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“In my profession there is neither good nor bad. There is innocence and guilt,” observes the unnamed inspector in Carol Reed’s 1947 thriller. That’s the kind of noirish moral ambiguity you’d expect from the director of The Third Man; it also suits the film’s troubled subject matter. Set in Belfast, it follows Johnny McQueen, one of the higher-ups in a secret IRA-like organization. His crew sets out to steal money to fund their operation: the heist goes wrong, he’s wounded in the process, and he disappears in the city’s labyrinthine streets. In the ensuing dark night of the soul, his supporters and police alike set out to find him. Shot in the same baroque, expressionistic style as The Third Man (but considered even better by some), the film caused controversy by its sympathetic treatment of an IRA terrorist. But the movie’s star, James Mason, called the McQueen role the best of his career. This is the closing film in The Belcourt’s excellent Noir Fest 2, so if you missed a film here and there, you have one last chance — unlike Johnny.
March 9-11, 2010
March 9-11, 2010
