Every month, films from the Library’s collection are shown at the Mary Pickford Theater in the James Madison Building, ranging from titles newly preserved by the National Audio Visual Conservation Center film lab, classics from the National Film Registry, and lesser known titles worthy of discovery.
Thursday, January 16th at 7:00 p.m.
THE MAD MISS MANTON (RKO, 1938). Directed by Leigh Jason. Screenplay by Philip G. Epstein, from a story by Wilson Collison. With Barbara Stanwyck, Henry Fonda, Sam Levene, Frances Mercer, Stanley Ridges. (79 min, black & white, 35mm)
Preceded by: SWINGTIME IN THE MOVIES (Vitaphone, 1938). Directed by Crane Wilbur. With Fritz Feld, Kathryn Kane, John Carroll, Charley Foy, Jerry Colonna. (20 min, Technicolor, 35mm)
In this delightful who-done-it comedy, Barbara Stanwyck plays the title character, a New York City socialite who sets out with her female buddies, the “Park Avenue Pranksters,” to solve a murder and thereby prove their worth to the community. Henry Fonda is the serious newspaper editor critical of the group’s escapades, labeling Miss Manton a “decorative, useless member of a rapidly vanishing class.” The film was the first of three pairings of Stanwyck and Fonda, and the two play well against each other, her glamor and flirtiness sparring with his clean looks and pragmatic demeanor.
Seating is on a first-come first-serve basis. Doors open at 6:30 pm.
For more information on our programs, please visit the Mary Pickford Theater website.
The Mary Pickford Theater is located on the 3rd floor of the Library of Congress James Madison Building, 101 Independence Ave. SE, Washington, DC, 20540.