The Trial of Vivienne Ware
(Movies) WhenApril 15, 2020 <m>(Wednesday)m>WhereAuditorium at Northeastern Illinois UniversityBuilding E, 3701 W. Bryn Mawr Ave
Chicago, Illinois 60625 (US)
Website: https://www.chicagofilmsociety.org/calendar/current-season/#bareknees
Event Details
It's disorder in the court at the case of Vivienne Ware (played by Joan Bennett), who is on trial for the murder of her two-timing ex-fiance, architect Damon Fenwick (Jameson Thomas). Knives fly, windows shatter, and guns fire as ZaSu Pitts narrates the proceedings in real time for New York's gossipy radio audience. Fast-screaming lawyers (including Vivienne's true love, defense attorney John Sutherland) interrogate dim-witted witnesses, and several flashbacks fill in the gaps. Adapted from a six-night radio serial program which aired on New York's NBC affiliate WJZ, The Trial of Vivienne Ware combines the nail-biting suspense of radio melodrama with the magic of wackadoo pre-Code film editing. An early contender for the fastest movie ever made, the film contains an astonishing 72 whip pans (by our estimate) in under an hour, and moves so fast you'll want to watch it a second time. Presented with WDCB's Those Were The Days in honor of the show's upcoming 50th anniversary! Preserved by The Museum of Modern Art with support from the Celeste Bartos Fund for Film Preservation. (JA)