The following is a guest post by Jenny Paxson, an Administrative Assistant at the Packard Campus.
We continue our series celebrating the work of the Packard Campus Film Preservation Lab.
Thursday, January 15 (7:30 p.m.)
Nothing But a Man (Cinema V, 1964)
A groundbreaking work filmed during the tumult of the civil rights movement, this independent film tells the story of Duff (Ivan Dixon), a proud railroad worker from the wrong side of the tracks who marries a preacher’s genteel schoolteacher daughter (Abbey Lincoln). Duff commands respect, a stand that angers his white employers and frightens his father-in-law. Directed by Michael Roemer, the drama features a largely black cast in a story that transcends race and looks at issues of class and gender. Nothing But a Man won the 1964 San Giorgio Prize at the Venice Film Festival, awarded to films considered especially important for the progress of civilization. The film was named to the National Film Registry in 1993. Preserved in 2012 from picture and sound duplicate negatives donated to the Library by Michael Roemer.
Thursday, January 22 (7:30 p.m.)
Cain and Mabel (Warner Bros., 1936)
Clark Gable and Marion Davies star in this romantic comedy about a prizefighter and a Broadway dancer who can’t stand each other, but agree to concoct a phony romance for publicity. Directed by Lloyd Bacon, the film features elaborate musical production numbers and a supporting cast of favorite character actors, including Allen Jenkins, Roscoe Karns, Walter Catlett and Ruth Donnelly. Preserved from the original camera negatives in the United Artists collection in 1996.
Friday, January 23 (7:30 p.m.)
Oddities and Shorts
This screening will feature both fictional short subjects and actuality footage that was recently preserved by the Library of Congress Film Preservation Lab. Included on the program are Two Tars, (MGM, 1928), starring Laurel and Hardy as two sailors on shore leave who get themselves and dozens of innocent bystanders into a huge traffic jam; the National Film Registry title A Trip Down Market Street Before the Fire (April, 1906), a rare record of San Francisco’s principal thoroughfare and downtown area before the destruction of the great earthquake and fire; San Francisco after the Fire (1906); and A Tour of the Thomas H. Ince Studio (1920).
Saturday, January 24 (7:30 p.m.) Silent Movie Double Feature
Feel My Pulse (Paramount, 1928)
Bebe Daniels stars as Barbara Manning, a sheltered rich girl and hypochondriac. When Barbara inherits a health sanitarium, she moves in, hoping to find a cure for her many imagined illnesses. However, it turns out the place is actually a front for bootleggers and a hideout for criminals on the lam, which gives Barbara just the jolt of excitement and romance she needs. Directed by Gregory La Cava, this silent comedy stars William Powell, Richard Arlen and Heinie Conklin. Preserved from a picture duplicate negative in the AFI/Paramount Collection.
The Air Mail (Paramount, 1925)
Airmail pilot Russ Kane comes to the aid of a young woman and her invalid father who are stranded in a ghost town and badly in need of medicine. Russ and his teenage sidekick Sandy engage in battles with a gang of dope smugglers in the air and escaped convicts on the ground as they set out to accomplish their mission. Directed by Irvin Willat, this adventure story–filmed when transporting mail by airplane was still quite new–stars Warner Baxter, Billie Dove and Douglas Fairbanks Jr. This incomplete print was preserved in 2014 from the only known surviving copy of the movie, which is in the AFI/Irvin V. Willat Collection. Andrew Earle Simpson will provide live musical accompaniment for both films.
For more information on our programs, please visit the web site at www.loc.gov/avconservation/theater/.