FEBRUARY – JUNE 2012
Click here to view programme as a printable pdf.
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Feb 3 OPENING NIGHT PARTY and “EALING COMEDIES OR KIND HEARTS AND OVERDRAFTS”
Dir: Harry Hastings GB 1970 77 mins b&w. The history of Ealing Studios, featuring excerpts from its comedies: The Ladykillers, Whisky Galore, etc, and interviews with writers, directors and major stars such as Alec Guinness.
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Feb 17 PASSPORT TO PIMLICO (Dir: Henry Cornelius GB 1949 84 mins b&w Prod Co: Ealing Studios)
An old document found on a London bomb site shows that Pimlico is legally part of the ancient Duchy of Burgundy & therefore free of rationing restrictions. From Ealing’s classic period with Stanley Holloway & Margaret Rutherford
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Mar 2 THE PURPLE ROSE OF CAIRO (Dir: Woody Allen USA 1985 82 mins colour Orion Pictures)
Mia Farrow stars as a depression-era waitress who finds escape from the drudgery of her life at her local cinema. Woody Allen evokes the spirit of Buster Keaton in this delightfully inventive film, rich in pure cinematic magic.
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Mar 16 THE RISING OF THE MOON (Dir: John Ford USA 1956 81 mins b&w Warner Bros/Four Provinces)
Ford’s highly personal film explores the anarchic tendency of the Irish to resist any kind of enforced order. Tyrone Power narrates, with stars Noel Purcell, Cyril Cusack and a support cast drawn from Dublin’s Abbey Theatre Players
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Apr 6 LE PLAISIR Dir: Max Ophuls France 1951 94 mins b&w Stera/CCFC)
Adaptation of three ironic Maupassant stories linked by a common theme: the paradoxical deceptions of pleasure. Ophuls’ masterly direction & fluid camerawork delivers a late career masterpiece. With Jean Gabin, Danielle Darrieux
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Apr 20 WAG THE DOG (Dir: Barry Levinson USA 1997 97 mins colour New Line Cinema)
This political satire taps into conspiracy theories about media manipulation by US governments. Prescient screenplay by Hilary Henkin & David Mamet, music by Mark Knopfler & stellar cast: Dustin Hoffman, De Niro, Willie Nelson
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May 4 WENT THE DAY WELL (Dir: Alberto Cavalcanti GB 1942 93 mins b&w Ealing Studios)
An English village is taken over by German troops disguised as British soldiers. Story by Graham Greene with Cavalcanti adding a touch of surrealism in the way he depicts violence erupting within a peaceful, rural landscape.
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May 18 THE RAID (Dir: Hugo Fregonese USA 1954 82 mins b&w TCF)
Atmospheric western based on an actual incident in which a group of Confederate officers infiltrate a Northern town, intending to take it over from within. Van Heflin stars with Lee Marvin, Anne Bancroft impressive in her film debut
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Jun 1 EASY LIVING (Dir: Mitchell Leisen USA 1937 88 mins b&w Paramount)
Millionaire throws spoiled wife’s mink coat out the window where it lands on a struggling working girl played by the sublime Jean Arthur. Classic screwball comedy with screenplay by Preston Sturges. Also starring Ray Milland.
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Jun 15 THE ROMANCE OF RUNNIBEDE (Tinted) (Dir: Scott R. Dunlap Aust 1928 63 mins b&w)
Melodrama based on an incident in Steele Rudd’s book involving the kidnapping of a woman from the family cattle station by Aborigines who believe her to be their ‘great white queen’. Australian silent film with a soundtrack by John Lanser & Roger Woolnough, and a guest presenter with memorabilia associated with the film’s production.
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All films are from the National Film & Sound Archive in Canberra
