The following is a guest post by Jenny Paxson of the Packard Campus.
Thursday, November 1 (7:30 p.m.)
The Dawn Patrol (First National, 1930)
Richard Barthelmess and Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. co-star as two ace pilots in a Royal Flying Corps squadron dealing with the stress of combat in France during World War I. John Monk Saunders’ Oscar-winning story was directed by Howard Hawks, a former World War I flight instructor, who flew in the film as a German pilot in an uncredited role. When the 1938 remake directed by Edmund Goulding and starring Errol Flynn was released, the 1930 film was retitled Flight Commander. Many of the flying sequences from the 1930 film, expertly shot by Ernest Haller, were edited verbatim into the 1938 movie as well as the 1940 film, British Intelligence. 35mm film print produced by the Library of Congress Film Preservation lab in 2011. 108 min.
Friday, November 2 (7:30 p.m.)
Wings (Paramount, 1927)
Dazzling aerobatic dogfights mark Wings as one of the last epics of the silent era and the first winner of the Oscar for what would become known as Best Picture. William Wellman, a former World War I pilot, directed John Monk Saunders’ story of two childhood friends (Charles ‘Buddy” Rogers and Richard Arlen) and the women who love them (“It Girl” Clara Bow and Jobyna Ralston). Short on story but long on action, the film employed a reported 17 assistant cameramen to choreograph its extended flying sequences and hundreds of Army extras, giving many in the audience the closest glimpse of flight that they would ever experience. Wings was added to the National Film Registry in 1997. Live musical accompaniment will be provided by Andrew Simpson. Digital presentation, 144 min.
Saturday, November 3 (7:30 p.m.)
Paths of Glory (United Artists, 1957)
Based on Humphrey Cobb’s novel about three French soldiers, portrayed on film by Ralph Meeker, Timothy Carey and Joe Turkel, on trial for cowardice during World War I, the film established Stanley Kubrick as an influential director. Adapted by Kubrick, Calder Willingham, and Jim Thompson, the screenplay chillingly spotlights the arrogance and incompetence of military leaders, three of which are portrayed by Adolphe Menjou, George Macready, and Wayne Morris. Though decidedly antiwar, the film does not espouse pacifism, exemplifying this contradiction in the character passionately portrayed by Kirk Douglas as the officer defending the unjustly charged soldiers. Added to the National Film Registry in 1992. Digital presentation, 88 min.
For more information on our programs, please visit the website at: www.loc.gov/avconservation/theater/.