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Posted by: Mike Mashon
In 1947 the Library of Congress acquired the George Kleine collection of 456 film titles as well as stills and correspondence. Kleine was a pioneer motion picture producer and distributor who’s not well known today but was an important part of the early American film industry. He was the “K” in Kalem (named for Kleine, …
Posted in: Motion Pictures
Posted by: Mike Mashon
A couple of special program notes: we’re postponing Thursday’s scheduled “Verdi and the Silent Film” program and replacing it with the 1982 film version of La Traviata starring Plácido Domingo. And on Saturday we’ll be joined by filmmakers Alex Steyermark and Lavinia Jones Wright as they talk about their documentary The 78 Project. Thursday, November …
Posted in: Motion Pictures, Packard Campus Theater, Recorded Sound
Posted by: Mike Mashon
She remembers the “hot packs”–towels soaked in boiling water, wrung out, then wrapped around her legs. She remembers the blisters. She remembers the endless hours of physical therapy, the manipulation of her limbs, especially her right leg, the one affected by polio. She also remembers the kindness of her doctors and nurses, the friendships she …
Posted in: Film/Video, Motion Pictures, Television
Posted by: Mike Mashon
Thursday, October 30 (7:30 p.m.) The Witching Hour (Paramount, 1923) In this second of three film adaptations (1916, 1923 and 1934) of Augustus Thomas’ hit Broadway play, Jack Brookfield (Elliot Dexter)–a gambler with clairvoyant and hypnotic powers–is able to win at cards through his unique gift. However, when he inadvertently hypnotizes young Clay Whipple (future …
Posted in: Motion Pictures, Packard Campus Theater
Posted by: Mike Mashon
Thursday, October 23 (7:30 p.m.) Dark Passage (Warner Bros., 1947) In their third movie together, Humphrey Bogart plays an escaped convict, wrongly accused of his wife’s murder, who takes refuge in the apartment of a mysterious woman (Lauren Bacall) he has just met. Delmar Daves directed this film noir that is notable for the use …
Posted in: Motion Pictures, Packard Campus Theater
Posted by: Mike Mashon
Thursday, October 16 (7:30 p.m.) Murphy’s Romance (Columbia, 1986) James Garner received his only Oscar nomination for his portrayal of the title character Murphy Jones, a widowed druggist in a small Arizona town. He develops a cautious friendship with Emma (Sally Field), who moves to town with her son Jake (Corey Haim) to start a …
Posted in: Motion Pictures, Packard Campus Theater
Posted by: Mike Mashon
Like any right-minded individual, I rejoiced in the return of baseball to the Nation’s Capital in 2005 and have certainly reveled in the Washington Nationals’ fabulous 2014 season. Exciting as it has been (the post All-Star Game surge, Jordan Zimmermann’s no-hitter on the last day of the season, the eager anticipation of post-season glory), I …
Posted in: Film/Video, Motion Pictures
Posted by: Mike Mashon
Thursday, October 2 (7:30 p.m.) National Newspaper Week Double Feature Five Star Final (Warner Bros., 1931) Edward G. Robinson stars as a corrupt newspaper editor who uses exploitation to bolster the paper’s circulation. Nominated for an Oscar as the year’s best film, Five Star Final was a condemnation of yellow journalism. This archetypal newspaper movie …
Posted in: Motion Pictures, National Film Registry, Packard Campus Theater
Posted by: Mike Mashon
This is the story of a film about a radio show, produced by a sponsor hoping that people who saw the film would be encouraged to listen to the radio show, and then after hearing the commercials on the radio show be encouraged to patronize the gas stations owned by the sponsor. One only has …
Posted in: Film/Video, Motion Pictures, Radio