Ava's Neo Noir Ordeal

Ava's Neo Noir Ordeal

Bruce Von Stiers

There are numerous films whose subject matter is Elizabeth Short, better known as the Black Dahlia. Films such as Brian De Palma's The Black Dahlia deal with both the investigation into Short's death but also how it impacted lives of two detectives assigned to the case. There is also the horror film Black Dahlia, where a trio of psychopaths attempt to recreate the murder.

But what if there was a film that actively tries to recreate the incidents leading to Elizabeth Short's murder? But better still, what if the film is about a film production company attempting to portray those events? That film would be Night Rain.

The film starts with a woman screaming. Then someone asks her to repeat the scream and then once again like it's 1947.

That transitions into a scene where a woman is sitting on a table with her back to the audience. She is talking to someone. She does all of the talking; we don't hear him at all. She talks of coming to Hollywood for work, but with the strikes no jobs have been available. Her husband was an Air Force Major but died in the war. They lost their only child. And if he could just give her that little loan, once she got to her sister's she'd pay him right back. Something happens and then the woman in no more. This serves as the backdrop for the remainder of the film.

Ava Redlands heads a small, independent film production company. Her latest project gets tanked because the named actor that would star in the film hadn't actually agreed to be in it. So, Ava is looking around for another project.

In comes her legal guy who is also working to get her film jobs. He has an offer from an anonymous investor. This investor wants to make a film about the unsolved murder of Elizabeth Short. And that Ava should play the lead role of Short.

In the meantime, Ava has declined to consider a screenplay about Roger Corman, the king of cult movies. The screenwriter is terribly upset at Ava not even considering his screenplay.

Ava's team is a little bit apprehensive about making the film. There is a short filming schedule and there is no complete script. Basically, they will be doing the film on the fly. But the director, Ezra, thinks it'll be a cool project, a noir film of sorts. The director of photography Vittorio, the script and makeup person, Nefreri and Ava's assistant, Thomasina, all get on board after that.

But all is not as it seems. The script keeps circling around the suspects in Short's death. The team gets daily script pages from the investor. It appears that he's writing the screenplay. And the scenes are getting far darker and dramatic.

But an attempt by Ava to pull out of the film leads to some dangerous consequences. And as the team does research into Short and her death for authenticity, it is revealed that Ava bears an uncanny resemblance to Short.

The further along Ava and her team work on the film, the more apprehension and apparent danger everyone is in. That includes an actor, Alan, brought in for additional scenes.

I am a huge fan of noir films. The Maltese Falcon, Double Indemnity and Sunset Boulevard are a few of my favorite noir films. The Ezra character in the film likes noir films and even mentions Sunset Boulevard.

Clarissa Thibeaux played Nefreri. She starred in Dear Simone and Harlem Fragments. Adam Lesar played Ezra. His film roles have included playing a terrorist, a bank robber and a killer.

Thessa M'loe played Thomasina. She appeared in Opening Night and 108 Stitches. She is also a model and jewelry designer.

Mattia Chicco played Vittorio. He co-starred in the mystery film Nona and was the director of photography for Tripudio. Scott Javore played Alan. He starred in the horror short film, Night of the Slasher.

James Forbis played Boney Knuckles, the investor. He appeared in Hip Hop Circus and co-Thstarred in RedBlacks.

Other actors in the film included Michelle Kantor, Heidi Honeycutt and Lew Steinman. Kantor is a film producer and the founder of Cinefemme. In addition to acting, Honeycutt is a film journalist and festival organizer. Steinman played himself.

There were several scenes that feature Elizabeth Short in imagined flashbacks. She was played by Jessamyn Prince. She was in the Rat Pack Mysteries podcast and produced and directed the horror short film Starved.

Night Rain was written, produced and co-directed by Jeanne Marie Spicuzza. She also starred as Ava. She starred in and co-directed The Scarapist.

The other co-director was Synthian Sharp. He helped co-direct The Scarapist and How I Became An Elephant.

The production companies for the film were Seasons & a Muse and Strange Hyacinth.

The director of photography was Jay Lopez. He was the cinematographer for Blood Sacrifice and The Mercenaries.

A few of the songs used in the film were Sentimental Journey performed by Doris Day, Prisoner of Love performed by Russ Columbo, and The Old Lamplighter by Sammy Kaye and his Orchestra.

The film was dedicated in part to Elizabeth Short. The production team for Night Rain did extensive research to accurately portray the story of Elizabeth Short. Experts on Elizabeth Short and the Black Dalhia murder such as Larry Harnisch were consulted. This research took over a decade to collect to discern a cohesive portrayal of Short and the events leading up to her death.

The film was an official selection at the Martha's Vineyard Film Society Women in Film. Other festivals where the film was shown were the Swedish International Film Festival, the New York Independent Cinema Awards where it won Best Actress for Jeanne Marie Spicuzza, La Femme International Film Festival and was a finalist at the Austin International Art Festival.

Ezra tagged their film as kind of a neo noir film. And that's the take I have of Night Rain. I think that it is a great neo-noir film. It takes the device of a film within a film and turns it around a bit. Then the film builds up the suspense, adds eerie stalking and voyeurism and by the conclusion you get a whole lot of noir.

Currently Night Rain has had only a limited theatrical release. It is available on the streaming platform, The Studio Club. This platform is an exclusive subscription service that is one facet of Seasons and a Muse Studios, which has been called “the premiere woman-owned film and television studio” in Hollywood.

You can find The Studio Club on the Seasons and a Muse website at https://www.seasonsandamusestudios.com/ Night Rain also has a Facebook film page at https://www.facebook.com/NightRainMovie

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