The following is a guest post by Jenny Paxson of the Packard Campus.
Crime and Punishment (Columbia, 1935)
Thursday, January 9 (7:30 p.m.)
Crime and Punishment (Columbia, 1935)
Hungarian actor Peter Lorre, who became internationally known for playing a serial killer in Fritz Lang’s German thriller M (1931), left Europe when Adolf Hitler came to power. In only his second American film, he stars as Roderick Raskolnikov in this Hollywoodization of Dostoyevsky’s novel about a brilliant and cynical scholar who is haunted by a murder he committed. Recognizing the complexities inherent to the psychological novel, director Josef von Sternberg prudently chose to make a straightforward genre film about a detective and a criminal. Edward Arnold stars as the detective with Marian Marsh, Tala Birell and Elisabeth Risdon also in the cast. 35mm film preservation print from the Library of Congress Film Preservation Lab. 88 min.
Friday, January 10 (7:30 p.m.)
Musical Highlights from The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour and The Hollywood Palace (1964-1970)
This compilation of musical guests on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour and The Hollywood Palace was curated from the Library of Congress Television Collections to be a good representation of the British Invasion, Motown, 1960’s Pop, Folk and R&B and the San Francisco Psychedelic Rock scene. The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour aired on CBS from 1967 to 1969 and was a somewhat “hip” version of the typical comedy-variety show of its era. The series showcased new musical artists that other comedy-variety shows rarely gave airtime to due to the nature of their music or their political affiliations. The hour-long weekly variety series The Hollywood Palace was broadcast on ABC from 1964 to 1970 and unlike similar programs, such as The Ed Sullivan Show, the series used a different host each week. A number of popular music performers got their start on The Hollywood Palace, among them the Rolling Stones, who made their first US television appearance on the episode that aired on June 6, 1964. Performers on tonight’s program also include The Supremes, Nancy Sinatra, Ray Charles, Buffalo Springfield, Simon and Garfunkel, Jefferson Airplane, Bobbie Gentry, Pete Seeger, The Who, Judy Collins, The Temptations, James Brown, Big Brother and the Holding Co. featuring Janis Joplin, The Doors, Marvin Gaye and Sammy Davis Jr. Digital presentation from the Library of Congress Video Preservation Lab. 87 min.
Saturday, January 11 (2 p.m.)
Balto (Universal, 1995)
This family-friendly animated film begins with a live-action intro to set the stage for the story of Balto (voiced by Kevin Bacon), a stray who’s half dog and half wolf and is shunned as a half-breed outcast by both humans and his own kind. Balto eventually becomes a hero when he guides a medication-carrying sled to a townful of sick kids in the wilds of Alaska. This epic drama adventure directed by Simon Wells is loosely based on a true story about the dog of the same name who helped save children from the diphtheria epidemic in the 1925 serum run to Nome. The voice cast includes Bridget Fonda, Jim Cummings, Phil Collins (in a dual role), and Bob Hoskins with Miriam Margoyles in the live-action sequence. 35mm archival film print. 78 min.
Saturday, January 11 (7:30 p.m.)
William S. Hart Double Feature
A former stage actor known for Shakespearean portrayals, William S. Hart entered the movies in the early teens and helped define the Western genre, becoming its first bona fide star. Insisting on authentic recreations of the “old west” and often leaning more toward character development than action, Hart imbued all of his characters with honor and integrity. Both features are recent Library of Congress digital restorations and will have live musical accompaniment by Andrew Simpson.
Blue Blazes Rawdin (Paramount, 1918)
Hart, of course, plays the title character, a brawny lumberjack who enters into a poker game with a deceptively mild-looking English gambler named Ladyfingers Hilgard (Robert McKim). The stakes are Hilgard’s gambling emporium–and, it is implied, the Englishman’s girlfriend Babette Du Fresne (Maud George). Accusing each other of cheating, Rawden and Hilgard decide to settle their differences with their six-shooters. Nearly all of the familiar William S. Hart elements, including the self-sacrificial redemption of the “good bad man” hero, come into play by the final reel. Digital presentation, 65 min.
The Return of Draw Egan (Triangle, 1916)
The Return of Draw Egan (Triangle, 1916)
With a price on his head, the notorious bandit “Draw” Egan (William S. Hart) is hired to bring law and order to the lawless frontier town of Yellow Dog by reformist Mat Buckton (J.P. Lockney). Hiding his criminal past, Egan rules the town with an iron hand until a former collaborator, Arizona Joe (Robert McKim), arrives to make trouble. This film has been described as a quintessential Hart western with him playing an outlaw reformed by the love of a good woman (Margery Wilson). Digital presentation, 50 min.
For more information on our programs, please visit the website at: //www.loc.gov/avconservation/theater/