The following is a guest post by Jenny Paxson of the Packard Campus.
Thursday, April 26 (7:30 p.m.)
A Day at the Races (MGM, 1937)
In this classic Marx Brothers comedy, veterinarian Hugo Z. Hackenbush (Groucho Marx) is hired as chief of staff for the financially troubled Standish Sanitarium at the insistence of wealthy hypochondriac patient Mrs. Emily Upjohn (Margaret Dumont). Soon after, the facility’s owner Judy Standish (Maureen O’Sullivan) finds herself caught up in the world of horse racing after her fiancé (Allan Jones) blows his life savings on a racehorse named Hi-Hat with the hopes of winning enough money to avoid foreclosure for the sanitarium. Zany shenanigans ensue by jockey Harpo Marx and racing tipster Chico Marx. Directed by Sam Wood, the film features some of the trio’s funniest set pieces including “Tutsi Fruitsy Ice Cream” and Chico selling racing tip books to Groucho. 111 mins.
Friday, April 27 (7:30 p.m.)
Mutiny on the Bounty (MGM, 1935)
This fact-based epic classic is an engrossing adaptation of the Nordhoff-Hall book about a clash of wills between the tyrannical Captain Bligh (Charles Laughton) and his mutinous crew led by Fletcher Christian (Clark Gable) aboard the HMS Bounty, an 18th-century British merchantman in the South Seas. Directed by Frank Lloyd, “Mutiny on the Bounty” won the Best Picture Academy Award. It was the only film to receive three nominations for the Academy Award for Best Actor: Clark Gable, Charles Laughton, and Franchot Tone. Because of this, the Academy introduced a Best Supporting Actor Oscar the following year. 132 min.
Saturday, April 28 (7:30 p.m.)
Back Pay (Paramount, 1922)
Directed by Frank Borzage, winner of the first Best Director Academy Award (for “Seventh Heaven” in 1927), this romantic drama stars Seena Owen as Hester Bevins, a simple country girl who yearns for adventure. Though she has a handsome young man, Jerry, who is devoted to her, she leaves her village and goes to New York in search of a grander life. There she becomes the lover of a wealthy and unscrupulous businessman. But when Jerry returns blinded and dying from the war, Hester must choose between her new life and the man whose loyalty to her has never failed. Frances Marion wrote the screenplay based on a short story of the same name by Fannie Hurst. This 35 mm tinted film print was restored by the Library of Congress Motion Picture Conservation Center. 70 min. The 10 min. short “Federated Screen Review # 5” will precede the feature. Live musical accompaniment will be provided by Andrew Simpson.
For more information on our programs, please visit the website at: www.loc.gov/avconservation/theater/.