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Wednesday, May 14 at 7:00 p.m.Smouldering Fires (1925)
The great Clarence Brown brilliantly directs this timeless tale about finding love in middle age. Pauline Frederick is an efficient factory owner whose motto is "Let no man be necessary to you." When one of her employees (Malcolm McGregor) has the temerity to make a suggestion, she first dismisses him, then promotes him and then falls in love with him. Although he is much younger, he also falls in love with her and they marry. But when Pauline's younger sister (the lovely Laura LaPlante) comes home from college, she begins to feel their age difference. An honest tale about realistic people with genuine emotions but never stooping to cliche or false sentimentality. Our print for this show is a combination of the American release and the European version. Click for pictures: "Goodnight Scotty": Pauline Frederick and Tully Marshall as Scotty with Malcolm McGregor looking on. Pauline Frederick, Laura LaPlante and Malcolm McGregor. Laura LaPlante as Pauline Frederick's little sister, introduces her friends. On the set: Pauline Frederick and director Clarence Brown with the motto. A poster.
DIRECTED BY CLARENCE BROWN. 1925. 70 MINUTES. CAST: PAULINE FREDERICK. MALCOLM McGREGOR. LAURA LaPLANTE. SILENT WITH RECORDED MUSIC ACCOMPANIMENT.
Preceded by a short film The Cure (1917) with Charlie Chaplin.
Wednesday, May 21 at 7:00 p.m.Mississippi Gambler (1953) in TECHNICOLOR!
The dashing Tyrone Power is suave and noble in this sparkling adventure set in the antebellum South. Power, an all-around adventurer, plays poker with John Baer who--losing--pays him with a necklace belonging to his sister, Piper Laurie, a spitfire southern belle. Although Power gallantly tries to return the necklace, the haughty Laurie refuses. With a partner, Power plans to open a lavish but honest gambling casino in New Orleans. But the ill-tempered Baer isn't out of the picture--he has his romantic sights set on Julie Adams but she loves Power. Blaming Power for his romantic troubles, he challenges him to a duel, but is socially disgraced when caught cheating. With crooked gamblers and other colorful characters, embezzlers, a bank run, romantic complications, and double-crosses. A handsomely mounted film with superior production values, sumptuous sets and costumes. The excellent fencing scenes were done by Fred and Albert Cavens. Look for Anita Ekberg in her first film. A top-ten hit in its day, the film received one Oscar nomination. TECHNICOLOR. Click for pictures: Tyrone Power as Mark Fallon and John McIntire as John Polley become partners in gambling on the Mississippi. Tyrone Power joins the table in his first poker game. John Baer as Laurent Dureau is seated at right. Tyrone Power gets a rough introduction to poker on the Mississippi. Tyrone Power and John McIntire escape from the riverboat. Tyrone Power looks at the body of the brother of Julie Adams as Ann Conant. Tyrone Power informes Julie Adams of the death of her brother (Dennis Weaver). Tyrone Power settles the affairs of Ann's brother. John Baer is introduced to Julie Adams. Piper Laurie as Angelique Dureau and Tyrone Power. Tyrone Power and Julie Adams. Piper Laurie and Tyrone Power. Julie Adams, Tyrone Power and Piper Laurie. Tyrone Power and Piper Laurie. Paul Cavanaugh as Edmond Dureau and Piper Laurie. Piper Laurie marries banker Ron Randell as George Elwood. Anita Ekberg is to the left of Piper Laurie. Gwen Verdon provides colorful nightlife in New Orleans. Tyrone Power prepares for the duel by covering his white collar. On the set: Tyrone Power and director Rudolph Mate. A poster. A lobby card: "He'll play any game ... for your money ... your women ... or your life! A Mexican lobby card. Another Mexican lobby card. A costume shot: Tyrone Power. A costume shot: Tyrone Power. A costume shot: Tyrone Power. A costume shot: Tyrone Power.
DIRECTED BY RUDOLPH MATE. 1953. 99 MINUTES. CAST: TYRONE POWER. PIPER LAURIE. JOHN BAER.
Preceded by a politically incorrect cartoon Confederate Honey (1940), a spoof on Gone With the Wind.
Wednesday, May 28 at 7:00 p.m.A Lew Landers-Bruce Bennett-World War II Double Feature!
Atlantic Convoy (1942)
Bruce Bennett, who died last year at the age of 100, was a champion at shotput and represented the U.S. in the Olympics. After making a number of Tarzan films using his real name Herman Brix, he retired for a while, took acting lessons and resurfaced as Bruce Bennett. Atlantic Convoy is an action-packed WWII drama set at a U.S. Marine flying patrol station off the coast of Iceland. Allied supply ships are being sunk by enemy torpedoes and fighter pilot captain Bruce Bennett suspects that information about the ships is being leaked. Civilian weatherman John Beal is suspected, due to his uncanny ability to predict when the next Allied ship will be sunk by a German U-Boat. With Virginia Field. A "B" movie with strong believable performances by the main characters. Click for two lobby cards: A lobby card. Another lobby card.
