October 14, 2025

CLARK ART INSTITUTE SCREENS FREE NOIR FILM SERIES 

Williamstown, Massachusetts—Beginning this fall, the Clark Art Institute, in collaboration with Images Cinema, hosts a series of classic noir films. All films are free and screened in the Manton Research Center auditorium on select Thursdays at 6 pm.

October 30
The Big Sleep (1946)
Based on Raymond Chandler’s novel of the same name, The Big Sleep might be the high-water mark of Hollywood’s love affair with the infinitely slippery possibilities of the English language. It is also a study in the evasiveness of genre. Although the morals are skewed, the bullets plentiful, and the femmes most definitely fatale, Bogart’s Marlowe is a decent, (mostly) unconflicted hero, and much of the film takes place not in the shadowy streets but in a series of well-lit, beautifully appointed rooms. This only makes the film feel more subversive, as though the seedy criminal underworld were spilling over into real life, bringing with it the grim but thrilling aura of sexual abandon and sudden death. (Run time: 1 hour, 56 minutes)

November 6
The Hitch-Hiker (1943)
Two men on a fishing trip pick up a mass-murdering hitcher (Talman) and are forced at gunpoint to drive him through Mexico until the fatal moment when he no longer needs them. Director Ida Lupino never relaxes the tension in this 1943 classic for one moment, yet her emotional sensitivity is also upfront as the fishermen bicker about how to deal with their captor, stressing that only through friendship can they survive. (Run time: 1 hour, 11 minutes)

November 13
The Sweet Smell of Success (1957)
In director Alexander Mackendrick’s swift, cynical 1957 film, Burt Lancaster stars as the vicious Broadway gossip columnist J. J. Hunsecker while Tony Curtis is Sidney Falco, the unprincipled press agent whom Hunsecker ropes into smearing the up-and-coming jazz musician romancing his beloved sister. (Run time: 1 hour, 36 minutes)

November 30
Pickup On South Street (1953)
Petty crook Skip McCoy (Richard Widmark) has his eyes fixed on the big score. When the cocky three-time convict picks the pocketbook of unsuspecting Candy (Jean Peters) in director Samuel Fuller’s 1953 thriller, he finds a more spectacular haul than he could have imagined: a strip of microfilm bearing confidential U.S. information. Tailed by manipulative Feds and communists, Skip and Candy pit greed against redemption and passion against self-preservation. (Run time: 1 hour, 20 minutes)

December 4
Leave Her to Heaven (1954)
Novelist Richard Harland (Cornel Wilde) seems to have found the perfect woman in Ellen (Gene Tierney), a beautiful socialite who initiates a whirlwind romance and steers him into marriage before he can think twice. Yet the glassy surface of Ellen’s devotion soon reveals monstrous depths, as Richard comes to realize that his wife is shockingly possessive and may be capable of destroying anyone who comes between them. (Run time: 1 hour, 50 minutes)

December 11
Kiss Me Deadly (1955)
In this atomic adaptation of Mickey Spillane’s novel, directed by Robert Aldrich, the good manners of the 1950s are blown to smithereens. Ralph Meeker stars as snarling private detective Mike Hammer, whose decision one dark, lonely night to pick up a hitchhiking woman sends him down some terrifying byways. (Run time: 1 hour, 46 minutes)

December 18
The Third Man (1949)
Pulp novelist Holly Martins travels to shadowy, postwar Vienna, only to find himself investigating the mysterious death of an old friend, black-market opportunist Harry Lime—and thus begins this legendary tale of love, deception, and murder. (Run time: 1 hour, 44 minutes)

Free. Accessible seats available; for information, call 413 458 0524. For more information, visit clarkart.edu/events.

ABOUT THE CLARK

The Clark Art Institute, located in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts, is one of a small number of institutions globally that is both an art museum and a center for research, critical discussion, and higher education in the visual arts. Opened in 1955, the Clark houses exceptional European and American paintings and sculpture, extensive collections of master prints and drawings, English silver, and early photography. Acting as convener through its Research and Academic Program, the Clark gathers an international community of scholars to participate in a lively program of conferences, colloquia, and workshops on topics of vital importance to the visual arts. The Clark library, consisting of nearly 300,000 volumes, is one of the nation’s premier art history libraries. The Clark also houses and co-sponsors the Williams College Graduate Program in the History of Art.

The Clark, which has a three-star rating in the Michelin Green Guide, is located at 225 South Street in Williamstown, Massachusetts. Its 140-acre campus includes miles of hiking and walking trails through woodlands and meadows, providing an exceptional experience of art in nature. Galleries are open 10 am to 5 pm Tuesday through Sunday from September through June, and daily in July and August. Admission is free to all from January through March and is $22 for adults, $20 for adults age 65+, $10 for adults ages 18-25, and $10 for college students with a valid student ID from April through December; admission is free year-round for Clark members and all visitors under age 18. Free admission is also available through several programs, including First Sundays Free; a local library pass program; and the EBT Card to Culture. For information on these programs and more, visit clarkart.edu or call 413 458 2303.

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