The following is a guest post by Jenny Paxson of the Packard Campus.
Thursday, July 13 (7:30 p.m.)
The Lady from Shanghai (Columbia, 1947)
Orson Welles wrote, directed and produced this film noir thriller based on a novel by Sherwood King. Welles also stars as Irish seaman Michael O’Hara, who joins a bizarre yachting cruise and finds himself caught up in a complex murder plot. Rita Hayworth, Welles’ wife at the time, plays the stunning Elsa Bannister with Everett Sloane as her a corrupt tycoon husband, Arthur. The film is renowned for its hall of mirrors climax and cinematography by Charles Lawton, Jr. Though not a success in the U.S. upon its release, The Lady from Shanghai is now considered by many modern film critics a masterpiece. David Kehr called it “the weirdest great movie ever made.” Also on the program is the 1947 Oscar-winning Warner Bros. cartoon Tweetie Pie.
Friday, July 14 (7:30 p.m.)
1987 Double Feature
Dirty Dancing (Vestron, 1987)
While spending the summer at a Catskills resort with her family, Frances “Baby” Houseman (Jennifer Grey) falls for the camp’s dance instructor, Johnny Castle (Patrick Swayze). This low-budget romantic drama by a new studio with no major stars (except Broadway legend Jerry Orbach in a supporting role) became a major box office hit and was the first film to sell more than a million copies on home video. The Dirty Dancing soundtrack generated two multi-platinum albums and multiple singles, including “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life,” which won both the Golden Globe and Academy Award for Best Original Song, and a Grammy Award for best duet for Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes.
Predator (20th Century Fox, 1987 – R rated*)
Arnold Schwarzenegger stars in this science-fiction action film as the leader of an elite special forces team who are on a mission to rescue hostages from guerrilla territory in Central America’s Northern Triangle. Directed by John McTiernan and also starring Carl Weathers and Kevin Peter Hall, the film was Oscar nominated for Best Visual Effects. It spawned two sequels, Predator 2 (1990) and Predators (2010), and two crossover films with the Alien franchise, Alien vs. Predator (2004) and Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (2007). * No one under the age of 17 will be admitted without a parent or guardian.
Saturday, July 15 (7:30 p.m.)
Breakfast at Sunrise (First National, 1927)
Wealthy Parisienne Madeline (Constance Talmadge) and penniless Pierre (Don Alvarado) decide to teach their respective unfaithful sweethearts a lesson by getting married to each other, then divorce when their current partners are properly repentant. But things do not necessarily go according to plan. Malcolm St. Clair directed this light romantic comedy that features Bryant Washburn and Alice White as the other halves of the foursome along with Marie Dressler, cast as a worldly-wise queen. Also on the program is the 1927 “Our Gang” comedy short Baby Brother. Ben Model will provide live musical accompaniment.
For more information on our programs, please visit the website at: www.loc.gov/avconservation/theater/.