Kenneth Turan’s film picks of the week: ‘The Big Combo’ and ‘They Made Me a Fugitive’ at LACMA

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Few moviegoing pleasures equal the chance to see impeccable prints of classic film noirs on a bigger-than-life screen. The Los Angeles County Museum of Art’s tribute to the Film Foundation offers two of the best in a double bill Friday at 7:30 p.m.

Though its name is not well known, the Film Foundation has provided an invaluable service during its two decades of existence. A nonprofit founded by Martin Scorsese and other filmmakers, it has, in partnership with key film archives around the world, helped fund the preservation and restoration of more than 500 films, including the features in this series.

First up Friday is Joseph H. Lewis’ ‘The Big Combo,’ one of the signature works of the king of noir cinematographers, John Alton, the man whose corrosive shadows are legendary. Also on the bill is a little-seen but superb British noir, Alberto Cavalcanti’s ‘They Made Me a Fugitive,’ staring Trevor Howard as a man who gets trapped in the criminal life.

In addition to seeing some great films, patronizing this series is a way to express support for the LACMA film program, which is far from on stable ground at the museum. Go on Friday, take in the rest of this rich series and demonstrate to the unfeeling, always skeptical LACMA brass that film is an art people care about.

-- Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times film critic

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