The ideal movies to see at Grand Illusion’s jewel-box theater are
old (the small screen is best suited to films with squareish aspect
ratios, common during the 1950s and before) and slightly seedy
(it’s the Upper Ave). Bingo: a program of rarely seen films by
B-movie specialist Phil Karlson, with mob operatives, a Korean
War vet suffering from a traumatic brain injury, and—in Five
Against the House—an early role for
Vertigo‘s Kim Novak. (Grand Illusion,
1403 NE 50th St, 523-3935. Five Against the House at 7 pm, The Brothers Rico at 9 pm, $5–$8.)

Annie Wagner is The Stranger's former film editor. She was born and raised in Capitol Hill, but has since lived in such far-flung locales as Phoenix, AZ, Charlottesville, VA, and Wedgwood. After graduating...