The world's greatest film noir festival returns to Oakland's Grand Lake Theatre January 16-25, 2026, for a 23rd spectacular edition. Eddie Muller, FNF founder and host of TCM's Noir Alley, invites you to "Face the Music" with a selection of 24 films from the classic noir era. Be prepared for plenty of surprises! NOIR CITY Passports, ensuring entry to all shows, will be available in November. Individual tickets will be available online starting at 7 pm December 17, 2025, at NoirCity.com.
CONFIRMED 2025 NOIR CITY DATES
NOIR CITY: D.C.: October 10-23
AFI Silver Theatre, Silver Spring, MD
NOIR CITY: Philadelphia: November 14-16
The Colonial Theatre, Phoenixville, PA
NOIR CITY: Xmas: December 17
Grand Lake Theatre, Oakland, CA
NOIR CITY returns to the AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center in Silver Spring, Maryland, October 10-23 with a slate of films highlighting women whose cinematic legacies are entwined with the rise of film noir. Many of this year’s films star the six actresses profiled in Muller’s 2001 book Dark City Dames: The Wicked Women of Film Noir which was reissued in April of this year in a newly revised and expanded edition with the title Dark City Dames: The Women Who Defined Film Noir.
Please note: FNF prez Eddie Muller will not be in attendance this year. FNF board member, author, and film historian Foster Hirsch will introduce screenings October 10–12. FNF board member, author, and film historian Alan K. Rode will introduce screenings October 17–19.
Jane Greer, Marie Windsor, Audrey Totter, Evelyn Keyes, Coleen Gray, and Ann Savage are the core cadre of women featured in this year’s program, which includes many of their signature films, including, respectively, Out Of The Past (1947), The Narrow Margin (1952), Tension (1949), The Prowler (1951), The Killing (1956), and Detour (1945).
In addition to those acclaimed favorites, the program also highlights films starring nine other actresses notable for their performances in crime films of the era: Joan Bennett, Peggie Castle, Rhonda Fleming, Marsha Hunt, Ella Raines, Ruth Roman, Jan Sterling, Claire Trevor and Helen Walker. (Not coincidentally, the recently expanded edition of Muller’s book includes new profiles of these women.)
Line-up, passes and tickets for individual screenings are available on the AFI Silver website
NOIR CITY: Philadelphia returns to The Colonial Theatre in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, November 14-16, 2025, for a three-day extravaganza. Join FNF president Eddie Muller for a film noir lineup that shines the spotlight on women whose cinematic legacy is entwined with film noir. Several of this year’s films star additional actresses profiled in Muller’s Dark City Dames: The Women Who Defined Film Noir — Ella Raines, Ruth Roman, and Jan Sterling
Festival highlights include three rarely screened films: tiki-noir Hell’s Half Acre (1954) with Evelyn Keyes and Marie Windsor, John Farrow’s Faustian tale Alias Nick Beal (1949) with Audrey Totter, and Max Ophüls’ suspenseful 1949 film The Reckless Moment featuring one of Joan Bennett’s finest performances. A 35mm restoration performed by UCLA Film & Television Archive and funded by the FNF will also play: Joseph Losey’s The Prowler (1951), written by Dalton Trumbo with Van Heflin and Evelyn Keyes in the leads.
Festival program schedule, double-feature tickets, and weekend passes (includes all ten films) are available on The Colonial Theatre’s website.
Preserved by the Film Noir Foundation in 2013 and now beautifully restored through the UCLA Film & Television Archive, Never Open That Door (No abras nunca esa puerta) is a significant example of the cross-cultural cinematic legacy shared by the United States and Argentina during the post-WWII era. Based on two short stories by American master of suspense fiction Cornell Woolrich, the film is brilliantly directed by Argentine filmmaker Carlos Hugo Christensen with extraordinary cinematography by Pablo Tabernero. ORDER YOUR COPY
Says FNF founder Eddie Muller about this recent restoration, “It is a revelation to experience the work of an all-American author, in Spanish, and rendered as well – or perhaps better – than any Hollywood adaptation of his work.” + READ MORE
Argentine director Román Viñoly Barreto's El vampiro negro (The Black Vampire) is available from Flicker Alley in a deluxe Blu‑ray/DVD edition. A virtually unknown remake of Fritz Lang's seminal 1931 thriller M, this 1953 Argentine noir is a female-centered take on the tale. + READ MORE
We are proud to announce the release of two FNF restorations as Blu‑ray/DVD combos from Flicker Alley: The Bitter Stems and The Beast Must Die, two classics of Argentine noir.. → READ MORE
The revised and expanded edition of FNF prez and Noir Alley host Eddie Muller's Dark City: The Lost World of Film Noir is now available for purchase from the TCM Shop or your favorite bookseller. + READ MORE
Did you know that The Film Noir Foundation regularly livestreams on our Facebook page in which Eddie Muller answers questions submitted by our e‑mail subscribers? All previous broadcasts are available on our YouTube broadcast archives page.
→ Subscribe to our mailing list, so you can get your question answered.
The latest ASK EDDIE broadcast on Facebook on October 1 and on YouTube the following day.
For a chance to win three winners in random drawings will receive five NOIR CITY Magazine digital back issues —#16, #25, #28, #38, #40 — sent via WeTransfer file transfer service to their email addresses, donate $20 or more to the FNF between now and Friday, October 17. Your name will be entered in a random drawing. Three winners will receive the issues.
