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...