To Be or Not To Be (1942) 7:30
d Ernst Lubitsch. w Edwin Justus Meyer, story by Ernst Lubitsch & Melchior Lengyel. ph Rudolph Maté. m Werner Heymann. United Artists. 99 min.
Jack Benny, Carole Lombard, Robert Stack, Stanley Ridges, Felix Bressart, Lionel Atwill, Sig Rumann, Tom Dugan, Charles Halton.
Carole Lombard's last and greatest film, about a troupe of ham actors in the Polish underground, trying to save Warsaw from Hitler.
Lombard's tragic death shortly after the completion of this extraodinary film may have been the greatest single loss ever suffered by Hollywood. Imagine what films there might have been (Lombard was younger than Katharine Hepburn)!
first played at the Stanford Theatre May 7, 1942; last played Oct 2010
Casablanca (1942) 5:35, 9:20
d Michael Curtiz. w Julius J. Epstein, Philip G. Epstein, Howard Koch, from the play Everybody Comes to Rick's by Murray Burnett & Joan Alison. m Max Steiner. ph Arthur Edeson. Warner Bros. 102 min.
Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Paul Henreid, Claude Rains, Konrad Veidt, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre, S. Z. Sakall, Madeline Le Beau, Dooley Wilson, Joy Page, John Qualen, Leonid Kinsky, Helmut Dantine, Curt Bois, Marcel Dalio, Corinna Mura, Ludwig Stossel, Ilka Gruning, Charles La Torre, Frank Puglia, Dan Seymour.
As time goes by, it becomes increasingly unlikely that anyone will ever make a movie better than Casablanca. On its 50th anniversary in 1992, more people saw Casablanca at the Stanford Theatre than anywhere else in the world.
"Of all the movie theatres in all the towns in all the world, they walk into ours."
first played at the Stanford Theatre Feb 24, 1943; last played July 2011
The Philadelphia Story (1940) 7:30
d George Cukor. w Donald Ogden Stewart & Waldo Salt, from the play by Philip Barry. ph Joseph Ruttenberg. m Franz Waxman. MGM. 112 min.
Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant, James Stewart, Ruth Hussey, John Howard, Roland Young, John Halliday, Mary Nash, Virginia Weidler, John Howard, Henry Daniell.
The society marriage of Tracy Samantha Lord and C. K. Dexter Haven ended in divorce. Tracy is about to marry "man of the people" George Kittredge, when Spy Magazine sends a couple of reporters to cover the wedding.
Philip Barry wrote the play specially for Katharine Hepburn. After its successful Broadway run she sold the play to MGM, retaining the right to select the director and cast.
Jimmy Stewart won the Oscar as Best Actor of 1940 for his performance as reporter Macauley Connor.
This wonderful picture ranks as one of the supreme treasures of Hollywood's golden age. The Stanford Theatre brings it back at least once a year — always to enthusiastic crowds. It never grows old!
first played at the Stanford Theatre Feb 9, 1941; last played Dec 2010
d Mitchell Leisen. w Billy Wilder, Charles Brackett. ph Charles Lang. m Frederick Hollander. Paramount. 94 min.
Claudette Colbert, Don Ameche, John Barrymore, Francis Lederer, Mary Astor, Elaine Barrie, Hedda Hopper, Rex O'Malley, Monty Woolley, Armand Kaliz.
A chorus girl (Claudette Colbert) arrives in Paris with nothing but the evening gown she is wearing. She meets an idealistic cab driver (Don Ameche) who disapproves of her gold-digging ways. A rich Parisian (John Barrymore) hires her to pose as a countess to lure away his wife's lover.
This picture, written by Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett, is one of the supreme gems of the Hollywood romantic comedy. John Barrymore said that it was the most fascinating screenplay he had ever read.
first played at the Stanford Theatre Apr 9, 1939; last played Oct 2009
d Sam Taylor, Fred Newmeyer. w Harold Lloyd, Sam Taylor, Tim Whelan, Hal Roach. ph Walter Lundin. Hal Roach Studios. 7 reels, 70 min.
Harold Lloyd, Mildred Davis, Noah Young.
Dennis James at the mighty Wurlitzer.
In his most famous role, Harold scales a skyscraper (and winds up dangling from a clock) to win $1,000.
Safety Last has proven to be by far the most popular silent film at the Stanford Theatre. Thousands have seen it!
first played at the Stanford Theatre Jan 17, 1990; last played Jun 2008
d Sam Taylor, Fred Newmeyer. w Sam Taylor, Tommy Gray, Tim Whelan, John Grey. ph Walter Lundin. Pathe Exchange/Harold Lloyd Corp. 5 reels, 55 min.
Harold Lloyd, Jobyna Ralston, Josephine Crowell, Charles Stevenson, Mickey McBan.
Dennis James at the mighty Wurlitzer.
The film breaks down into three distinct sequences, each of approximately two-reel length. The first details Harold's dauntless attempt to travel home on the streetcar with a live turkey; the second involves a disastrous family outing in a new auto; the third, a madcap series of pratfalls revolving around that most dreaded of screen incarnations, the mother-in-law. These portions have been excerpted so often that a screening of the complete film has become a rarity in recent years (except at the Stanford Theatre).
