Those hot summer nights are about to get a little steamier as Rita Hayworth, Gloria Grahame and Gene Tierney set the screen alight this July at the Humboldt County Library as part of the Film Noir Classic Film Series (free).

Film noir, the black and white film style featuring dark, shadowy cinematography and tough guys outwitted by damsels in distress (who are anything but), is the focus of this month's Classic Film Series. Deceit, murder, grit and grime all framed by evocative lighting and dark shadow play — flickering fan blades silhouetted on the ceiling of a private investigator's office, shafts of moonlight streaming through angled slats in the blinds, dark figures emerging from foggy streets. Deception's the name of the game and trouble is the name of the dame. A beautiful woman enters, common sense exits. Every time, suckers. Watch the coolest of guys (Bogart, Glenn Ford, Don Taylor) come undone by one artfully arched eyebrow, one well-turned heel.

The series kicks off July 7 with Gene Tierney and Cornel Wilde in Leave Her to Heaven (1945), followed by Humphrey Bogart and Gloria Grahame in In a Lonely Place (1950) on July 14, then Barry Fitzgerald and Howard Duff in The Naked City (1945) on July 21, and finally Rita Hayworth and Glenn Ford in Gilda (1946) on July 28. The Tuesday night shows start at 6:30 p.m. with a brief introduction by local film nerds and discussion following.