Around Town: Marilyn, Lucy and Kristy McNichol hit the big screen
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The Los Angeles County Museum of Art is presenting a two-day retrospective, ‘Grand Designs: Mid-Century Life in the Movies,’ at the Leo S. Bing Theater, in conjunction with the closing weekend of the exhibition ‘California Design 1930-1965: Living in a Modern Way.’
The festival opens Friday with the 1957 romantic comedy ‘Desk Set,’ with Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy, about the computer age invading a TV network, followed by Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz as newlyweds honeymooning in an Airstream in Vincente Minnelli’s 1954 comedy ‘The Long, Long Trailer.’
On tap for early Saturday evening is the English-language version of Jacques Tati’s Oscar-winning 1958 comedy ‘My Uncle,’ in which Mr. Hulot encounters an uber modern world in French suburbia.
The evening concludes with Nicholas Ray’s classic 1955 tale of disenchanted youth ‘Rebel Without a Cause,’ starring James Dean, Natalie Wood, Sal Mineo and the Griffith Park Observatory.
The indie film festival ‘Dances With Films’ celebrates its 15th anniversary Thursday evening through June 7 at the Mann’s Chinese 6. The festival includes features, shorts, documentaries and music videos. The opening-night programs are ‘Attack of the Bat Monsters’ and ‘Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life.’ The closing night feature is ‘Eye of the Hurricane,’ with Campbell Scott. http://www.danceswithfilms.com
Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, which is celebrating its 85th anniversary this year, is also commemorating the 86th birthday of the late Marilyn Monroe with a weeklong film festival that begins Friday evening with Billy Wilder’s 1959 gender-bender comedy ‘Some Like It Hot.’ Screening Saturday is 1954’s ‘There’s No Business Like Show Business,’ followed by 1953’s ‘How to Marry a Millionaire’ on Sunday; 1955’s ‘The Seven Year Itch’ on Monday; 1956’s ‘Bus Stop’ on Tuesday; and 1961’s ‘The Misfits,’ her final film, on Wednesday. http://www.chinesetheatres.com
Film Independent at LACMA presents a preview screening Thursday of Corinna Betz’s documentary, ‘Gerhard Richter Painting,’ which profiles the 80-year-old German painter.
And on Tuesday evening, Film Independent at LACMA welcomes screenwriter and USC professor Howard A. Rodman to chat about Sam Fuller’s controversial 1982 drama ‘White Dog’ at the 30th anniversary screening of the film about an actress (played by Kristy McNichol) who adopts a stray white German shepherd only to discover it has been trained to attack African Americans. http://www.lacma.org
Before he ‘Made ‘Em Laugh’ in 1952’s ‘Singin’ in the Rain,’ Donald O’Connor was a teen idol who appeared in several youth-oriented musicals at Universal in the 1940s. UCLA Film & Television Archive’s current centennial celebration of the studio presents a new print Sunday afternoon at the Billy Wilder Theater of his 1944 musical comedy ‘Chip Off the Old Block,’ which also stars Peggy Ryan.
And on Sunday, the archive and Outfest present the 1991 drama ‘The Hour and Times,’ directed by Christopher Munch about a holiday John Lennon took with the Beatles’ gay manager Brian Epstein. Director Munch and actor Ian Hart will appear. http://www.cinema.ucla.edu
Director Whit Stillman will appear to take part in the Cinefamily Pajama Party screening Saturday of his 1998 comedy drama ‘The Last Days of Disco’ at the Silent Movie Theatre.
Cinefamily ‘s Wednesday silent movie is a real rarity -- 1928’s ‘The Showdown,’ a romantic soap opera set in South America starring George Bancroft, Fred Kohler and Evelyn Brent. http://www.cinefamily.org
The Assn. of Moving Image Archivists UCLA Student Chapter presents its monthly screening Sunday and Monday at the New Beverly Cinema with ‘These Are the Damned,’ the 1963 sequel to ‘Village of the Damned’ and the 2011 British cult film ‘Attack the Block.’ http://www.newbevcinema.com
The Skirball’s free Tuesday matinee features 1949’s ‘The Barkleys of Broadway,’ the glossy MGM musical that reunited Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire in a tale about a bickering show business couple. http://www.skirball.org
Geena Davis is scheduled to appear at the Los Angeles Conservancy’s ‘Last Remaining Seats’ screening Wednesday evening of the 1982 comedy ‘Tootsie,’ in which she had one of her first major roles. The film, which earned 10 Oscar nominations and won supporting actress for Jessica Lange, will screen at the Orpheum Theatre in downtown Los Angeles. http://www.laconservancy.org
Related:
‘Review: ‘California Design 1930-1965: Living in a Modern Way’ at LACMA’
--Susan King
