The Crooked Way
Chazen Museum of Art 750 University Ave., Madison, Wisconsin 53706
press release: USA | 1949 | 35mm | 90 min.
Director: Robert Florey
Cast: John Payne, Sonny Tufts, Ellen Drew
Eddie Rice (Payne), a decorated World War II veteran suffering from amnesia, returns to Los Angeles to find his true identity. Unfortunately, Eddie soon discovers that, as a former gangster, he made many enemies, including his ex-wife Nina (Drew) and mobster Vince (Sonny Tufts). Distinguishing it from other contemporary films whose heroes are returning soldiers with memory loss (The Clay Pigeon, Somewhere in the Night), The Crooked Way is brought to life with some of the most dazzling noir cinematography by Hungarian-born émigré John Alton (T-Men, Border Incident). Combined with Florey's dramatic mise-en-scène and the baroque art direction of Van Nest Polglase (Stranger on the Third Floor, Citizen Kane, All That Money Can Buy), the result is a visually stunning masterpiece. Restored by UCLA Film & Television Archive in conjunction with The Film Foundation. Preserved from four 35mm nitrate composite prints. Laboratory services by Fotokem, Roundabout Entertainment, Audio Mechanics, Simon Daniel Sound and DJ Audio Inc. Special thanks to Ignite Films BV, Jan-Willem Bosun, the Library of Congress and The Packard Humanities Institute.
UCLA Festival of Preservation on Tour: One of the world’s leaders in the efforts to preserve our motion picture heritage, the UCLA Film & Television Archive has arranged their biennial tour of restored 35mm prints and DCPs of selected titles from the most recent edition of their annual Festival of Preservation. The selection highlights features and shorts including silent-era rediscoveries, landmark American Independent movies, poverty row gems, remarkable documentaries, and more! The screenings will be presented both at our regular Vilas Hall venue and every Sunday in February at the Chazen Museum of Art.