Preserved from Harold Lloyd's personal 35mm nitrate print.
first played at the Stanford Theatre Oct 24, 1990; last played Aug 2002
Gone With the Wind (1939) 7:30
d Victor Fleming (and George Cukor, Sam Wood). w Sidney Howard and others, from the novel by Margaret Mitchell. ph Ernest Haller, Ray Rennahan. m Max Steiner. Selznick International. 221 min.
Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh, Olivia de Havilland, Leslie Howard, Thomas Mitchell, Barbara O'Neil, Hattie McDaniel, Butterfly McQueen, Victor Jory, Evelyn Keyes, Ann Rutherford, Laura Hope Crews, Harry Davenport, Jane Darwell, Ona Munson, Ward Bond.
Everyone knows the famous names and the drama that "made" Gone With the Wind. Let's therefore mention a couple who get less attention: production designer William Cameron Menzies, who conceived the look of the movie and story-boarded most of it; and Jack Cosgrove, who painted matte backgrounds on glass for effects scenes. Their art is all through the picture and testifies to Selznick's command of detail and painstaking craft — old-fashioned movie-making, to say nothing of magic. There's one other name: Technicolor, a system that came of age with Gone With the Wind. Many in Hollywood doubted color (notably Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer). But after Gone With the Wind, and the enforced economizing of war, color became irresistable. Later on, Technicolor was abandoned for other systems supposedly truer to life. Today we regret the lost, painterly passion of Technicolor and its durability, for the new color systems fade, while Technicolor still burns.
A great film epic deserves to be seen in a theatre of epic proportions.
first played at the Stanford Theatre May 3, 1940; last played Dec 2009
All About Eve (1950) (3:10), 7:30
w/d Joseph L. Mankiewicz. ph Milton Krasner. m Alfred Newman. 20th Century-Fox. 138 min.
Bette Davis, George Sanders, Anne Baxter, Celeste Holm, Thelma Ritter, Gary Merrill, Hugh Marlowe, Gregory Ratoff, Marilyn Monroe, Barbara Bates, Walter Hampden.
Hollywood's devastating revenge against the "legitimate" stage, in which Broadway star Margo Channing (Bette Davis) is pursued by the cunningly obsequious Eve Harrington (Anne Baxter) under the eye of caustic drama critic Addison De Witt (George Sanders).
Six Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director, hardly do justice to one of the most popular films of all time.
first played at the Stanford Theatre Nov 12, 1950; last played Dec 2009
d Archie Mayo. w Karl Tunberg, Darrell Ware, from an original story by James Prindle. ph Lucien Ballard. 20th Century-Fox. 97 min.
George Montgomery, Ann Rutherford, Glenn Miller and his Band, Lynn Bari, Carole Landis, Cesar Romero, Virginia Gilmore, Mary Beth Hughes, Nicholas Brothers, Tamara Geva, Frank Orth, Tex Beneke.
A naive young woman marries a trumpet player and tries to adjust to life on the road as an orchestra wife. This was Glenn Miller's second and final film.
Songs include Moonlight Serenade, Chattanooga Choo-Choo, and I've Got a Gal in Kalamazoo.
first played at the Stanford Theatre Oct 8, 1942; last played Jun 2008
d George Cukor. w Frances Marion, James Hilton, & Zoe Akins, from the novel and play by Alexandre Dumas, fils. ph William Daniels. m Herbert Stothart. MGM. 108 min.
Greta Garbo, Robert Taylor, Lionel Barrymore, Henry Daniell, Elizabeth Allan, Lenore Ulric, Laura Hope Crews, Rex O'Malley, Jessie Ralph, E.E. Clive.
In one of her most famous roles, Garbo plays the tragic Parisian courtesan who sacrificed her happiness for her true love and inspired Verdi's La traviata.
first played at the Stanford Theatre Feb 7, 1937; last played Nov 2011
A Night at the Opera (1935) 5:50, 9:30
d Sam Wood. w George S. Kaufman, Morrie Ryskind. ph Merrit Gerstad. m Herbert Stothart. MGM. 90 min.
Groucho, Harpo, and Chico Marx, Margaret Dumont, Kitty Carlisle, Allan Jones, Siegfried Rumann, Walter Woolf King, Edward Keane, Robert Emmet O'Connor, Lorraine Bridges.
Wealthy Mrs. Claypool (Margaret Dumont) hires Otis B. Driftwood (Groucho) in Milan to help her enter high society. Through Driftwood she becomes involved in a New York production of Il Trovatore. Chico (Fiorello) and Harpo (Tomasso) stow away in Driftwood's cabin when the opera company sails for America.
The Brothers' first film with MGM and Irving Thalberg.
"It would seem a little irrelevant to speak of art in connection with, say A Night at the Opera. But I will say this, that if I were given the choice of one and only one film, to take with me to that desert island, I would go for a Marx film without a moment's hesitation." Satyajit Ray
first played at the Stanford Theatre Dec 15, 1935; last played Aug 2009
d Sidney A. Franklin. w Hans Kraly. ph Ray Binger, Victor Milner. Talmadge / First National. min.
Ronald Colman, Constance Talmadge, Jean Hersholt, Albert Gran, Robert Rendel, Sidney Bracey, Joseph Dowling, Templar Saxe, Eric Mayne, Emily Fitzroy, Clara Bracey, James Barrows, Claire De Lorez.
Dennis James at the mighty Wurlitzer.
