Podtalk: Eddie Muller of ‘Noir City: Chicago 2022,' Music Box Theatre, from Aug. 26-Sep. 1st

CHICAGO – It’s always darkest before the dawn, and an entire genre of film is available for Chicago. The historic Music Box Theatre presents “Noir City: Chicago 2022” – August 26th-September 1st, 2022 – the celebration of “film noir,” the dark category of film drama that usually takes place at night, and features a rogues gallery of dames, gumshoes, coppers and crooks. Hosting again after the COVID hiatus is Eddie Muller, a recognized world expert on noir and also the host of Turner Classic Movie’s (TCM) “Noir Alley.” For more information, including tickets, click NOIR CITY [24].

“Noir City: Chicago 2022” is a week long program of screenings, hosted by Muller from Friday to Sunday, and Film Noir Foundation’s Alan K. Rode the rest of the way. On the kickoff night on August 26th, Muller will be screening a double feature and tribute to James Caan. Throughout the rest of the festival, Noir City will unspool “A” and “B” movies – including a rare double feature pairing of “Flesh and Fantasy” and “Destiny” (originally intended to be one film) – throughout the week.

At the Music Box Theatre, with Eddie Muller (inset)
Photo credit: MusicBoxTheatre.com/Craig Merrill for EddieMuller.com

Eddie Muller is the recognized world expert on film noir, nicknamed the “Czar of Noir” by James McEllroy, author of “L.A. Confidential.” His father, also named Eddie Muller, was a renown sports writer for the San Francisco Examiner, covering the golden age of the underbelly in the boxing world. Eddie the Second followed in his father’s footsteps, beginning his career as a journalist. While plying that trade, he attended film school in the late 1970s, garnering a finalist nod for a student Academy Award in 1979 for “Bay City Blues,” his homage to literary noir-ist Raymond Chandler.

From there, he delved into the noir world in both film and design, and has written novels and film books like “Dark City: The Lost World of Film Noir.” Besides programming the traveling Noir City film screenings for the past ten years, he is host on Turner Classic Movies Noir Alley, every Sunday morning. He also co-wrote the Hollywood biography “Tab Hunter Confidential: The Making of a Movie Star,” and was friends with the actor until his passing in 2018.

In a Podtalk with Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com, the Czar of Noir Eddie Muller previews “Noir City 2022” …

[26]	By PATRICK McDONALD [27] Editor and Film Writer HollywoodChicago.com pat@hollywoodchicago.com [26]