#OTD in 1896 – Birth of stage and film actor, Arthur Shields (younger brother of Barry Fitzgerald), in Portobello, Co Dublin.
While Sean Connolly claimed the unfortunate title of being the first rebel fatality, others were luckier and escaped from Easter Week, 1916 with their lives. For Arthur Shields, his role in the Rising was to become merely an interesting titbit in what was a fascinating career as an actor at home and in the US. Arthur was born into a poor family in Portobello, Dublin in 1896. As one of eight…
Today's double feature of NAKED CITY & CRY OF THE CITY plays twice today, 1:00 pm and 7:00 pm at Oakland's Grand Lake Theatre. Afternoon screenings introduced by Alan K. Rode and evening screenings by Eddie Muller. There will be a special guest as well. Full festival information and tickets available at www.NoirCity.com
NAKED CITY; 1:00, 7:00 PM
This landmark crime movie, producer Mark Hellinger's hardboiled tribute to his beloved Big Apple, peels away all the stylistic melodramatics of noir to present Hollywood's first true policier. Scrupulously researched writing by Malvin Wald and vivid location photography by William Daniels (an Oscar® winner) combined to make this one of the most influential Hollywood films of all time, the template for thousands of cop shows to come. With Barry Fitzgerald, Howard Duff, Don Taylor, Dorothy Hart, and a very scary Ted de Corsia.
Originally released March 4, 1948. Universal–International, 96 minutes. Screenplay by Albert Maltz and Malvin Wald. Produced by Mark Hellinger. Directed by Jules Dassin.
CRY OF THE CITY; 3:00, 9:00 PM
Perhaps the most perfectly realized, thematically and stylistically, of all Siodmak's noir films. Victor Mature is the lawman and Richard Conte the fugitive crook he pursues across Manhattan with tragic results. Shot entirely on location, Siodmak skips the semi-documentary vogue of the day, creating instead an Expressionistic urban landscape ideally suited to this mythic mid-20th-century tale of good and evil. Co-starring Shelley Winters, Debra Paget, Fred Clark, and a scary Hope Emerson in her startling screen debut.
Originally released September 29, 1948. 20th Century-Fox, 95 minutes. Screenplay by Richard Murphy and Ben Hecht, based on The Chair for Martin Rome by Henry Edward Helseth. Produced by Sol. C. Siegel. Directed by Robert Siodmak.
#OTD in 1961 – Death of stage, film and television actor, Barry Fitzgerald, in Dublin.
Barry Fitzgerald was born William Joseph Shields in Walworth Road, Portobello, Dublin. He was the older brother of actor, Arthur Shields. As a child he played with the younger siblings of James Joyce who he called ‘a young man with a beard and very clever.’ He went to Skerry’s College, Dublin, before going on to work in the civil service, while also working at the Abbey Theatre. By 1929, he…