Highly entertaining farce about an American heiress with heart trouble traveling incognito and a dashing young man who disguises himself as a doctor to meet her. He's really an impoverished nobleman, and when her family buys his family's estate, the two accidentally end up spending the night together.
first played at the Stanford Theatre Jul 16, 2003; last played Apr 2006
w/d Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger. ph Jack Cardiff. m Allan Gray. Archers. 163 min.
Roger Livesey, Deborah Kerr, Anton Walbrook, Roland Culver, James McKechnie, Harry Welchman, Albert Lieven, Arthur Wontner, A.E. Matthews, David Hutcheson, Ursula Jeans, John Laurie.
Sentimental story of a British soldier, his adventures, and his search for the perfect woman (represented in three different characters, all played by Deborah Kerr). Blimp was originally a cartoon character, representing the honorable, old-fashioned High Tory.
"In any war we hope to be on the side that made To Be Or Not To Be or Blimp." David Thomson
first played at the Stanford Theatre Oct 20, 1993; last played Apr 2009
d George Fitzmaurice. w Benjamin Glazer, based on the play by Frederick Lonsdale. ph George Barnes, Gregg Toland. m Alfred Newman. Goldwyn / United Artists. 74 min.
Ronald Colman, Loretta Young, Florence Britton, Frederick Kerr, David Torrence, Mary Forbes, Paul Cavanaugh, Crauford Kent, Myrna Loy.
This likable comedy about a wealthy and charming British playboy gave 17-year-old Loretta Young one of her first important roles. It is essential viewing for Ronald Colman fans.
Occasionally we show an obscure film at the Stanford Theatre and suddenly realize that we have uncovered a gem. There are few films that we anticipate with more pleasure than this one.
first played at the Stanford Theatre Jan 21, 1991; last played Nov 2007
d Roy Del Ruth. w Robert Presnell, from the play by David Boehm. ph Barney McGill. Warner Bros. 75 min.
Warren Williams, Loretta Young, Wallace Ford, Alice White, Hale Hamilton, Albert Gran, Marjorie Gateson, Ruith Donnelly, Frank Reicher, Allen Jenkins.
In this virtual handbook on the fine art of sexual harassment, the general manager of a department store (Warren Williams) has his way with a beautiful shop girl (Loretta Young) before and after his marriage.
This film is an example of many made at Warners before the Production Code with similar vitality, a realistic edge, and (often) a concern with serious social issues. Leonard Maltin calls it "gripping, funny, outrageous and racy."
first played at the Stanford Theatre Sep 3, 1994; last played July 2009
d Henry King. w Frances Marion, based on the novel by Olive Higgins Prouty. ph Arthur Edeson. Goldwyn / United Artists. 11 reels.
Belle Bennett, Ronald Colman, Lois Moran, Alice Joyce, Jean Hersholt.
Dennis James at the mighty Wurlitzer.
Stella (Belle Bennett) marries above her class, to the self-centered Stephen Dallas (Ronald Colman). They have a daughter, but Stephen divorces Stella and marries a socialite. As the daughter grows up, she becomes ashamed of her mother and longs for the world of her father's new wife. Stella sacrifices all for her beloved daughter.
This story gave Colman a secondary role. The film was a very major success. Ethyl Barrymore called it "the best moving picture I have ever seen." Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. wrote "few things have affected me as much in my life as did Stella Dallas." Cecil B. DeMille called it "one of the few great screen achievements."
The film was remade in 1937 with Barbara Stanwyck.
first played at the Stanford Theatre Jan 23, 1991; last played Apr 2006
d/w Joseph L. Mankiewicz, from the play by William Shakespeare. ph Joseph Ruttenberg. m Miklos Rozsa. MGM. 121 min.
John Gielgud, James Mason, Marlon Brando, Greer Garson, Deborah Kerr, Louis Calhern, Edmond O'Brien, George Macready, Michael Pate, John Hoyt, Alan Napier.
This film version of Shakespeare's play has a straightforward, almost newsreel quality, as if we are watching real people with recognizable ambitions, who happen to have lived in ancient Rome (and who also happen to be great actors speaking great verse). It was supposedly influenced by the Orson Welles stage production of 1938.
The film industry was shocked at the choice of Brando for the part of Marc Antony. Brando was shocked himself, turning to John Gielgud for help in what turned out to be one of his most highly praised performances. One British critic wrote: "It is maddening to be forced to admit it, but it has been left to Hollywood to make the finest film version of Shakespeare yet to be seen on our screens."
Variety called Julius Caesar "... a tense, melodramatic story, clearly presented, and excellently acted by one of the finest casts assembled for a film. ... Any fears about Marlon Brando appearing in Shakespeare are dispelled by his compelling portrayal as the revengeful Mark Antony." But Brando modestly wrote in his autobiography: "... for me to walk on a movie set and play Mark Antony without more experience was asinine."
This great Shakespearian film was originally planned for release in stereophonic sound. Rozsa designed the score to make dramatic use of the new technology, but the film was never released to theaters in stereo, though the original magnetic masters of the stereophonic sound track still exist.
first played at the Stanford Theatre Jul 30, 1994; last played July 2008
d Leslie Arliss. w Margaret Kennedy, Leslie Arliss, Doreen Montgomery, from the novel by Lady Eleanor Smith. ph Arthur Crabtree. m Cedric Mallabey. Gainsborough. 116 min.
Margaret Lockwood, Phyllis Calvert, James Mason, Stewart Granger, Harry Smith, Martita Hunt, Helen Haye, Beatrice Varley, Raymond Lovell.
