The following is a guest post by Jenny Paxson, an Administrative Assistant at the Packard Campus.
Friday, January 8 (7:30 p.m.)
THE IRON HORSE (Fox Film, 1924)
John Ford’s epic Western The Iron Horse established his reputation as one of Hollywood’s most accomplished directors. Intended by Fox studios to rival Paramount’s 1923 epic The Covered Wagon, Ford’s film employed more than 5,000 extras, advertised authenticity in its attention to realistic detail, and provided him with the opportunity to create iconic visual images of the Old West. A tale of national unity achieved after the Civil War through the construction of the transcontinental railroad, the film celebrated the contributions of Irish, Italian and Chinese immigrants. The feature stars George O’Brien, Madge Bellamy, Cyril Chadwick, and J. Farrell MacDonald. The Iron Horse introduced to audiences a reverential, elegiac mythology that has influenced many subsequent Westerns. The film will be introduced by Scott Eyman, author of Print the Legend: The Life and Times of John Ford, and Andrew Simpson will provide live musical accompaniment. The print is courtesy of the Museum of Modern Art. Added to the National Film Registry in 2011. 150 minutes.
Saturday, January 9 (2 p.m.)
WINCHESTER ’73 (Universal, 1950)
Jimmy Stewart collaborated with director Anthony Mann on eight films, most famously an influential series of five taut, psychological Westerns from 1950-55 revolving around themes of hidden secrets, vengeance, shifting personal morals and concepts of heroism. Winchester ’73 launched their partnership. Stewart’s character’s obsessive quests are to avenge the death of his father and pursue a Winchester rifle as it moves from one owner to the next, changing everyone into whose hands the gun briefly passes, and culminating in a justly-famous shootout amidst a steep, rocky terrain. Added to the National Film Registry in 2015. 92 minutes.
Saturday, January 9 (7:30 p.m.)
THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE (Paramount, 1962)
John Ford’s last great Western, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, makes explicit everything that was implicit in the genre which Ford shaped so heavily. By clearly showing that the conquest of the West meant the triumph of civilization (embodied in Jimmy Stewart) over wild innocence (John Wayne) and evil (Lee Marvin), this elegiac film serves as a coda for Ford and also meditates on what was lost as progress and statehood marched across the continent. Scott Eyman, author of Print the Legend: The Life and Times of John Ford and the New York Times best seller John Wayne: The Life and Legend, will introduce the film. Added to the National Film Registry in 2007. 123 minutes.
For more information on our programs, please visit the website at: www.loc.gov/avconservation/theater/.