Screen Grabs: Feting a visionary film noir genius - 48 hills

The 25th edition of SF DocFest is a major special film event in San Francisco, alongside other overlapping series that honor film careers. A two-night retrospective at the Roxie features cinematographer John Alton, presented as “Film Noir’s Visionary Genius: John Alton,” with Elliot Lavine credited for long-term programming support for vintage film noir. Alton’s visual atmospherics are described as central to moody postwar crime dramas, elevating many low-budget black-and-white B-movies into later cult classics. The program includes 1948 titles such as Raw Deal, The Amazing Mr. X, and Hollow Triumph, distributed by Eagle-Lion. A later selection highlights The Big Combo, directed by Joseph H. Lewis, featuring Cornel Wilde as a cop whose obsession drives the story.

"One is, like DocFest, also at the Roxie-as is fitting, since Elliot Lavine was a programmer there for many years, doing a great deal to drum up interest in vintage film noir. Though he's now based in the Pacific Northwest, he'll be back for the two-night retrospective "Film Noir's Visionary Genius: John Alton" this Mon/1 and Tues/2. While the subgenre of moody postwar crime dramas was often considered a showcase for directorial style, cinematographer Alton was as important a contributor to them as any."

"He lent remarkable visual atmospherics to myriad B&W titles that were mostly regarded as disposable "B-movies" at the time-but which now are cherished classics and cult items. Three of the four films on tap here are from 1948, a pinnacle of Stateside noir activity: Anthony Mann's violent Raw Deal, Bernard Vorhaus' horror-adjacent The Amazing Mr. X, and the magnificently named Hollow Triumph, whose director Steve Sekely was a Hungarian emigre like Alton) retained onscreen credit but was reportedly replaced mid-shoot by star Paul Henreid."

"All were relatively low-budget independent productions distributed by the shortlived company Eagle-Lion. They attracted little critical attention then, only to slowly become revered for their triumphs of ornate style over dime-novel content. Seven years later, after Alton worked on such expensive mainstream productions as the original Father of the Bride and prestige musical An American in Paris, Alton returned to the scene of the crimes with The Big Combo, one of the most famous noirs."

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