And, for a donation of $50 or more, two winners in a random drawing will receive Flicker Alley’s Blu-ray/DVD releases of two FNF restorations: Woman on the Run (1950) with Ann Sheridan and The Man Who Cheated Himself (1950) with Lee J. Cobb, Jane Wyatt, and John Dall. Special features produced by the FNF included on each Blu‑ray/DVD.
All winners will be announced Thursday, October 23, here on the FNF's news page.
Everyone who donates $20 or more and signs up on our e-mail list, will automatically receive the digital version of NOIR CITY e-magazine for a year! In our new issue Jake Hinkson takes a deep dive into film noir and the Southern Gothic, Imogen Sara Smith reveals her favorite neo-noir, Lynsey Ford explores Peter Lorre in Hollywood, and more!
Your donations help the FNF locate, restore, and exhibit films that, without our intervention, would be lost forever.
For $20 donors: three separate $20 donors in a random will receive the Flicker Alley Blu-ray/DVD release of the FNF restoration of Trapped (1950) with Lloyd Bridges and Barbara Payton.
For $50 donations: one winner in a random drawing will receive the Criterion Blu-ray release of the 4K digital restoration of Fritz Lang’s The Big Heat (1953), plus a Blu-ray of The Glass Web (1953) reviewed this issue by Sean Axmaker in the Noir at Home section.
For $100 donations: one winner in a random drawing For $100 donations, a winner in a random drawing will receive the new release of Kino Lorber’s Film Noir: The Dark Side of Cinema XXV featuring the films The Flame (1947), City That Never Sleeps (1953), and Hell’s Half Acre (1954), plus two films featured in Rachel Walther’s “Ripped from the Headlines” article – The Miami Story (1954) and Rumble on the Docks (1956).
For $250 donations: one winner in a random drawing will receive special edition Blu-rays of Kino Lorber releases of Odds Against Tomorrow (1959) and The Killer Is Loose (1956), PLUS NOIR CITY Annuals 2 and 3 (published 2010 and 2011).
For $500 donations: one winner in a random drawing will receive NOIR CITY Annuals 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 (published 2010 – 2014). These out-of-print pristine editions were recently gifted to the FNF in very limited quantities by a donor who wishes to remain anonymous.
For a shot at any of these goods, make your donation to the FNF between now and October 17. Your name will be entered into the random drawings for your donation amount. All winners will be announced on Thursday, October 23, here on the FNF’s news page.
In this revised and expanded edition of his essential volume Dark City Dames, Eddie Muller—FNF founder and Turner Classic Movies host—offers a uniquely intimate look at the women who defined film noir, now featuring updated text, photos, and ten new star profiles.
In Dark City Dames, acclaimed film historian Eddie Muller takes readers into the world of six women who made a lasting impression in this cinematic terrain—from veteran “bad girls” Audrey Totter, Marie Windsor, and Jane Greer to unexpected genre fixtures Evelyn Keyes, Coleen Gray, and Ann Savage. The book provides in-depth profiles of these formidable women during the height of their careers, circa 1950, as they balanced love and career, struggled against typecasting, and sought fulfillment in a ruthless business. Their personal stories—teeming with larger-than-life characters like Howard Hughes, Louis B. Mayer, Robert Mitchum, Otto Preminger, and John Huston—offer a fascinating counterpoint to their movies. Then, Dark City Dames revisits each woman fifty years later to witness their hard-won—and triumphant—survival. On every page their own voices ring through, reflecting on their lives with as much passion, pain, intelligence, energy, and humor as any movie script. Muller conducted far-ranging interviews with the original six women profiled in Dark City Dames, in the process becoming a friend and confidante to each.
In this revised and expanded edition, he updates their stories and shares illuminating, never-before-told memories of his time with them. This edition also includes compelling new profiles of ten additional women who left an indelible mark on film noir, including Joan Bennett, Gail Russell, Rhonda Fleming, and Claire Trevor—all packaged in a stunning redesign that offers the ultimate look at performers who helped define a still-resonant and inspiring epoch of Hollywood history.
➥ ORDER from publisher Running Press
➥ ORDER from Amazon
FNF prez Eddie Muller's newest book, NOIR BAR: Cocktails Inspired by the World of Film Noir combines two of his greatest passions, film noir and cocktails.
In the words of the author, "Noir Bar offers a booze-based excursion through America's most popular film genre, pairing easy-to-master recipes with the kind of behind-the-scenes anecdotes that I like to include in my film intros and books." Some of the drinks are the ones being imbibed on screen and some are named after the films, the characters or the actors themselves. The recipes came from a variety of sources including Ernest Hemmingway and Sam Fuller. Some were even created by Eddie himself. Eddie also draws on his past as a bartender to coach you on the supplies and the techniques you will need to create these libations in your own home. The book is stylishly laid out and filled with movie stills, poster art, behind-the-scenes images, and cocktail photography. The book is available from Running Press.
Come follow us on Tumblr to indulge your passion for noir! We'll be posting daily, celebrating all things noir with exclusive stills and images you won't see anywhere else, as well as trailers, film clips, and more.
Share our posts with your friends; your love of the art form is the Foundation's biggest asset in its mission to preserve and restore classics of the genre. We are also fully committed to present our rescued films in the way they were meant to be seen: in 35mm at our NOIR CITY festivals around the country.
NOIR CITY MAGAZINE - DIGITAL VERSION
For access to the best writing on noir available today, and to enjoy one of the most cutting-edge interactive multimedia cinema publications in the world, subscribe to NOIR CITY®.
Start by adding your name to our mailing list and then making a donation to the FNF of $20 or more. View the Table of Contents for the current issue here.
Keep us posted on noir news and events in your area! Email Anne Hockens, Film Noir Foundation news and events editor.