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1.11.08 - 2.27.08
UNIVERSAL PRESERVATION: PRE-CODE FILMS FROM THE UNIVERSAL AND PARAMOUNT LIBRARIES Claudette Colbert kills a cop, Tallulah Bankhead gambles away the milk fund money and Carole Lombard languishes on a decadent tropical plantation in this pre-Code preservation spotlight. This program focuses on the preservation work of Universal Pictures, particularly its efforts to preserve titles from Paramount Pictures’ vast catalog, as well as Universal’s own library. Head preservationist Bob O’Neil and his staff have worked tirelessly to make new safety copies from nitrate prints and other elements—often from the UCLA Archive—to save numerous pre-Code films from the well-known to the obscure. Our current program focuses on lesser–known films from 1929-1933, featuring early works by the likes of Rouben Mamoulian and James Whale, appearances by Gary Cooper (CITY STREETS) and Charles Laughton (WHITE WOMAN), as well as an early romantic turn by future star Cary Grant (HOT SATURDAY). None of the films in this saucy parade of con artists, bootleggers and dangerous dames are available on DVD and many have not been screened publicly for decades.
Special thanks to: Bob O’Neil, Mike Feinberg, Paul Ginsburg—Universal Pictures. Friday February 1 2008, 7:30PM ( Online Ticket Sales Ended )
CITY STREETS
(1931) Directed by Rouben Mamoulian  Based on a story by Dashiell Hammett, this gritty prohibition crime drama features a young Gary Cooper as "The Kid," a former sharpshooter for the circus. He and his lover Nan (Sylvia Sidney) are catapulted into a violent underworld of murder, mayhem and booze when they cross her stepfather's gang of bootlegging mobsters. THE MIRACLE MAN
(1932) Directed by Norman McLeod  This pre-Code oddity stars Sylvia Sidney and Chester Morris as a pair of con artists who stumble across an elderly faith healer while on the lam. With the help of their pals, a contortionist and a pickpocket, they concoct a plan to exploit the old man and his unique powers for all they're worth. Paramount. Based on the novel by Frank L. Packard and Robert H. Davis, as well as the play by George M. Cohan. Screenplay: Waldemar Young, Samuel Hoffenstein. Cinematographer: David Abel. Cast: Sylvia Sidney, Chester Morris, Robert Coogan, John Wray, Boris Karloff. 35mm, 87 min. Saturday February 2 2008, 7:30PM ( Online Ticket Sales Ended )
HOT SATURDAY
(1932) Directed by William Seiter  Nancy Carroll stars in this racy pre-Code romp as a bank teller who gains a reputation as the town tart after spending the night with a wealthy bachelor at his lakeside hideaway. Then-newcomer Cary Grant plays the bachelor with panache. Ironically, one contemporary reviewer cited the film as having "no name actors." Paramount. Based on the novel by Harvey Fergusson. Screenplay: Seton I. Miller. Cinematographer: Arthur L. Todd. Cast: Nancy Carroll, Cary Grant, Randolph Scott, Edward Woods. 35mm, 72 min. WHITE WOMAN
(1933) Directed by Stuart Walker  Banished from Malay nightclubs for "arousing" the natives, torchsinger Carole Lombard absconds with a sadistic plantation owner (Charles Laughton) who takes turns tyrannizing his new wife and his pet monkey. This wacky precursor to APOCALYPSE NOW offers a heady brew of tribal insurrections, sexy ex-convicts and a delirious Laughton as self-appointed "King of the Jungle." Saturday February 16 2008, 7:30PM ( Online Ticket Sales Ended )
CLOSE HARMONY
(1929) Directed by John Cromwell and Edward Sutherland  This early Paramount talkie stars Nancy Carroll as a popular song-and-dance girl working the pre-show entertainment at a New York movie palace. When her jazz musician boyfriend seeks a gig on the same stage, she schemes to break up the other opening act, a vaudeville comedy duo, by seducing both members. MANSLAUGHTER
(1930) Directed by George Abbott  Claudette Colbert plays a spoiled flapper with a lead foot who is accustomed to slinking out of speeding tickets with bribery. When her reckless driving finally causes the death of a police officer, she must face Dan O'Bannon (Fredric March), an honest district attorney who sends her to the slammer—despite being secretly in love with her. Sunday February 17 2008, 7:00PM* ( Online Ticket Sales Ended )
MURDER BY THE CLOCK
(1931) Directed by Edward Sloman  Draped in skin-clinging satin, star Lilyan Tashman delivers a fiendishly demented turn as the impatient niece of a wealthy matriarch who dupes her lover into a plot to get her inheritance early. A string of murders, a horn-alarmed crypt and Tashman's brutish embrace of the matriarch's mentally feeble son help make this an overlooked camp classic ripe for rediscovery. THE CHEAT
(1931) Directed by George Abbott  The inimitable Tallulah Bankhead plays a thrill-seeking housewife who gambles away $10,000 (at the height of the Depression), pinching it from her local charity only to lose it in a shaky market deal. Her actions leave her desperate and open to the lascivious charms of a local art collector who gives her the dough, but expects a pound of flesh in return. * Please note the early start time. Friday February 22 2008, 7:30PM ( Online Ticket Sales Ended )
STREET OF CHANCE
(1930) Directed by John Cromwell  This snappy and cynical drama stars William Powell as John Marsden, a powerful Manhattan gambler who must save his less savvy younger brother from following in his footsteps and living a life of misery and debt. When his brother enters a high-stakes poker game, John cheats to put him off gambling, but his decision has unforeseen, irrevocable consequences. OKAY, AMERICA!
(1932) Directed by Tay Garnett  Lew Ayres stars as Larry Wayne, a shameless and feared gossip columnist whose radio show and column lay ruin to reputations daily. When he's called upon by his boss to cover a kidnapping, Larry gets more than he bargained for as his adventures lead him from drug smugglers to the mafia and ultimately the White House. Saturday February 23 2008, 7:30PM ( Online Ticket Sales Ended )
NICE WOMEN
(1931) Directed by Edwin H. Knopf Nineteen-year-old Jerry (Frances Dee) is engaged to marry her sweetheart but her mercenary parents have other plans for her. Aided by Jerry's scheming sister Bess, her parents pressure her to marry her dad's boss: a millionaire over 20 years her senior. Universal. Based on a play by William Grew. Story: William Grew. Screenplay: Edwin H. Knopf. Cinematographer: Charles J. Stumar. Cast: Sidney Fox, Frances Dee, Alan Mowbray, Lucile Gleason. 35mm, 72 min. IMPATIENT MAIDEN
(1932) Directed by James Whale  Director James Whale followed up FRANKENSTEIN with this cynical spin on matrimony starring Mae Clarke as Ruth, a young secretary sharing a Bunker Hill apartment with her friend (Una Merkel). After witnessing love's human wreckage first hand while working for a prominent divorce lawyer, Mae has soured on marriage, that is, until she meets a marriage-minded doctor (Lew Ayres). Universal. Based on the novel by Donald Henderson Clarke. Producer: Carl Laemmle, Jr.. Screenplay: Richard Shayer, Winifred Dunn. Cinematographer: Arthur Edeson. Cast: Lew Ayres, Mae Clarke, Una Merkel, Andy Devine. 35mm, 80 min. |