One of the more fun things in San Diego is the group Film Geeks San Diego. For the last few years they have organized yearlong themed cinema celebration at the Digital Gym, a 48-seat micro-theater of art and international films. Past themes included Universal Suspects, featuring classic Universal Horror movies; Get Hammered celebrated the horror of British Hammer studios, and last year’s retrospective of John Carpenter movies.

This year’s theme, after a very close vote, is Noir on the Boulevard with each month spotlighting a different classic of the Film Noir tradition, one of my favorite genres.

This past Sunday I stopped by to enjoy a noir I had never seen, I Wake up Screaming, starring Victor Mature, Betty Grable, and Carole Landis. In addition to the feature presentation, the showing included a short introduction by Victoria Mature, daughter of the film’s lead.

After a spot of luck finding a parking spot just one block away, I entered the theater and discovered that the showing had sold out two weeks earlier. This prompted conflicting emotions. On one hand I wanted to see the movie and this was a personal disappointment, but on the other hand what coolness that the showing were generating greater interest and selling out. Luckily not all pass-holders, who account for about half the audience, showed up and all of us on the stand-by list were able to buy tickets and get in. I lucked out and I learned my lesson; buy in advance.

Victoria Mature was charming, she treated us to video clips and stories presenting sort of in-person bonus material. She also sang for us and her voice was lovely and powerful, filling the auditorium with her rich tones.

I Wake Up Screaming will not become one of my favorite noirs but it I am very glad I had a chance to see it with a live audience. The final resolution of the murder/mystery tracked about 50% with what I expected, and that was a good thing. Mysteries suffer from two common failure modes; so predictable as to be boring or so out of left field as to be utterly preposterous. (Really Agatha? How did everyone fit into such a tiny space?) This one threaded the needle presenting a solution that followed from the characters and yet was not telegraphed miles and miles away.

Next month they will be showing This Gun for Hire another I have not seen save for tiny clips appearing in LA Confidential.