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The Whitsell Auditorium and the Northwest Film Center Equipment Room are closed to the public in an effort to further stem the spread of COVID-19. All classes canceled until further notice. Stay connected to art, film, and more by signing up for our newsletter.

A Little Noir

November 28, 2014 – November 30, 2014

Film Noir—a timeless genre of classic Hollywood films known for their low budgets, taut narratives, evocative cinematography, dark shadows, hard-boiled leading men, and dangerous leading ladies—remains as popular today as during its 1940s and 50s heyday. We offer some lesser-seen noir favorites, featuring ex-Nazis on the lam, escaped cons seeking revenge, crooked cops, and deceitful wives. All are pushed to their limits, and all must pay an inevitable price.

Dark Passage

Directed by Delmer Daves

Vincent Parry (Humphrey Bogart), convicted for murdering his wife, escapes San Quentin dead-set on proving his innocence. Picked up hitchhiking …

I Wake Up Screaming

Directed by Bruce Humberstone

In this lean, clinical tale of love gone sour, the motivations of a hard-boiled detective are put under the microscope. …

Niagara

Directed by Henry Hathaway

Marilyn Monroe and Joseph Cotten star as a troubled husband and wife couple on an ill-fated vacation in this tense …

The Stranger

Directed by Orson Welles

Welles’ post-war thriller tackles Nazism head-on as UN War Crimes Inspector Wilson (Edward G. Robinson) searches for Welles’ fugitive Franz …

Thieves’ Highway

Directed by Jules Dassin

WWII vet Nick Garcos (Richard Conte) returns to San Francisco, intending to go into the apple business with his father. …

The Northwest Film Center recognizes and honors the Indigenous peoples of this region on whose ancestral lands the museum now stands. These include the Willamette Tumwater, Clackamas, Kathlemet, Molalla, Multnomah and Watlala Chinook Peoples and the Tualatin Kalapuya who today are part of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, and many other Native communities who made their homes along the Columbia River. We also want to recognize that Portland today is a community of many diverse Native peoples who continue to live and work here. We respectfully acknowledge and honor all Indigenous communities—past, present, future—and are grateful for their ongoing and vibrant presence.