At an estate auction two strangers meet and wonder about their ancestors. There was plenty to wonder about, as the flashbacks demonstrate.
This film set in motion the series of hugely popular Gainsborough melodramas and gave a big boost to the careers of James Mason and Margaret Lockwood.
first played at the Stanford Theatre Oct 2, 2008; last played Oct 2008
d Laurence Olivier, Reginald Beck. w Laurence Olivier, Alan Dent, from the play by William Shakespeare. ph Robert Krasker. m William Walton. Two Cities. 136 min.
Laurence Olivier, Robert Newton, Leslie Banks, Renee Asherson, Esmond Knight, Leo Genn.
This extraordinary film version of Shakespeare's play was made in England during the German Blitz. The British victory at Agincourt — won against enormous odds — was inspiring and reassuring at the time.
Olivier's first, triumphant attempt at directing a film showed all the enthusiasm and ambition of a great actor who had been let loose to try his hand in a new dramatic medium. Olivier received a special Academy Award "for his outstanding achievement as actor, producer, and director in bringing Henry V to the screen."
first played at the Stanford Theatre Nov 10, 1993; last played Nov 1993
d William Wellman. w Hope Loring, Harry D. Lighton. ph Harry Perry. Paramount. 13 reels.
Clara Bow, Charles 'Buddy' Rogers, Richard Arlen, Gary Cooper, Jobyna Ralston, El Brendel, Julia Swayne Gordon, Henry B. Walthall, Hedda Hopper.
Dennis James at the mighty Wurlitzer.
The very first film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture is about two friends who become fliers during World War I. Paramount promoted the film as a love triangle with "It" girl Clara Bow sparkling as the girl hopelessly in love with flyer Buddy Rogers, whose heart belongs to Jobyna Ralston (Harold Lloyd's frequent leading lady), but it is the remarkable aerial sequences that are truly memorable. Gary Cooper had a small role but made a big impression.
We will be screening the newly restored print.
first played at the Stanford Theatre Apr 2, 1993; last played Aug 2004
d Henry Koster. w Bruce Manning, Charles Kenyon & Hans Kraly. ph Joseph Valentine. Universal. 84 min.
Deanna Durbin, Adolphe Menjou, Leopold Stokowski, Alice Brady, Mischa Auer, Eugene Pallette, Billy Gilbert, Alma Kruger, Jack Smart, Jed Prouty, Jameson Thomas.
A young girl launches an orchestra with her father and 99 other unemployed musicians and the help of renowned conductor Leopold Stokowski.
first played at the Stanford Theatre Oct 17, 1937; last played Dec 2003
d Fergus McDonnell. w Robert Westerby, from the novel Young Archimedes by Aldous Huxley. ph George Stretton. 2 Cities. 88 min.
Guy Rolfe, Kathleen Ryan, Kathleen Byron, Jeremy Spenser, James Robertson Justice, Henry Oscar, John Slater, Hugo Schuster, Rosalie Crutchley, Christopher Lee.
The ambitious Signora Bondini discovers that a young boy of humble background is a musical prodigy. She relentlessly sponsors his phenomenal career as a conductor, without stopping to think about his life.
first played at the Stanford Theatre Oct 9, 2008; last played Oct 2008
d Cedric Gibbons. w Howard Emmett Rogers & Leon Gordon, based on the story by James Kevin McGuinness. ph Charles G. Clarke, Clyde DeVinna. MGM. 105 min.
Johnny Weismuller, Maureen O'Sullivan, Neil Hamilton, Paul Cavanagh, Forrester Harvey, Nathan Curry.
In Tarzan and his Mate, Jane's ex-fiancé returns to the jungle with a group of ivory hunters; while he wants to bring Jane back to England, the hunters want Tarzan to lead them to the mysterious elephant burial ground so they can pilfer ivory.
An underwater swimming scene caused much consternation with the Hays Office. They rejected the film on the grounds that some shots showed Jane "completely in the nude." MGM production head Irving Thalberg defended the film, but the Hays Office insisted that all existng prints be changed. Apparently, however, the nude shots were still being shown in some territories that had no censor boards, which was a Code violation. MGM eventually released 3 different versions: one with Jane fully clothed, one where she is partially exposed, and one in which she is completely naked. When the PCA became aware of this, they forced the studio to remove the offending scene from the film's negative; the deleted scene survived only in the studio's vaults. The Stanford Theatre will be showing the completely restored print.
"Not the first [Tarzan movie] but the best and by far the sexiest." David Thomson
first played at the Stanford Theatre June 8, 1934; last played Aug 1994
d William Thiele. w Cyril Hume, Gerald Geraghty, Gouverneur Morris. ph Harry Fischbeck. Paramount. 84 min.
Dorothy Lamour, Ray Milland, Akim Tamiroff, Lynne Overmann, Molly Lamont, Mala, Hugh Buckler, Sally Martin, Roberta Law.
Wearing the sarong that became her trademark, Dorothy Lamour plays a child of nature (living with her pet tiger) who encounters a visitor from Western "civilization".
Dorothy Lamour's first film, an unpretentious, low-budget programmer, was a surprise box office sensation and launched the career of one of Hollywood's most popular actresses. For many years The Jungle Princess had not been seen in theatres.
first played at the Stanford Theatre Nov 3, 1990; last played Aug 2007
d Ernst Lubitsch. w Paul Bern, from the play Only a Dream by Lothar Schmidt. ph Charles Van Enger. Warner. 74 min.
