Film Noir UK: British Noir Double Bill
Celebrating the many aspects of British Film Noir, Film Noir UK presents a special double bill involving Carol Reed's masterpiece The Third Man (1949) and a rare chance to see less well known British noir Wanted for Murder (1946).
Not only this, but The Third Man will be introduced by celebrated British film director and film noir fan Stephen Frears (My Beautiful Laundrette, Dangerous Liaisons, Grifters) with writer and broadcaster Matthew Sweet hosting.
Also, as part of the BFI's Powell and Pressburger Screen Unbound season, co-director James Harrison will introduce Lawrence Huntington's Wanted for Murder which was written by Emeric Pressburger.
12pm: The Third Man (1949): The Third Man has been beautifully restored in 4K for the first time, showcasing the genius of this celebrated British noir, voted the ‘The greatest British film of all time’ by a British Film Institute poll.
Holly Martins (Joseph Cotton, Citizen Kane ), a naïve writer of pulp westerns, arrives in Vienna to meet his old friend Harry Lime (the incomparable Orson Welles) nut finds that Lime has apparently been killed in a suspicious accident. Martins, too curious for his own good, hears contradictory stories about the circumstances of Limes death and as witnesses disappear he finds himself chased by unknown assailants.
Complicating matters are the sardonic Major Calloway (Trevor Howard, Brief Encounter), head of the British forces, and Lime’s stage actress mistress, Anna Schmidt (Alida Valli). Will Martin’s curiosity lead him to discover things about his old friend that he’d rather not know?
Brilliantly scripted by Graham Greene and set to Anton Karas’ evocative zither score, this justly celebrated classic is further enhanced by Robert Krasker’s Academy Award winning cinematography and Orson Welles in one of his most iconic screen roles.
3:30pm: Wanted for Murder (1946): As the son of an infamous prison hangman, London businessman Victor Colebrooke (Eric Portman) was long troubled by his family legacy... and the fixation pushed him to become a serial strangler.
Daring Scotland Yard to end his rampage, will the clues add up before a salesgirl date (Dulcie Gray) becomes his seventh victim?
Unusual British suspenser also stars Derek Farr, Ronald Culver, Stanley Holloway, Bonar Colleano; Emeric Pressburger adapted the Terence de Marney play for the screen.
Film Noir UK would like to thank Studio Canal, ITV Studios and the BFI Audience Network.