October 12th 2013. Pick Of The Day.
New York City's premiere resource for classic film screenings in the metropolitan area. Offering reviews, recommendations, venues and a host of links keeping classic film and the silver screens alive.
The enthusuastic Cinegeek may enjoy this day in rep screening Claudia Cardinale's feature film debut, Brit star Laird Cregar's cinematic denoument, and Gary Cooper's first bagging of the little gold guy. Continuing series include Film Forum's Jacques Demy retrospective, the Film Society's knee-hugging of Jean-Luc Godard, Moving Image's Complete Howard Hawks, and MoMA's To Save and Project. Here be the full roll;
IFC Center
THE LAST PICTURE SHOW (1971) Dir; Peter Bogdanovich
ALIEN (1979) Dir; Ridley Scott
Film Society of Lincoln Center
HAIL MARY (1985) Dir; Jean-Luc Godard
Film Forum
MODEL SHOP (1969) Dir; Jacques Demy
UNE CHAMBRE EN VILLE (1982) Dir; Jacques Demy
MoMA
NIGHTMARE ALLEY (1947) Dir; Edmund Goulding
HANGOVER SQUARE (1945) Dir; John Brahm
GOHA (1958) Dir; Jacques Baratier
Museum of the Moving Image
BALL OF FIRE (1942) Dir; Howard Hawks
SERGEANT YORK (1941) Dir; Howard Hawks
Library for the Performing Arts
THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (1925) Dir; Rupert Julian
Nitehawk Cinema
THE VAMPIRE LOVERS (1970) Dir; Roy Ward Baker
Today's Pick? So rarely screened and little known is Edmund Goulding's remarkable NIGHTMARE ALLEY, unspooling today at MoMA, I'm overjoyed to vault it all the way to the top of the pack today. Tyrone Power's longtime status as one of Hollywood's surest bets at the box office was considered by the matinee idol both a blessing and a curse, and he longed to stretch what he considered woefully under-utilized acting chops. Once coming across the William Lindsay Gresham novel of the same name he snapped up the rights and convinced studio chief Darryl F. Zanuck to bankroll the genre-defying tome, the tale of a circus carny who steals the secrets of a once-prominent society huckster who's fallen to rock bottom as the troupe's resident gabba-ghoulie. Risky material in any era, but especially as a postwar vehicle for audiences already sufficiently wearied by recent real world nightmares. Zanuck rewarded Power with a greenlight not just for the years of boffo box office but for his proven popularity with moviegoers after the success of THE RAZOR'S EDGE, the star's 1st film after returning from service.
Among the conceits of both novel and film is the equally sordid status afforded both carny con games and the relatively new and uneasily trusted science of psychiatry, neatly, noirishly handled by Jules Furthman's haunting script, which is but one of the many factors that have kept the film from dating. Replete with hubris initially rewarded then denounced and tragedy foretold, it resembles quite neatly the oldest of dramas the world has known. I fact it might be called Geek Tragedy yeah sorry I hadda.
Perhaps my final argument for the film's prominence amongst the contenders this day is its status as the great author Nick Tosches' fave flick all-time, which I heard the man state himself in no uncertain terms. Who am I to take sides against the modern voice of Dante?
For more info on these and all October 13's classic screenings in NYC click the interactive calendar on the upper right hand side of the page. And be sure to follow me on Facebook and Twitter! See you tomorrow with a new batchaddagoodz! Til then safe and sound and keep an eye out for the next kid too! Excelsior, Knuckleheads!
-Joe Walsh