Monte Blue, Florence Vidor, Marie Prevost, Adolph Menjou, Creighton Hale, Harry Myers, Dale Fuller, Esther Ralston.
Dennis James at the mighty Wurlitzer.
In this charming Lubitsch silent comedy, a professor's flirtatious wife tries to seduce the husband of her newly married best friend.
first showing at the Stanford Theatre
d Ernst Lubitsch, assisted by George Cukor. w Samson Raphaelson, based on the play Only a Dream by Lothar Schmidt. ph Victor Milner. m Oscar Strauss & Richard Whiting. Paramount. 84 min.
Maurice Chevalier, Jeanette MacDonald, Genevieve Tobin, Roland Young, Charles Ruggles, George Barbier.
In this sparkling Lubitsch musical, a remake of his own silent film The Marriage Circle, Maurice Chevalier and Jeanette MacDonald are happily married sweethearts — until the arrival of her best friend (oh, that Mitzi!).
In Singin' in the Rain, an unsuccessful silent film is rescued by turning it into a musical. In this case a great silent comedy was remade as a great musical.
Halliwell includes this among his hundred favorite films and terms it "unique entertaiment of a kind which is, alas, no more." The film originally had amber and blue tints for night interiors and exteriors. This print faithfully reproduces this effect.
first played at the Stanford Theatre Apr 20, 1932; last played Mar 2011
d Ernst Lubitsch. w Samson Raphaelson & Grover Jones, from the play The Honest Finder by Laszlo Aladar. ph Victor Milner. m W. Franke Harling. Paramount. 86 min.
Herbert Marshall, Miriam Hopkins, Kay Francis, Edward Everett Horton, Charles Ruggles, C. Aubrey Smith, Robert Greig, Leonid Kinsky.
A pair of jewel thieves (Miriam Hopkins and Herbert Marshall) insinuate themselves into the household of wealthy Kay Francis. Director Lubitsch's own favorite among all his films. Halliwell calls it "the masterpiece of American sophisticated cinema." Leonard Maltin says it is "a working definition of the term sophisticated comedy."
first played at the Stanford Theatre Dec 3, 1932; last played May 2010
d Laurence Olivier. w William Shakespeare. ph Desmond Dickinson. m William Walton. Universal Intl./Rank. 148 min.
Laurence Olivier, Eileen Herlie, Basil Sydney, Jean Simmons, Felix Aylmer, Norman Wooland, Terence Morgan, Stanley Holloway, Peter Cushing, Esmond Knight, Anthony Quayle, Harcourt Williams, John Laurie, Niall MacGinnis, Patrick Troughton.
The Bard's only Best Picture (four were nominated in other years). Laurence Olivier directed and produced the film, and he won Best Actor.
Far from a "photographed stage play" this is an essay in creating moods by camera and lighting — almost at times a film noir.
first played at the Stanford Theatre May 8, 1993; last played Mar 2009
w/d Joseph L. Mankiewicz, based on the play Dr. Praetorius by Curt Goetz. ph Milton Krasner. md Alfred Newman. 20th Century-Fox. 110 min.
Cary Grant, Jeanne Crain, Findlay Currie, Hume Cronyn, Walter Slezak, Sidney Blackmer, Basil Ruysdael, Katherine Locke, Will Wright, Margaret Hamilton, Esther Somers, Carleton Young, Larry Dobkin, Jo Gilbert, Ann Morrison, Julia Dean, Gail Bonney.
An unconventional doctor (Cary Grant) finds his practice challenged by jealous colleagues when he marries a pregnant girl whom he has saved from suicide. He also conducts the orchestra.
This unusual film received high critical praise.
first played at the Stanford Theatre Nov 1, 1951; last played Oct 2006
d Garson Kanin. w Norman Krasna. ph Robert de Grasse. m Roy Webb. RKO. 82 min.
Ginger Rogers, David Niven, Charles Coburn, Frank Albertson, E. E. Clive, Ernest Truex, Ferike Boros.
After losing her job at the department store, Ginger finds a baby abandoned at the doorstep of the orphanage. Everybody assumes that she must be the unwed mother, including her former boss.
This comedy, RKO's biggest hit of 1939, demonstrated that Ginger Rogers could be sensational without singing or dancing.
first played at the Stanford Theatre Aug 16, 1939; last played Aug 2009
d John Ford. w Frank Nugent, Patrick Ford. ph Bert Glennon. m Richard Hageman. Argosy. 86 min.
Ben Johnson, Joanne Dru, Harry Carey Jr, Ward Bond, Charles Kemper, Alan Mowbray, Jane Darwell, Ruth Clifford, Russell Simpson, Kathleen O'Malley, James Arness, Fred Liggy, Mickey Simpson, Hank Worden, Francis Ford, Jim Thorpe, Movita Castaneda, Dickie Moore.
A couple of horse traders guide a group of Mormon settlers headed to Utah.
Director John Ford said that this was one of his films "that came closest to being what I had wanted to achieve."
first showing at the Stanford Theatre
d/w Jean Renoir, from the novel Hold Autumn in Your Hand by George Sessions Perry. ph Lucien Andriot. m Werner Janssen. United Artists. 92 min.
