Richard Barthelmess in William Wellman's Heroes for Sale (1933) |
As the U.S. continues its steep and steady descent into another dark night of the soul, distressed Americans cope as best they can. Some rant and debate on social media, some organize or take to the streets, others seek solace in their diversion or hobby of choice. For the film lover, watching movies can provide relief but also, on occasion, a sobering history lesson.
Next month, in a timely move, San Francisco’s Roxie Theatre
will host a four-day film series, The
Dark Side of the Dream, screening twelve films produced in the US between 1933
and 1964 that recall earlier dark moments out of the country’s past. These films remind us, if we need reminding, that the dark side of the American Dream is nothing new and
that it is important to know history so that we can learn from it and avoid repeating our mistakes.
The Dark Side of the Dream, which runs from March 23 – 26, is a co-production of Elliot Lavine of I Wake Up Dreaming, producer of many Bay Area film noir and other film series over the past 25 years, and Don Malcolm’s Midcentury Productions, the company responsible for annual international and French film noir festivals in San Francisco. Together they have created a program of “subversive cinema for subversive times.” A recent preview screening presented three films exploring different aspects of the dream and its downside:
The Dark Side of the Dream, which runs from March 23 – 26, is a co-production of Elliot Lavine of I Wake Up Dreaming, producer of many Bay Area film noir and other film series over the past 25 years, and Don Malcolm’s Midcentury Productions, the company responsible for annual international and French film noir festivals in San Francisco. Together they have created a program of “subversive cinema for subversive times.” A recent preview screening presented three films exploring different aspects of the dream and its downside:
Black Legion (1937) |
M (1951), directed by Joseph Losey (The Boy with Green Hair, The Servant) is an Americanized remake of
the 1931 Fritz Lang/Peter Lorre classic about the capture of a serial killer and mob justice. Director
Losey was a target of HUAC (the House Un-American Activities Committee) and
blacklisted in the early ‘50s. He left the US in 1953 and settled in London,
never to work in Hollywood or live in the US again. Several of those involved in
making this version of M were HUAC
targets.
Heroes for Sale
(1933), directed by William Wellman (A
Star is Born, The Ox-Bow Incident, The High and the Mighty) for Warner
Bros., is a Depression-era social justice epic. Richard Barthelmess, Loretta
Young and Aline McMahon star. An overflowing plot follows Barthelmess from fighting
in the trenches of World War I through just about every indignity to which a
returning veteran could be subjected. His battlefield heroism is appropriated
by a well-to-do but cowardly fellow soldier, his war-injury-induced morphine
addiction meets with zero compassion when he returns home, his business success
is destroyed by corporate greed, and his wife is killed in a mob riot he is
trying to stop. Finally, having finished a prison term he didn’t deserve and now
suspected of being a Communist simply because he has a social conscience, he is
driven out of town and on the bum at the height of the Great Depression.
The current political climate inspired this series, and Lavine notes that, “Even as America is dealing with the very same issues today, it’s
amazing to see how great filmmakers brought all of this to our attention
in earlier times.” He adds, “This series is really the first time
I’ve been able to cover so much of that territory.” The Dark Side of the Dream will spotlight twelve hard-hitting films in six double bills over four days. Among the highlights are Robert Rossen's Body and Soul (1947) starring John Garfield, blacklisted in Hollywood not long before suffering a fatal heart attack at age 39, and Elia Kazan's prophetic A Face in the Crowd (1957), with its riveting tour-de-force lead performance by Andy Griffith.
Indeed a most sobering slate of films that remind us we have been there before. We survived only to face more discord and suffering. Will today be the same or different?
ReplyDeleteThere's usually a new twist to the old pattern, but there's always much suffering involved. As the song goes, "When will we ever learn?"
DeleteNot sure why I had a problem, but this is my third try at posting anyway, this looks like a great festival. I only wish I lived nearby. The only film I am not familiar with is Try and Get Me. Going to have to keep an eye out for it.
ReplyDeleteSometimes Blogger/the Internet/etc., get glitchy...glad you were finally able to post, John. One of these years you and Dorothy are going to have to plan a trip to San Francisco when one of these mini-fests is scheduled. Hopefully more series/festivals in this vein will begin cropping up around the country.
DeleteA great seroes, as it always seems to be Lady Eve. I haven't seen Heroes for Sale, but A Face in the Crowd is one of the most striking and powerful movies you can see. Andy Grifith should have won an Oscar for his performance. Thanks for this preview.
ReplyDeleteThe series that Elliot and Don produce - together and separately - are excellent, and this one is outstanding. Yes, agree, Andy deserved the Oscar for "A Face in the Crowd," a real departure from his more typical roles.
DeleteBay Area legend Elliot Lavine brings his I WAKE UP DREAMING mojo back to the Roxie with a hard-hitting series that takes a sharp look at the dark side of the American Dream. This is great!
ReplyDelete...and timely :)
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