Like a shot in the dark, film noir hits Cville

Story by Greg Ritter. Illustration by Bob Gorman.

It was a dark and stormy night and there was a knock at the office door. A red-headed dame walked into my dimly lit, smoke-filled office from the black night outside.

“Mr. Ritter? The great investigator, Mr Ritter?

“Yeah, that’s me, babe,” I said, picking at my teeth with a match. “What’s it to you?”

“I need your investigative prowess, Mr. Ritter,” she said in a husky voice. She pulled a cigarette from her purse. I leaned across my desk and lit the cigarette; the glow from my match in the dark office lit her crossed legs. Man, she had some gams.

“What do you need me to find for you?” I asked.

“Information, Mr. Ritter,” she whispered. “Information about...the Virginia Festival of American Film.”

I pulled one of my own cigarettes out of my pocket and lit it. I’d heard of the Festival. El Festivalo they called it in rough circles. “It’ll cost you big,” I told her. She tossed a roll of greenbacks on my desk. Money talks, so I walked.

I knew where to start. Another broad, name of Laura Oaksmith. I’d heard on the street she was director of the Festival. I showed up at her office later that night. She was alone, working late.

“What do you want?” she asked.

“The goods,” I said. “The low-down on the Festival.”

Oaksmith gasped. I’d caught her by surprise. I saw her reach for her desk drawer. “Not so fast,” I said and whipped my .38 from under my jacket. “Just tell me what you know.”

She spilled her guts: The Festival had been in existence since ’88 and is recognized as the only major festival hosted by a university. It’s held every year in Charlottesville on the University of Virginia campus, this year from October 28-31. The focus changes each year; this year the theme is “Film Noir: Through A Lens Darkly.” The festival will explore this uniquely American cinematic style. Classics like Double Indemnity, The Maltese Falcon, The Big Sleep and The Big Heat set the standard for the form — hard-edged, urban dramas with a dark and fatalistic view of the world. Contemporary films such as Chinatown, Body Heat, The Grifters and Reservoir Dogs have continued the tradition.

In addition to screenings of new independent works and studio releases in the noir tradition, there’ll be a series of lectures and discussions by celebrities and film professionals. Actors Robert Mitchum (the original Cape Fear and Out of the Past) and Richard Widmark (Night and the City) will be guests honored with screenings of some of their work. Tess Gallagher, poet and widow of writer Raymond Carver, will lead a post-screening discussion of Robert Altman’s Short Cuts, a film based on Carver’s fiction. Screenwriter/novelists Richard Price (Color of Money, Sea of Love, Mad Dog and Glory, and the remake of Night and the City) and Donald Westlake (The Grifters) will participate in discussions also. A key speaker, leading a three-day in-depth workshop on Sunset Boulevard, is film critic Roger Ebert. I’d heard of him. They call him The Fat One.

“That’s it?” I shouted, reaching across the desk, grabbing her by the front of her dress. “There’s something you’re not telling me,” I said.

She turned her face away. “The number. 1-800-UVA-FEST. If you need more information you can call the number.”

I let her go; I wasn’t going to get more out of her. Usually I don’t like roughing up broads, but she wanted to play rough so I played rough. I took the information back to my red-headed client. She was...very appreciative. “Look,” I said, putting an arm around her shoulder and leading her out of the office into the dark night, “I know this little place down on Robinson Street that serves up a great cup of joe...”

She smile as we walked out. It looked like the beginning of a beautiful friendship.