Betty Field, Zachary Scott, Beulah Bondi, J. Carrol Nash.
On a rural farm, a desperately poor family struggles against the elements with determination. An apolitical and even poetic variation on The Grapes of Wrath.
This is generally considered Jean Renoir's best American film. We are showing a very beautiful print made from the original camera negative at the UCLA Film Archive.
first played at the Stanford Theatre Dec 6, 1945; last played Nov 1999
Laura (1944) (3:40), 7:30
d Otto Preminger. w Jay Drattler, Samuel Hoffenstein, Betty Reinhardt, from the novel by Vera Caspary. ph Joseph La Shelle. m David Raksin. Twentieth Century-Fox. 87 min.
Dana Andrews, Clifton Webb, Gene Tierney, Judith Anderson, Vincent Price, Dorothy Adams, James Flavin.
A beautiful young woman is murdered, or so it seems.
Laura is one of the most hauntingly unforgettable movies ever made, and the reason is David Raksin's score, one of the greatest ever written. When Hedy Lamarr was asked why she had turned down the role, she said "They sent me the script. They didn't send me the score."
Clifton Webb's portrayal of acerbic radio personality Waldo Lydecker ("I'm vicious, it's the secret of my charm") is one of the treasures of the cinema.
"Everybody's favorite chic murder mystery." Pauline Kael
Laura has been by far the most popular film noir with audiences at the Stanford Theatre. David Raksin was a guest of the theatre four times.
first played at the Stanford Theatre Nov 30, 1944; last played Oct 2010
The Bad and the Beautiful (1952) 5:20, 9:10
d Vincente Minnelli. w Charles Schnee. ph Robert Surtees. m David Raksin. MGM. 118 min.
Lana Turner, Kirk Douglas, Gloria Grahame, Walter Pidgeon, Dick Powell, Barry Sullivan, Gilbert Roland, Leo G. Carroll, Vanessa Brown, Paul Stewart.
In perhaps the greatest movie ever made about Hollywood (it won five Oscars), a brilliant but egomaniacal producer (Douglas) asks three of his protegés to work again with him, but they cannot forgive him for the price they had to pay for their success. David Raksin's musical score is one of the best ever composed for a Hollywood film.
first played at the Stanford Theatre Jul 6, 1990; last played Nov 2009
d Laurence Olivier. w Laurence Olivier, Alan Dent, from the play by William Shakespeare. ph Otto Heller. m William Walton. London. 155 min.
Laurence Olivier, Claire Bloom, Ralph Richardson, Cedric Hardwicke, Stanley Baker, Alec Clunes, John Gielgud, Mary Kerridge, Pamela Brown, Michael Gough, Norman Wooland, Helen Haye, Patrick Troughton, Clive Morton, Andrew Cruikshank.
In his third Shakespearian film, Olivier plays the villainous hunchback who will stop at nothing to gain the crown.
first showing at the Stanford Theatre
w/d Orson Welles, from the play by William Shakespeare. ph Anchise Brizzi, George Fanto, Obadan Troania, Roberto Fusi, G. Araldo. m Francesco Lavagnino, Alberto Barberis. Mercury / Marceau. 92 min.
Orson Welles, Michael MacLiaammoir, Fay Compton, Robert Cook, Suzanne Cloutier, Michael Laurence, Hilton Edwards, Doris Dowling.
Orson Welles devoted several years to this ambitious and flamboyant (some might say chaotic) interpretation of Shakespeare's Othello, using settings in Morocco and Italy.
"No one can deny the beauty, the spectacle, the heat and flourish of this film." David Thomson
first showing at the Stanford Theatre
d Orson Welles. w Anthony Veiller, from the story by Victor Trivas, Decia Dunning. ph Russell Metty. m Bronislaw Kaper. RKO. 95 min.
Edward G. Robinson, Loretta Young, Orson Welles, Philip Merivale, Richard Long, Konstantin Shayne, Byron Keith, Billy House.
An investigator's hunt for a notorious Nazi war criminal leads him to a small town, where the man has taken a new identity as a college professor. His fiancée refuses to believe the truth.
first played at the Stanford Theatre Apr 1, 1946; last played Mar 2003
d George Cukor. w Ruth Gordon & Garson Kanin. ph Milton Krasner. m Miklós Rózsa. Universal. 103 min.
Ronald Colman, Shelley Winters, Signe Hasso, Edmond O'Brien, Millard Mitchell.
A mentally unstable Broadway star identifies himself too completely with each role he plays: he is chic and jovial while playing comedy, but takes a tragic turn for the worse in the role of Shakespeare's Othello.
Ronald Colman won his only Oscar for this film.
"The most satisfying role I ever had, though there were others I found fulfilling. It tested my total range, and all my resources." Ronald Colman
Preserved by the UCLA Film Archive.
first played at the Stanford Theatre Jan 31, 1991; last played Jun 2006
d William Dieterle. w Johyn Meehan, based on the play by Edward Knoblock. ph Charles Rosher. m/ly Harold Arlen & E. Y. Harburg. MGM. 100 min.
Ronald Colman, Marlene Dietrich, James Craig, Edward Arnold, Hugh Herbert, Joy Ann Page, Florence Bates, Harry Davenport, Hobart Cavanaugh, Robert Warwick, Frank Morgan.
