Our Mission Statement  
 

 
     
" A Dame With A Rod, Is Like A Guy With A Knitting Needle."  
Steve Brodie in ' OUT OF THE PAST '    (1947)  
   
    The 'Knitting Circle' trades, swaps, buys & sells Film Noir on video and 16 mm film. All items available from our lists are done on a collector to collector basis, no rights sold, given or implied.  

In the mid 1990's a small group of friends in San Francisco, started an informal Thursday night Noir Party. Generous portions of beer and wine were consumed at these get-togethers and out of this the group was named the 'Knitting Circle', from the famous line in the 1947 masterpiece 'Out of the Past'. Each week a person was selected to bring in a favorite film. There was the usual swapping and borrowing of the tapes  but due the large number of lost tapes, it was agreed that the group would start a collective library with one person in charge.  The library started with 17 tapes donated by the original members. As the library grew, the word spread and it wasn't long until the 'Circle' was being contacted by other film noir fans in California. It was agreed that the best way to approach this was to trade tapes and to increase the library in the process. The trading started, and within a year we were trading with fans all across the USA. 

The name of what was becoming a cultural resource, was changed to the 'Danger & Despair Knitting Circle'. Again it may have been the vast amounts of libations that lead to this silliness. Never the less, something was catching on and growing. In 1999 the goal became to expand 'the Circle' to a world audience of fans who love this film style. The web site www.noirfilm.com was developed to accomplish that goal.  

Now with over 800 classic noir and related titles in the library, we would like to extend our thanks to fans from all over this planet who have helped the library grow and become a major resource. Traders and collectors from Pakistan, Lithuania, Germany, UK, Iceland, Switzerland, India, New Zealand, Czech Republic, Yemen, USA, Italy, Mexico, Australia, Sweden, Brazil, Denmark & Norway among others have contributed to the library and the goal of an ongoing preservation of this unique and historic film art. The 'Circle' is now a world wide group thanks to these people. 

 

We Love To Trade Video Tapes  !!!  Try to Trade with us if possible.  

We are open to  trading multiple titles from our library for something rare from your collection. Make us an offer we can’t refuse.  We want to hear from you! If you think that we have overlooked a title that's not found in either our ' Haves List ' or our ' Wants List ', let us know. We need your input!! What did we overlook? Do you have a rare title that should be classified Film Noir?  e-mail us and give us some feedback ......   darkmarc@msn.com

For a list of what we have on VHS, go to  Video Haves at the bottom of this page.

You will also find a list of titles that we are looking for at our  Video Wants .

We  Sell  Tapes! 

We recommend that you first try to purchase from a commercial vendor. Many of the titles on our list, will not be found at your neighborhood video store. Some cannot be purchased anywhere commercially.  It seems that the Hollywood  studios that created these vintage classics have very little interest in re-releasing most titles. 

Hence our statement of purpose:

We are a non-profit resource for this American film art on video and film. 

 

 

 

 

The DDKC is currently sponsoring several programs including:
 
a.   'THE BLACKBOARD'  an online forum and cyber lounge for noirheads!
       An International place for fans to meet.  Link to  THE BLACKBOARD
 
b .  The 'Tape Donations Project'  We donate films, tapes and DVD's to Universities, 
        Colleges, Schools,  Teachers & Scholars. Contact us if you are interested.
 
c.  The THURSDAY NIGHT NOIR SCREENINGS which is free and open to the public.   
       Link to the free screenings  THURSDAY NIGHT NOIR
 
d.  DDKC sponsors a series of interviews on the internet with the movers and shakers 
      involved in the resurgence of interest in classic film noir at  THE BIG CHAT
 

Thanks for visiting our site, please make yourself at home and enjoy our resources!

'The Knitting Circle'

 
______________________________________________________
 
Site Directory Video Haves Video Wants 16 mm Films BLACKBOARD Forum Next Page