FARGO, SPELLBOUND and More Set for Coolidge Corner Theatre NOIRVEMBER Film Series

Film-hungry Bostonians hankering for a shot of something dark and bitter after too much Halloween candy need look no further this November than the Coolidge Corner Theatre, as October's horrors give way to Noirvember, a celebration of Hollywood's indelibly hard-edged style.

Originally coined in 2010 by Chicago film critic Marya E. Gates, Noirvember has expanded into a world-wide, month-long holiday of cinephilia. Each November, film fans revisit the classics of the cynical, seductive genre, along with a whole host of newer films inspired by their impact. This year, the Coolidge takes an expansive approach, covering the gamut from noir's inception in the 1940s to its afterlife in the 1990s and on into the 21st century.

Screenings in this eight-film series include On Dangerous Ground, by legendary auteur Nicholas Ray (Rebel Without a Cause), and Spellbound, Alfred Hitchcock's own dalliance with the film noir style. The 1997 neo-noir L.A. Confidential will screen in a rarely-seen archival 35-millimeter print. Alongside the screenings, the Coolidge will offer a series of in-depth discussions focused on select films and led by film writer and programmer Kay Lynch, founder of the Salem Horror Fest and frequent Coolidge instructor.

A full schedule for Noirvember 2026 is listed below, and also available at coolidge.org/noirvember.

SCHEDULE: NOIRVEMBER AT THE COOLIDGE

* - introduction and post-film discussion with Kay Lynch (additional purchase required)
† - 35mm screening

TOUR DATES

On Dangerous Ground — Sunday, November 1st at 2:30 PM

New York cop Jim Wilson has seen it all on the city's shadowy streets: killers, thugs, pimps, sadists. And the experience has cost him his soul. Ironically, his redemption may come in his next case, a brutal murder that brings him into the open sky and white light of the countryside and into the arms of a beautiful blind woman.

Fargo — Thursday, November 5th at 9:45pm

The Coen Brothers and star Frances McDormand became household names with the release of this darkly comic film noir. Jerry Lundegaard (William H. Macy) is a car salesman in Minneapolis who has gotten himself into debt and is so desperate for money that he hires two thugs (Steve Buscemi, Peter Stormare) to kidnap his own wife. The scheme collapses when the thugs shoot a state trooper, leading to an investigation by pregnant sheriff Marge Gunderson (Frances McDormand) who begins to see the cracks in Lundegard's scheme.

Beware, My Lovely * — Wednesday, November 11th at 7:00 PM

Helen Gordon hires Howard Wilton as a handyman to do chores around her house. She doesn't know what she's let herself in for. Insecure and paranoid, Wilton thinks everyone, including Helen, is against him. He suffers from memory lapses and extreme mood swings. She's soon a prisoner in her own house after Wilton locks the doors and tears out the telephone. His mood swings from violence to complacency but after Helen gets a message to the police via a telephone repairman, she finds he is still in the house.

In Bruges — Thursday, November 12th at 9:45 PM

Bruges, the most well-preserved medieval city in the whole of Belgium, is a welcoming destination for travelers from all over the world. But for hit men Ray (Colin Farrell) and Ken (Brendan Gleeson), it could be their final destination; a difficult job has resulted in the pair being ordered right before Christmas by their London boss Harry (Ralph Fiennes) to go and cool their heels in the storybook Flemish city for a couple of weeks.

I'll Be Seeing You * † — Wednesday, November 18th at 7:00 PM

Mary Marshall, serving a six-year term for accidental manslaughter, is given a Christmas furlough from prison to visit her closest relatives, her uncle and his family in a small Midwestern town. On the train she meets Zach Morgan, a troubled army sergeant on leave for the holidays from a military hospital. Although his physical wounds have healed, he is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and is subject to panic attacks. The pair are attracted to one another and in the warm atmosphere of the Christmas season friendship blossoms into romance, but Mary is reluctant to tell him of her past and that she must shortly return to prison to serve the remainder of her sentence.

Blast of Silence — Tuesday, November 24th at 7:30 PM

This low-budget, carefully crafted portrait of a hit man on assignment in Manhattan during Christmastime follows its stripped-down narrative with mechanical precision, and an eye and ear for the oddball details of urban living and the imposing beauty of the city. At once visually ragged and artfully composed, and featuring rough, poetic narration performed by Lionel Stander and written by Waldo Salt (both uncredited), Blast of Silence is a stylish triumph.

Spellbound * — Wednesday, November 25th at 7:00 PM

Dr. Constance Petersen (Ingrid Bergman) is a psychiatrist with a firm understanding of human nature—or so she thinks. When the mysterious Dr. Anthony Edwardes (Gregory Peck) becomes the new chief of staff at her institution, the bookish and detached Constance plummets into a whirlwind of tangled identities and feverish psychoanalysis, where the greatest risk is to fall in love. A transcendent love story replete with taut excitement and startling imagery, Spellbound is classic Hitchcock, featuring stunning performances, an Academy Award-winning score by Miklos Rozsa, and a captivating dream sequence by Surrealist icon Salvador Dalí.

L.A. Confidential * † — Wednesday, December 2nd at 7:00 PM

In 1950s Los Angeles, Ed Exley, Bud White, and Jack Vincennes are three very different cops: Ed is ambitious and incorruptible, Bud takes pleasure in beating up wrong-doers, and Jack works as technical advisor to the TV police show Badge of Honour. Ed earns the enmity of Bud and Jack when he testifies that they were involved in the beating of a group of men in police custody, but all three men become involved after a mass-murder takes place at the Nite Owl cafe. Initially, it seems that a group of drug addicts are responsible, but further investigation leads to evidence of blackmail, prostitution and a police cover-up. Curtis Hanson's adaptation of LA crime writer James Ellroy's novel features a litany of the 90s' biggest stars, and garnered 9 Academy Award nominations.

ABOUT THE COOLIDGE CORNER THEATRE

The nonprofit Coolidge Corner Theatre is a premier American independent cinema renowned for its curated feature film programming and innovative signature educational, cultural, and entertainment programs. A beloved movie house, the Coolidge welcomes over 225,000 patrons per year and has been pleasing audiences with the best in cinematic entertainment since 1933.

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