The following is a guest post by Jenny Paxson of the Packard Campus.
Thursday, February 6 (7:30 p.m.)
Bedlam (RKO, 1946)
Set in London in 1761, Bedlam is a departure from previous Val Lewton productions in its focus on horrific social conditions instead of supernatural occurrences. In this atmospheric chiller, Nell Bowen (Anna Lee), the spirited protégé of rich Lord Mortimer, becomes interested in the shameful conditions of the notorious St. Mary’s of Bethlehem Asylum (Bedlam). As she seeks support to reform Bedlam, her efforts are thwarted by the cruel Master Sims (Boris Karloff). Directed by Mark Robson, the film was coscripted by Lewton under the pseudonym Carlos Keith. New 35mm archival film print from the Library of Congress Film Preservation Lab, 79 min. Also on the program, If a Body Meets a Body (Columbia, 1943) starring the Three Stooges. 18 min. 35mm film print from the Library of Congress Film Preservation Lab.
Friday, February 7 (7:30 p.m.)
Love Story (Paramount, 1970)
Privileged Harvard jock Oliver Barrett IV (Ryan O’Neal) sparks the anger of his steely, demanding father (Ray Milland) by falling in love with and marrying plebeian Radcliffe student Jennifer Cavalleri (Ali MacGraw), prompting his disapproving family to cut off his inheritance. After graduation, Oliver lands a job with a prominent law firm, and the blissful couple has the world by the tail — until tragedy intervenes. Erich Segal wrote the screenplay, and while the movie was being produced, Paramount asked him to adapt it into a novel to help pre-publicize the film. Released on Valentine’s Day, the novel became the top-selling work of fiction for all of 1970 in the United States, and was translated into more than 20 languages. Arthur Hiller directed this romantic tearjerker which was a phenomenal success. Ryan O’Neal and Ali MacGraw earned Oscar nominations for Best Actor and Actress and Francis Lai’s Oscar-winning original score for Love Story became one of the most familiar movie love themes of all time. Rated PG. Digital presentation, 100 min.
Saturday, February 8 (7:30 p.m.)
Doctor Zhivago (MGM, 1965)
Omar Sharif stars in the title role as Yuri Zhivago, a married physician whose life is irreversibly altered by the Russian Revolution and subsequent Civil War. Julie Christie co-stars as his married love interest Lara Antipova in this epic production based on the Nobel Prize-winning novel by Boris Pasternak. It took two years to make Doctor Zhivago with more than 800 craftsmen in three countries working on the film. Nominated for ten Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Director, it won for Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction, Best Costumes and Best Score for Maurice Jarre. The film’s best-selling soundtrack album won the Grammy for Best Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or Television Show. The supporting cast includes Geraldine Chaplin, Rod Steiger, Alec Guinness, Oscar-nominated Tom Courtenay, Ralph Richardson, Siobhán McKenna and Rita Tushingham. Rated PG-13. Digital presentation, 193 min.
For more information on our programs, please visit the website at: //www.loc.gov/avconservation/theater/