This version of the Arabian Nights story (not based on the famous musical) about a beggar in a caliph's court is a minor Colman film, but has impressive, Academy Award winning color photography and art direction, and Marlene Dietrich dancing.
first played at the Stanford Theatre Nov 12, 1944; last played Aug 2010
d Herbert Brenon. w Paul Schofield, based on the novel by Percival Christopher Wren. ph J. Roy Hunt. Paramount. 11 reels.
Ronald Colman, Neil Hamilton, Ralph Forbes, Alice Joyce, Mary Brian, William Powell, Noah Beery, Norman Trevor, George Regas, Bernard Siegel, Victor McLaglen.
Dennis James at the mighty Wurlitzer
Intrigue, romance, and adventure abound in this famous silent blockbuster, the story of three loyal brothers serving in the Foreign Legion under a sadistic commander. The film was so perfectly constructed that the 1939 remake (with Gary Cooper in the Colman role) copied much of it scene by scene.
first played at the Stanford Theatre Sep 5, 1927; last played May 2006
d William Wellman. w Robert Carson. ph Theodor Sparkuhl, Archie Stout. m Alfred Newman. Paramount. 120 min.
Gary Cooper, Ray Milland, Robert Preston, Brian Donlevy, Susan Hayward, J. Carrol Naish, Albert Dekker, Broderick Crawford, Charles Thatcher.
Faithful sound remake of the famous silent film, with Gary Cooper playing the Ronald Colman role.
first played at the Stanford Theatre Sep 23, 1939; last played Aug. 1997
d Frank Lloyd. w W. P. Lipscomb & Walter Ferris, based on the novel by Ouida. ph Ernest Palmer. m Louis Silvers. 20th Century-Fox. 112 min.
Ronald Colman, Claudette Colbert, Victor McLaglen, Rosalind Russell, Gregory Ratoff, Nigel Bruce, C. Henry Gordon, Herbert Mundin, John Carradine, Lumsden Hare, J. Edward Bromberg, Onslow Stevens, Fritz Leiber, Thomas Beck, William Ricciardi.
An Englishman flees to a new identity in the French Foreign Legion. He encounters the tempestuous Cigarette (Claudette Colbert), but his jealous commander sends him on dangerous missions from which he seems unlikely to return.
Restored by the UCLA film archive to its original, uncut length
first played at the Stanford Theatre May 24, 1936; last played May 2006
d Raoul Walsh. w Jerry Wald, Richard Macaulay & Robert Rossen. ph Ernest Haller. m Heinz Roemheld & Ray Heindorf. Warner Bros. 104 min.
James Cagney, Priscilla Lane, Humphrey Bogart, Gladys George, Jeffrey Lynn, Frank McHugh, Paul Kelly, Elizabeth Risdon, Edward Keane, Joseph Sawyer, Joseph Crehan, George Meeker, John Hamilton, Robert Elliott, Eddie Chandler, Abner Biberman, Vera Lewis, Elliott Sullivan, Bert Hanlon, Murray Alper, Dick Wessel, George Humbert, Ben Weldon.
Three World War I soldiers return to find that their world has changed, and they get involved in bootlegging.
The dynamic film is overflowing with energy. The colorful underworld characters and 1920's music suggest the mood of The Great Gatsby.
Bogart is utterly convincing as a truly evil man, while Cagney injects hints of humanity into his character.
Gladys George delivers the celebrated final line over the dying Cagney: "He used to be a big shot."
first played at the Stanford Theatre Nov 19, 1939; last played Nov. 1997
d Michael Curtiz. w Julius Epstein, Lenore Coffee, based on the short story Sister Act by Fannie Hurst. ph Ernest Haller. m Max Steiner. Warner Bros. 90 min.
Claude Rains, Priscilla, Lola and Rosemary Lane, Gale Page, Jeffrey Lynn, John Garfield, Frank McHugh, May Robson, Dick Foran, Vera Lewis, Tom Dugan.
A music professor and his four musical daughters share a happy home in a small town. Over time, the girls' lives lead them in different directions, but it is the youngest daughter who has the most trouble.
John Garfield became a star with his portrayal of a troubled loser with a talent at the piano. He said he based his portrayal on Oscar Levant.
first played at the Stanford Theatre Oct 9, 1938; last played Mar 2004
d Allan Dwan. w Douglas Fairbanks. ph Arthur Edeson. Douglas Fairbanks Pictures. 11 reels.
Douglas Fairbanks, Wallace Beery, Sam De Grasse, Enid Bennett, Paul Dickey, William Lowery, Ray Coulson, Billie Bennett, Merrill McCormick, Alan Hale, Maine Geary, Lloyd Talman.
Dennis James at the mighty Wurlitzer.
Robin Hood was a natural choice for Fairbanks, the greatest swashbuckler of the silent era. The massive sets, including an impressive medieval castle, were the largest ever constructed for a film to that time. Alan Hale plays Little John, a role he repeated in the 1938 film starring Errol Flynn.
first played at the Stanford Theatre Feb 11, 1990; last played Feb 1990
The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) (3:40), 7:30
d William Keighley, Michael Curtiz. w Seton I. Miller, Norman Reilly Raine. ph Tony Gaudio, Sol Polito, Howard Green. m Erich Wolfgang Korngold. Warner Bros. 102 min.
Errol Flynn, Basil Rathbone, Claude Rains, Olivia de Havilland, Alan Hale, Patric Knowles, Eugene Pallette, Ian Hunter, Melville Cooper, Una O'Connor, Herbert Mundin, Montagu Love, Howard Hill.
