Last Remaining Seats 2007
The Los Angeles Conservancy will present the 21st Annual Last Remaining Seats series every Wednesday at 8 p.m. from May 23 — June 27, 2007. The series is held at historic movie palaces in the Los Angeles area — the precious few still in existence, that is.
This year, the following film classics will be screened:
North by Northwest (1959), Alfred Hitchcock’s movie-movie from an absurd screenplay by Ernest Lehman. The good thing is that Lehman doesn’t take his tale at all seriously; the not-so-good thing is that we must suspend disbelief (and most other brain functions as well) from the moment we see Jessie Royce Landis (born 1896) playing mommy to Cary Grant (born 1904) up to and beyond the Mount Rushmore cliffhanger. Now, the part of your brain that appreciates good acting should remain active: Grant is a delight as the man on the run, and so are mommy Landis, Eva Marie Saint, James Mason, Leo G. Carroll, and Martin Landau. Saint and Patricia Hitchcock (the director’s daughter) are expected to attend the screening and answer questions from director Curtis Hanson.
Directed by William Wyler, Roman Holiday (1953) is the light romantic comedy that turned Audrey Hepburn into both an Oscar winner and a major star. Hepburn deserved the stardom but not the Oscar; despite the actress’ undeniable charm, her young princess — spending one carefree day in the streets of Rome — feels somewhat calculated. As the American reporter accompanying her, Gregory Peck delivers the film’s best and most understated performance. Wyler’s direction is for the most part disappointingly conventional, but Roman Holiday does offer magical moments every now and then. Ironically, Dalton Trumbo, one of the Hollywood Ten, penned the light-as-air story. Ian McLellan Hunter was his front. John Dighton co-wrote the screenplay. The Roman Holiday screening will be hosted by film critic Leonard Maltin.
Considered by some one of Greta Garbo’s best films, Flesh and the Devil (1926) is a shameless potboiler about a woman, known in those days as a “vamp,” who gets in the way of a very — and I mean very — intimate friendship between two men. Garbo, of course, is the woman; John Gilbert and Lars Hanson are the two loving buddies. Personally, I find this misogynistic silent melodrama insufferable, but there’s an undeniable subversive undercurrent to the narrative, and the film does look great (courtesy of Garbo’s favorite cinematographer, William H. Daniels). Clarence Brown directed from an adaptation by Benjamin Glazer (from Hermann Sudermann’s novel The Undying Past). Marion Ainslee wrote the titles. Flesh and the Devil made Garbo a star, while reportedly igniting a torrid love affair between the Swedish actress and John Gilbert. Robert Israel will provide the musical accompaniment. [Flesh and the Devil in Kevin Brownlow's list of "essential silents."]
Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942) was one of the biggest box-office hits of the 1940s. It was nominated for eight Academy Awards, winning three including one for star James Cagney. In this flag-waving, musical biography-cum-family melodrama, Cagney plays Broadway personality George M. Cohan, getting the chance to dance some, play tough here and there, and mug for the camera whenever he’s on-screen. When Cagney isn’t chewing on the scenery, Walter Huston steps in to gobble up whatever is left of it. Joan Leslie — pretty, charming, and a capable Warner Bros. contract player mostly wasted in thankless roles (including this one, as Cagney’s gal) — and Rosemary DeCamp (as Cagney’s mom) co-star. Michael Curtiz, who did much better work elsewhere, directed. DeCamp, by the way, was 11 years younger than Cagney. Randy Haberkamp, director of Education Programs at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, will host the Yankee Doodle Dandy screening.
Co-presented with the Latin American Cinemateca of Los Angeles, La Balandra Isabel llegó esta tarde / The Yacht Isabel Arrived This Afternoon is the series’ Spanish-language offering — and its only obscure title. Directed and co-written by Argentinean Carlos Hugo Christensen, this 1949 Venezuelan-Argentinean co-production is based on a 1934 short story by Venezuelan writer Guillermo Meneses, and stars Mexican leading man Arturo de Córdova. The L.A. Conservancy site describes La Balandra Isabel llegó esta tarde as “an erotic melodrama of stunning cinematography that highlights Venezuela’s natural scenery and its unique Afro-Venezuelan musical heritage.” In Spanish with English subtitles. Actor Wilmer Valderrama is tentatively scheduled to host the screening.
Scarface (1932) was produced by Howard Hughes and directed by Howard Hawks. This crime melodrama looks pretty creaky today, but it was a sensation in the early 1930s. Master scenery-chewer Paul Muni, an actor apparently incapable of delivering an unaffected performance, plays the Al Capone-like title character, Antonio ‘Tony’ Camonte. Ann Dvorak, another (future) Warners contractee usually wasted in nonsensical roles and films, plays Tony’s pretty sister, while George Raft and Boris Karloff have supporting roles. Ben Hecht was credited for the screenplay, though numerous hands were involved in the writing. A historical curiosity, but little else.
Now, whether the films themselves are good or less than good, they should be watched at least once because of their historical importance. And the Last Remaining Seats series is a rare opportunity to see those films as they were meant to be seen.
Photos of the movie theaters can be found here.
Last Remaining Seats Schedule (Wednesdays at 8 p.m.):
May 23 North by Northwest Orpheum Theatre
May 30 Roman Holiday Los Angeles Theatre
June 6 Flesh and the Devil Orpheum Theatre
June 13 Yankee Doodle Dandy Los Angeles Theatre
June 20 La Balandra Isabel llegó esta tarde John Anson Ford Amphitheatre
June 27 Scarface Alex Theatre
Advance tickets are $15 for Conservancy members and $18 for the general public. Group discounts are also available when purchasing 10 or more tickets to a single film. Any tickets remaining on the night of the event will be sold at the door for $20.
All performances are general seating. Doors open at 7 p.m. Programs start at 8 p.m. and end between 10:30 and 11 p.m. All programs subject to change. Check back for details on each evening’s special program, including celebrity guests and live performances. For recorded ticket information, call (213) 430-4219.
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Tags: Argentinean Cinema, Classic Movies, Film Festivals, Silent Films, South American Cinema
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