10 · 16 · 25 The Noir Fantasy in John H. Auer's THE CITY THAT NEVER SLEEPS Share with twitter Share with facebook Share with mail Copy to clipboard Sofía Alvarado As part of Noir City Presents, a program dedicated to classic noir thrillers at the 23rd edition of the Morelia International Film Festival (FICM), The City that Never Sleeps (1953), by Hungarian-American director John H. Auer, was screened on Thursday afternoon.The presentation was led by Eddie Muller, a major figure in the noir genre worldwide, who, in addition to presiding over the Film Noir Foundation, directs the weekly Saturday night program Noir Alley on Turner Classic Movies (TCM). The story of The City that Never Sleeps begins with a voiceover introducing the film's main characters: Johnny Kelly is a Chicago police officer who is tired of his job and marriage, so he plans a new life by leaving his wife Kathy for the dancer Sally Connors. Kelly meets Penrod Biddel, a corrupt lawyer who gives him the task of escorting an ex-convict magician across the Indiana border.This is the beginning of a night in Chicago filled with crime and fantastical situations. Muller said that this film is the only one of the three that make up the Noir City Presents program that was filmed on location, unlike Deadline at Dawn (1946) and 99 River Street (1953). It is also the closest to Mexico because it is the most surreal, almost a fantasy; from its antagonist, who is a magician, to its unusual, almost magical realism narrated by the city rather than the characters. “It shows us a city that is a melting pot, with great diversity, because the director is Hungarian and the writer specialized in pulp fiction. They came together and created a kind of dream in film noir.”He also spoke about his introduction to Mexican film noir through Daniela Michel, who opened the doors to the genre by introducing him to directors like Julio Bracho and Emilio Fernández. It is important to highlight this, he said, because film noir was not only made in Hollywood, but there was a whole movement around it, which he discusses in his book Noir Around the World.
