Saturday, November 22 - 6:00PM: Dark Victory

Saturday, November 22 8:15PM:  Ninotchka

Starring Bette Davis, George Brent, Humphrey Bogart. Directed by Edmund Goulding.
1939, 106mins. B&W. Shown in the studio's vault 35mm print.

Bette Davis' career is filled with legendary performances - but none more deservedly so than her tour de force in "Dark Victory." She transforms her character from a flippant playgirl into a woman who finds spiritual redemption as she faces terminal illness. With a lesser performance, this would have devolved to syrupy melodrama. But instead, Davis gives a lesson in dramatic restraint and successfully summons a range of emotions that culminate in a truly poignant climax.

This movie is all the more memorable for the sleek production values Warner Bros lavished upon it, including beautiful gowns and furs by Warner designer Orry-Kelly and sparkling Ernest Haller cinematography. There's even a pre-Casablanca Humphrey Bogart playing a stable hand and spurned admirer. "Dark Victory" was a tremendous hit with critics and audiences when new, and remains an acclaimed picture.

Starring Greta Garbo, Melvyn Douglas. Directed by Ernst Lubitsch.
1939 110mins. B&W. Shown in Warner Bros.' vault 35mm print.

 "Ninotchka" connects the careers of 1930s directing great Ernst Lubitsch and future directing great Billy Wilder, who was one of four credited writers on the screenplay. The film shows the strengths of both: Lubitsch's lighter style works remarkably well with Wilder's more cutting dialogue. The production values are first-rate, with the glossy look and classy feel that were the hallmarks of MGM in this era. And best of all, Greta Garbo, who was renowned for her serious dramatic and romantic roles, proved herself quite adept at comedy, including more than a little self-parody. "Garbo Laughs" was how MGM promoted the movie. There is even a rare opportunity to see Bela Lugosi in a non-horror role (though it was, regrettably, his last supporting performance in a high-budget film).

In the story line, a humorless Stalin-era Russian functionary (Garbo) travels to Paris to recover Czarist gems and three other, wayward - and inept - Communist agents who were previously sent to get the gems. She runs into an unreconstructed capitalist and lady's man who sets about the seemingly impossible task of wooing her. If this setup seems a bit remote today - the Soviet Union is, after all, long gone - it doesn't matter. The humor and romance are really timeless, the dialogue still crackles, the acting remains superb, and the production still sparkles. "Ninotchka" is a great film, for any era.