974) – Wed 10 May, 8.50pm
Criss Cross (1949) – Wed 17 May, 7pm
The Train (1964) – Wed 17 May, 8.40pm
About the program
Burt Lancaster (1913–94) didn’t appear in his first film until he was in her early thirties. Prior to his breakthrough role alongside Ava Gardner in The Killers (1946), he had a highly successful career as a circus acrobat and as an entertainer in the Special Forces during World War II...
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About Melbourne Cinémathèque
Australia's longest-running film society, Melbourne Cinémathèque screens significant works of international cinema in the medium they were created, the way they would have originally screened.
Melbourne Cinémathèque is self-administered, volunteer-run, not-for-profit and membership-driven.
