FILM TIMELINE FOR FRENCH 24

THE FRENCH HAD A NAME FOR IT '24 has come and gone. A wonderful time was had by all who attended at San Francisco's Roxie Theater, including those folks who viewed all 32 films in the two-part series.

For excellent overviews of the second half of the festival (18 films, including nine repeat screenings featuring past festival favorites, read Owen Field's fine write-ups at the Blackboard, which are organized into five daily updates. Access them at the links below:

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Day 5

All four decades of French film noir were covered in the full 32-film schedule. Though you'll know only a small number of the titles screened (that's why we've been showing them for the past ten years...), the diagram below provides a look at the full FRENCH 24 lineup, displayed by half-decades and color-coded both according to their screening dates (Part 1, the October schedule, in green; Part 2, the November-December schedule, in yellow) and whether they were repeat screenings (shown in red type): 

As you can see, the only half-decade that was not represented in the full 32-film schedule was 1941-45, the heart of the Occupation Era. 

The decades were reasonably well-balanced--1930s: 8; 1940s: 9; 1950s: 10; 1960s: 5.

Seven films directed by André Cayatte were screened across the two portions of FRENCH 24: five in Part One, two in Part Two.

Five films starring Erich von Stroheim were screened: one (TEMPETE) in Part One; four (L'ALIBI, LES DISPARUS DE ST-AGIL, LE MONDE TREMBLERA, LA DANSE DU MORT) in Part Two.

FRENCH HAD A NAME FOR IT '24 PART ONE: THE SCHEDULE ON A POSTCARD

Much more about the first part of our grand finale can be found here and here, but here is the promotional postcard for Part One of THE FRENCH HAD A NAME FOR IT '24, screening at San Francisco's Roxie Theater from October 3-7.

Things kick off with the lone collaboration between Brigitte Bardot and Jean Gabin, and work through a fascinating look at rare 1930s noir, a special tribute to neglected director André Cayatte, both of which are part of the more exclusive "film club" series playing in the Roxie's screening room (very limited seats still available as of this writing). 

Then it's a glorious high-profile 1930s day on Sunday, October , with a double bill featuring the young Jean Gabin, followed by the magisterial 1934 version of LES MISÉRABLES, a three-part, four-hour epic featuring the great Harry Baur as Victor Hugo's embattled hero Jean Valjean. Of the 50+ versions of "LES MIZ," experts are in agreement that this is the best and most faithful adaptation of Hugo's novel--and it's thoroughly noir.

FRENCH '24 ends with a tribute to the singular monstre sacré Michel Simon, with two films where he is variably touched by madness. Our still from NON COUPABLE would be a fine choice as the image used in an illustrated dictionary for the phrase "fugue state."

When FRENCH '24 Part Two concludes on December 3, a total of 155 rare classic-era French noirs--the most hidden films in the film noir canon--will have been screened in the series since 2014. It's quite a legacy...