The illusion and the deceit. Tribute to Joseph L. Mankiewicz showcase.

The National Cinema Museum is presenting The illusion and the deceit. Tribute to Joseph L. Mankiewicz film showcase at the Cinema Massimo, from Friday 2 March to Monday 2 April 2018.

A producer, filmmaker and scriptwriter, known for his witty and sophisticated dialogues and for memorable and intense characters, Mankiewicz worked with many of the most important stars in Hollywood and earned a reputation as an extraordinary director for actors, guiding artists like Bette Davis, Humphrey Bogart, Marlon Brando, Frank Sinatra, Elizabeth Taylor and Laurence Olivier in some of their most memorable performances. After a rather good career as a producer, his debut behind the camera happened in 1945 on taking Ernst Lubitsch’s place on the set of Dragonwyck. He dealt with all genres, but always assigned more importance to words rather than images, to the psychological introspection of his characters more than action; indeed, the exasperation of melodrama, the use of off screen voice (multiplying points of view) and the use of flashback for tricking expectations, recur in his films.

 

The showcase will be inaugurated on Friday 2 March at 4.00 p.m., at the Cinema Massimo on Screen Three, by the screening of the film Dragonwyck (USA, 1946).

Admission 6.00/4.00/3.00 euro.

 

SCREENINGS CALENDAR

 

Dragonwyck

(Usa 1946, 103’, HD, b/w, o.v. it. s/t)

1844. Miranda Wells (Gene Tierney) comes from a farming family in Connecticut. One day she is invited by rich Nicholas Van Ryn (Vincent Price) to his home on the Hudson. The man asks Miranda to be a nanny for his daughter and his wife Johanna. Miranda immediately falls for Nicholas, although he shows himself to be despotic and intolerant towards the farmers. When Johanna suddenly dies, Nicholas confesses his love to Miranda and his dissatisfaction for not having been able to beget a male child.

Fri 2, at 4.00 p.m./Fri 30, at 6.00 p.m.

 

Somewhere in the Night

(Usa 1946, 110’, HD, b/w, o.v. it. s/t)

Following three years on the front, soldier George Taylor, gravely wounded by the explosion of a grenade, returns to the United States. Suffering from amnesia, George tries to retrieve his old identity by following a clue left by the mysterious Mr. Larry Cravat. On examining the documents he has found in his own wallet, he realises that a friend called Larry Cravat has deposited a large sum of money for him in the bank.

Fri 2, at 6.00 p.m./Fri 30, at 4.00 p.m.

 

All About Eve

(Usa 1950, 138’, HD, b/w, o.v. it. s/t)

Eva Harrington (Anne Baxter), a girl of modest origins full of enthusiasm for the theatre, manages to approach Margo Channing (Bette Davis), a great forty year-old, still beautiful and successful actress. Passing herself off as a war widow, Eva manages to earn Margo’s sympathies and her protection with her insinuating manners, and is welcomed in her home as a secretary. Awarded with six Oscars and two prizes in Cannes.

Sat 3, at 8.30 p.m./Fri 23, at 6.15 p.m./Mon 26, at 4.00 p.m.

 

The Ghost and Mrs. Muir

(Usa 1947, 104’, DCP, b/w, o.v. it. s/t)

The spectre of a navy captain appears to a beautiful widow in a cottage on the coast of New England and dictates his memoirs to her. Instead of being frightened, the woman falls in love with him. Cleverly adapted by Philip Dunne from a novel by R.A. Dick, it is one of the most bizarre and tender films by Mankiewicz. Suggestive music by Bernard Hermann, Hitchcock’s favourite composer.

Sun 4, at 6.00 p.m./Mon 2 April, at 4.00 p.m.

 

A Letter to Three Wives

(Usa 1949, 103’, DCP, b/w, o.v. it. s/t)

Three ladies, about to leave for a trip into the countryside, receive a letter from a common friend, who announces she has eloped with the husband of one of the three, without however mentioning his name. The three women cannot nevertheless learn anything more until the days ends. An Oscar for its screenplay and directing.

Sun 4, at 8.30 p.m./Wed 28, at 4.00 p

 

House of Strangers

(Usa 1949, 101’, HD, b/w, o.v. it. s/t)

Gino Minetti (Edward G. Robinson), a Sicilian who emigrated to the United States, enters business and opens a small bank. He has four children, the second of them, Max, is a lawyer and is the only one who is fond of him. The other three cannot forgive his strict manners. New laws are introduced in the Federal State: private banks are subject to rigid regulations and checks. Minetti, who has always done things summarily, sees himself lost...

Mon 5, at 4.00 p.m./Wed 28, at 6.00 p.m.

 

No Way Out

(Usa 1950, 106’, 35mm, b/w, o.v. it. s/t)

Brothers Rey (Richard Widmark) and Johnny Biddle are arrested and taken to hospital after being wounded in a shooting. They are entrusted to the care of doctor Luther (Sidney Poitier), a black physician. Suspecting the presence of a tumour in Johnny’s brain, Luther decides to extract some brain liquid to run a few tests, but Johnny dies during the operation. Rey accuses the doctor of killing his brother and opts for revenge.

Mon 12, at 4.00 p.m./Mon 26, at 6.30 p.m.

 

Suddenly, Last Summer

(Usa 1959, 114’, HD, b/w, o.v. it. s/t)

Catherine (Elizabeth Taylor) accompanied her cousin Sebastian on his summer trip to Spain, where the youth met with a tragic and mysterious death. The girl’s mind has remained shaken by pain and does not exactly recall how things went. This worries Violet (Katharine Hepburn), Sebastian’s mother, who was bound to her son by a morbid fondness, and who now not only weeps for his loss, but is afraid that Catherine may reveal something on recovering.

Fri 23, at 4.00 p.m./Sun 25, at 8.30 p.m./Sun 1 April, at 6.20 p.m.

 

Guys and Dolls

(Usa 1955, 150’, HD, col., o.v. it. s/t)

Nathan Detroit (Frank Sinatra) is the owner of a clandestine gaming venue, which continually changes its premises to escape police checks. During the umpteenth move, Nathan is forced to advance a thousand dollars to the owner of a place. He meets Sky Masterson (Marlon Brando), a hardened better and gamester on Broadway, and he challenges him, betting a thousand dollars with him that he will not manage to invite Sarah Brown, serving in the Salvation Army, to dinner, and take her with him to Cuba.

Sat 31, at 4.00 p.m./Sun 1 April, at 8.30 p.m.

 

The Barefoot Contessa

(Usa 1954, 128’, DCP, col., o.v. it. s/t)

Maria Vargas (Valentina Cortese) is a young ballerina who performs in a cabaret in Madrid. A producer and an American filmmaker convince her to sign a long contract and take her to Hollywood. Maria has a difficult, sensitive, instinctive personality: she immediately feels vibrantly drawn to the filmmaker, a serious and honest man, who is able to give her success. Maria becomes an internationally famed actress, whom producers fight each other for; but neither celebrity, nor riches, make her happy.

Sat 31, at 8.30 p.m./Sun 1 April, at 4.00 p.m.