DIRECTED BY LEW LANDERS. 1942. 65 MINUTES. CAST: BRUCE BENNETT. JOHN BEAL. VIRGINIA FIELD.
U-Boat Prisoner (1944)Based loosely on the true story of former merchant seaman Archie Gibbs, who wrote a book about his adventures. A group of foreign scientists is imprisoned on a German U-boat en route to Germany. On an American tanker is a German spy who escapes when the U-boat torpedoes the ship. But Bruce Bennett follows, assumes the spy's identity and is picked up by the U-boat. Convinced Bennett is the spy, the Nazis quarter him with the scientists so that he can pick up new information, telling them that he is an American prisoner. Soon the Germans are arguing about whether to attack a nearby American convoy or to deliver the prisoners directly to Germany and the prisoners plan their escape. Lew Landers is the credited director, but Budd Boetticher worked on this film early in his career. In his autobiography, Boetticher claimed that Landers wasn't happy about having a young kid hanging around the set and taking over the last days of his picture. "Imagine giving a new director a piece of a submarine picture. Where in the devil do you put your camera?" When studio boss Cohn left town, Boetticher was reassigned to the first two days of shooting. In a panic, he tracked Cohn down by phone at 2:00am for advice. "He said: 'You can do one of two things. You can ad-lib,' which is the greatest thing a director could ever learn to do, with confidence, 'or you can stay up all night and study and you'll be so damned tired tomorrow morning you won't be worth a damn anyway. Go to bed and ad-lib'." When Cohn returned eight days later, Landers complained about Boetticher's attitude. Cohn fired Landers and Boetticher directed the last two days. So he says in his autobiography. But in a 1979 interview, he said that Cohn liked his footage so much that he directed the entire production with Landers standing by. Whatever the actual story, Boetticher learned to stay on a schedule, handle the front office and how to hold his authority with a crew much older and experienced than himself.
DIRECTED BY LEW LANDERS. 1944. 65 MINUTES. CAST: BRUCE BENNETT.
Wednesday, June 18 at 7:00 p.m.Sealed Cargo (1951)
Dana Andrews was at the height of his popularity when this film was made just six years after the war. Andrews is a tough fisherman who happens on a badly damaged Danish square-rigger with only the captain (the smoothly villainous Claude Rains) aboard. Thinking it had been shelled by German U-boats, the fishermen tow it into into a Newfoundland fishing village. But things aren't quite what they seem and Andrews is horrified to learn that it is actually a Nazi mother ship carrying torpedoes and other unsavory weapons. Suspecting that one of his crewmembers is a spy, he is caught up in a deadly cat-and-mouse game. A taut, suspenseful melodrama done in the classic film noir style with some nice twists and explosive action. An interesting exploration of a little-seen aspect of the war--not the battlefields of Europe but close to home where ordinary citizens were on the alert for the threat of German U-boats off their coasts. With Philip Dorn and Carla Balenda; based on the story The Gaunt Woman by Edmund Gilligan. Click for pictures: Carla Balenda and Dana Andrews. Dana Andrews as the skipper. A Swedish Poster. A lobby card: "Savage passions aflame in the North Atlantic ... unleashed by treachery ... hatred ... violence! Another lobby card. An ad: "Cargo that blasts the sea wide open!"
DIRECTED BY ALFRED WERKER. 1951. 90 MINUTES. CAST: DANA ANDREWS. CLAUDE RAINS. CARLA BALENDA. PHILIP DORN.
Preceded by a short film to be announced.
Saturday, June 21 at 7:00 p.m.Dark Angel (1935)
A three hankie movie! Tastefully made and sumptuously produced, this romantic triangle stars Merle Oberon, Fredric March and Herbert Marshall as Kitty Vane, Alan Trent, and Gerald Shannon, friends since childhood. Kitty is about to marry Alan but before the wedding can take place, WWI intervenes and fate, guilt and love intertwines in their lives, changing them forever. Alan and Gerald march off with their regiments but because of a misunderstanding, Gerald sends Alan out on a dangerous mission. Blinded on the battlefield, Alan returns under an assumed name and takes up a new career. Believing that Alan is dead, Kitty is about to marry Gerald... The exotic and stunningly beautiful Merle Oberon received her only Oscar nomination for this role. The film also received one other Oscar nomination and won for Best Art Direction. Other big names were involved: Lillian Hellman worked on the screenplay, based on the play by Guy Bolton; the great Gregg Toland did the innovative cinematography; and Samuel Goldwyn produced. Wonderful, restrained acting by all three leads. A big moneymaker in its day, the film gave a boost to the careers of all three leads. Herbert Marshall had served in World War I and lost a leg; he walked somewhat stiffly with a prosthetic leg, but many fans weren't aware of that. Director Sidney Franklin was a protégé of D.W. Griffith and by the late 1920s and 1930s he was known as a director of intelligence and taste. Right from the start he had an affinity for and an ability to direct children. This is much in evidence in this film and in one of the films in our silent program--see below. Click for pictures: Fredric March and Merle Oberon. Herbert Marshall and Merle Oberon. Fredric March. Fredric March and kids. Merle Oberon and dog. One of the kids in the film. Merle Oberon and Herbert Marshall. Merle Oberon. Fredric March, Herbert Marshall, Merle Oberon and Janet Beecher. A lobby card. Another lobby card.
