Schemers, Scoundrels, and Sexpots: Art of the Film Noir

They’ll be murdering, stealing, and backstabbing all month down at the Oak Street, which sounds like fun to us. July’s repertory slate is a good mix of the titles long recognized as noir royalty (Double Indemnity, The Big Sleep, Chinatown) and enough lesser-known beauties to pique the interest of hardened criminophiles. Good bets include Burt Lancaster’s debut The Killers, the labyrinthine The Big Clock, and the Independence Day weekend’s trio of undeservedly overlooked Alan Ladd/Veronica Lake films. Rounding things out are a fistful of well-known 1990-era noirs all worth a second or even third look, among them David Lynch’s bizarre Blue Velvet, the Coen Brothers’ Miller’s Crossing, and The Grifters, the twistedly Freudian adaptation of Jim Thompson’s novel starring John Cusack. (612) 331-3134; www.mnfilmarts.org