TC #43 - Dave Kehr (The Whistler)

There are those who search out the most majestic works of cinema, and those who would rather search under the cracks for oddities and beyond. Dave Kehr, the former critic of the Chicago Reader and New York Times, and now a programmer at the Museum of Modern Art, certainly fits the latter bill. In his brief conversation with Peter, Dave talks about his origins as a cinephile in Chicago, the challenges of keeping the archive alive in the face of the digital programming switchover, and his recent series at MoMA—Lady in the Dark—dedicated to various crime films made at Columbia Pictures from the 30s to the 50s. Finally, the two investigate one series in particular, The Whistler starring Richard Dix, which features the former silent actor in terrifying and fatalistic situations, only to be reincarnated again and again.

0:00-1:27 Opening
2:49-8:12 Establishing Shots - Boyhood and Dazed and Confused
8:55-48:47 Deep Focus - Dave Kehr
51:07-1:01:15 Double Exposure - The Whistler Series (William Castle, Lew Landers, and George Sherman)
1:01:18-1:04:04 Close / Outtake