DIRECTED BY SIDNEY FRANKLIN. 1935. 106 MINUTES. CAST: MERLE OBERON. FREDRIC MARCH. HERBERT MARSHALL. FRIEDA INESCORT.
Preceded by a short film to be announced.
Wednesday, June 25 at 7:00 p.m.
A silent double feature of 1916 films produced, written and supervised by D.W. Griffith. In 1916 the Fine Arts Film Company had reached its zenith. In January of that year, ten companies were at work on the lot and D.W. Griffith's studio was at its busiest, occupying buildings covering several city blocks. Griffith was riding high; in January he attended the annual dinner of the Merchants' and Manufacturers' Association of Los Angeles and gave a speech on "The Film Industry and Its Relation to the Commercial Community," noting that $20 million dollars a year was spent by studios and employees in Los Angeles. January also saw the release of the first feature starring the Fine Arts kiddies, directed by brothers Sidney and Chester Franklin. Griffith had signed them to direct a series of two-reel kiddie comedies, and gave them their first opportunity to direct a feature, Let Katie Do It. The film's editing, construction, storyline and direction heavily show the influence of The Birth of a Nation. Films not directed by Griffith show his influence--assistant directors learned from him as he supervised others. This can also be seen in Hoodoo Ann, a film that interested Griffith--he wrote the original story and presumably wanted to keep close tabs on his protégée Mae Marsh in her first vehicle under the Triangle banner. Certainly many scenes suggest that Griffith's supervision was more than usually in evidence. Both films are silent with recorded music.
Let Katie Do It (1916)A charming story about a brood of children, set in Maine and moving to Mexico. Katie (Jane Grey) is imposed on by her parents, sister, her sister's husband and their seven kids, so her frustrated fiance (Tully Marshall in probably his only leading-man role!) goes off to Mexico to work in a gold mine with Katie's uncle (Ralph Lewis). Through a series of unfortunate accidents and deaths, Katie gets stuck with the kids and, overwhelmed, takes them to Mexico, hoping to get some help from her uncle. The plot takes an unexpected turn when the gold mine is attacked but the kids prove to be resourceful defenders. With Walter Long as the villain. Moving Picture World said, "The story is that of a Cinderella sister-in-law, who takes charge of her deceased sister's brood after spending all her girlhood in perpetual self-sacrifice. Her character is a very beautiful one, and Jane Grey makes it one of strong appeal by delicate methods." Jane Grey was a prominent stage actress of her day; she had made her Broadway debut in 1909 and her screen debut in 1914. Click for pictures: Jane Grey and Tully Marshall. Jane Grey and Tully Marshall.
DIRECTED BY CHESTER AND SIDNEY FRANKLIN. 1916. 50 MINUTES. CAST: JANE GREY. TULLY MARSHALL. RALPH LEWIS. WALTER LONG. THE "TRIANGLE KIDS." SILENT WITH RECORDED MUSIC ACCOMPANIMENT.
Hoodoo Ann (1916)The talented Mae Marsh, Griffith's favorite actress at the time, is an innocent young orphan who believes herself to be "hoodoo-ed" or jinxed. Disliked and mistreated by everyone at the orphanage, she saves Goldie (Mildred Harris), the orphanage favorite, from a fire and is adopted by a loving couple. With her life improving, Ann is romanced by handsome neighbor Jimmie (Bobby Harron) but after a night at the movies (a satirized Western, and a hilarious spoof of William S. Hart), things seem to go south again when Ann thinks she has killed a neighbor while imitating the movie's hero. Mae Marsh's performance is delightful throughout and the film is an engaging mix of comedy, romance, pathos and mystery. Officially directed by Lloyd Ingraham, but for all intents and purposes a D.W. Griffith film. Griffith produced, wrote the story--with much of the flavor of his other rural romances, supervised and probably did a lot more. With Elmo Lincoln (the first actor to play Tarzan) and Madame Sul-Te-Wan. Click for pictures: Charles Lee, Anna Hernandez, William H. Brown, Mae Marsh, Elmo Lincoln, and Bobby Harron. Mae Marsh as Hoodoo Ann.
DIRECTED BY LLOYD INGRAHAM. 1916. 60 MINUTES. CAST: MAE MARSH. ROBERT HARRON. MILDRED HARRIS. SILENT WITH RECORDED MUSIC ACCOMPANIMENT.
All films are 16mm. Tickets are $5 unless otherwise noted. All films begin at 7:00 p.m. The doors to the building open half an hour before the show begins and the theater doors open 15 minutes before showtime. Programs are subject to change.
Films on the Hill is located at the Capitol Hill Arts Workshop, 545 Seventh Street, S.E., Washington, D.C. 20003. Telephone: (202) 547-6839.
Last updated on May 14, 2008.