This is (as everyone knows) one of the truly great adventure films of all time. From time to time they try to improve on the original, but there is still no substitute for the genuine article. The dashing Errol Flynn as Robin Hood is one of the most indelible images from old Hollywood.
Erich Wolfgang Korngold's score (Academy Award) is a major reason for the film's unending popularity.
"Life and the movies have their compensations, and such a film as this is payment in full for many dull hours of picture-going." The New York Times
first played at the Stanford Theatre May 22, 1938; last played Oct 2009
The Prisoner of Zenda (1937) 5:35, 9:25
d John Cromwell. w John L. Balderston, Wills Root & Donald Ogeden Stewart, based on the novel by Anthony Hope and the play by Edward Rose. ph James Wong Howe. m Alfred Newman. Selznick International. 101 min.
Ronald Colman, Madeleine Carroll, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Mary Astor, C. Aubrey Smith, Raymond Massey, David Niven, Byron Foulger, Montagu Love.
An Englishman on vacation in Ruritania helps defeat a rebel plot by impersonating the local king, who is his exact double. He presides at the coronation of the absent king, foils the king's enemies, romances the king's intended, but, true to his code of honor, departs in the end.
This splendid adventure story, with spectacular duels between Colman and Fairbanks, is one of the great treasures of the cinema, and one of the most entertaining films ever made.
first played at the Stanford Theatre Dec 26, 1937; last played Jan 2011
d Max Reinhardt, William Dieterle. w Charles Kenyon, Mary McCall, jr., from the play by William Shakespeare. ph Hal Mohr, Fred Jackman, Byron Haskin, H.F. Koenekamp. m Felix Mendelssohn. md Erich Wolfgang Korngold. Warner. 132 min.
Ian Hunter, Verree Teasdale, Hobart Cavanaugh, Dick Powell, Ross Alexander, Olivia de Havilland, Jean Muir, Grant Mitchell, Frank McHugh, Dewey Robinson, James Cagney, Joe E. Brown, Hugh Herbert, Otis Harlan, Arthur Treacher, Anita Louise, Victor Jory, Mickey Rooney.
Max Reinhardt was a major figure in German theater in the early 20th century. In 1934 he staged A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Hollywood Bowl, and Warner Bros. — regarded by many as the working class studio — hired him to make this very artistic film.
Beautiful cinematography by Hal Mohr with unexpectedly charming performances from some of Warners' top stars.
first played at the Stanford Theatre Feb 6, 1935; first showing by the Stanford Theatre Foundation
d George Cukor. w Ben Markson, Gene Fowler, & Rowland Brown, from a story by Adela Rogers St. John & Jane Murfin. ph Charles Rosher. m Max Steiner. RKO. 88 min.
Constance Bennett, Lowell Sherman, Neil Hamilton, Gregory Ratoff, Brooks Benedict, Louise Beavers, Eddie Anderson.
A Brown Derby waitress becomes a movie star in this version of the classic Star is Born story. Deftly directed by George Cukor, with thrilling Slavko Vorkapich montages, this is also the darkest and most satirical version of the story.
first played at the Stanford Theatre Oct 29, 1992; last played Sep 2005
The Mark of Zorro (1940) (7:30
d Rouben Mamoulian. w John Taintor Foote, Garrett Fort, Bess Meredith. ph Arthur Miller. m Alfred Newman. 20th Century-Fox. 94 min.
Tyrone Power, Basil Rathbone, Gail Sondergaard, J. Edward Bromberg, Linda Darnell, Eugene Pallette, Montagu Love, Janet Beecher, Robert Lowery.
In this very successful sound version of the Fairbanks silent film, Tyrone Power, the consummate romantic swashbuckler, is a perfect Diego de Vega, cowardly fop by day, but dashing sword-fighting avenger by night.
Director Rouben Mamoulian showed that it is possible to create a remake of a great classic worthy of the original. This feat is remarkably rare.
first played at the Stanford Theatre Nov 27, 1940; last played Jan 2011
d Rouben Mamoulian. w Salka Viertel, H. M. Harwood, S. N. Behrman. ph William Daniels. m Herbert Stothart. MGM. 99 min.
Greta Garbo, John Gilbert, Ian Keith, Lewis Stone, Elizabeth Young, C. Aubrey Smith, Reginald Owen.
Greta Garbo had her most radiant role as the 17th Century Swedish queen, under the inspired direction of Rouben Mamoulian. This film includes several of Garbo's most unforgettable scenes, including her night at the country inn with the Spanish ambassador, and her final sailing from Sweden. Indeed, it could be said that this film contains the greatest performance by the greatest star of the greatest art form of the 20th century. Do not miss it!
first played at the Stanford Theatre Mar 11, 1934; last played Sep 2010
d Fred Niblo. From the novel The Curse of Capistrano by Johnston McCulley. ph William McGann. m William Perry. United Artists. 8 reels.
Douglas Fairbanks, Noah Beery, Charles Hill Mailes, Claire McDowell, Marguerite de la Motte.
Dennis James at the mighty Wurlitzer.
Douglas Fairbanks plays Zorro, masked champion of the oppressed in old California.
They have been remaking this story for 75 years — even in 1998 — but this is the genuine article, the original Mark of Zorro.
first played at the Stanford Theatre Jan 16, 1990; last played Jul 2004