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March 10, 2010 7:00 pm

Scarface
Dir. Hawks/Rosson (USA, 1932) 93 min.

Scarface is a gritty, fast-paced gangster film that tells the compelling story of organized crime's brutal control over Chicago during the Prohibition era. Oscar winner Paul Muni gives an electrifying performance as Tony Carmonte, an ambitious criminal with a ruthless drive to be the city's top crime boss. Scarface was a groundbreaking film which established both Paul Muni and George Raft as major Hollywood stars, while influencing all gangland films to follow.

March 24, 2010 7:00 pm

Heroes for Sale
Dir. Wellman (USA, 1933) 76 min.

A World War I hero battles drug addiction as a result of a battle wound and corporate shenanigans, only to end up among the jobless in a dark picture of the American middle class during the Depression.

March 31, 2010 7:00 pm
Fury
Dir. Lang/Mankiewicz (USA, 1936) 90 min.

Legendary German director Fritz Lang's first American film. A morality tale of mob psychology and revenge on a story outline by Norman Krasna entitled "Mob Rule.” Lang's intention was to give the film a realistic, documentary feel. "Fury" is a smart "social conscience" film of the 1930’s that doesn't align itself with any political party or group.

April 7, 2010 7:00 pm
Modern Times
Dir. Chaplin (USA, 1936) 87 min.

Charlie Chaplin’s legendary satire of the modern, mechanized world in one of the last silent films. Modern Times’ theme gave the increasingly ambitious writer-director a chance to speak out about social issues with charm, humor and bittersweet pathos in one of the great comedies of all time and a sublime masterpiece.

April 14, 2010 7:00 pm

Petrified Forest
Dir. Mayer/Freleng (USA, 1936) 82 min.

Based on Robert Sherwood's hit Broadway play of the same name. Leslie Howard plays gentle roustabout Alan Squier, an esthete young man hitchhiking across America “looking for something to believe in.” Bette Davis plays a naïve and romantic young girl stuck in the middle of nowhere at the isolated Arizona diner she runs with her father and grandfather. With his heavy stubble, dark and haunted eyes and stooped shoulders Humphrey Bogart looks like a hunted beast of a man as escaped criminal Duke Mantee.

April 21, 2010 7:00 pm

The Grapes of Wrath
Dir. Ford (USA, 1940) 128 min.

This remarkable film version of John Steinbeck's novel was nominated for seven Academy Awards. During the Great Depression Tom Joad returns to find his family homestead overwhelmed by weather and the greed of the banking industry. With little work potential on the horizon of the Oklahoma dust bowls, the entire family makes an epic journey across the southern US to a "better life" in California. The daunting challenge of the arduous trip and the harsh living conditions they encounter demand enormous perseverance and challenge family unity.

April 28, 2010 7:00 pm

Meet John Doe
Dir. Capra (USA, 1941) 122 min.

This film appeared at a time when the United States continued to emerge from the Great Depression amidst fears of what soon became World War Two. Directed by Frank Capra, Meet John Doe revolves around a newspaper column by reporter Ann Mitchell in which she publishes a fictitious letter written by "John Doe." Angered at the ill treatment of America's little people, the fabricated Doe announces that he's going to jump off City Hall on Christmas Eve. The Robert Riskin screenplay, based on a story by Richard Connell and Robert Presnell, has more serious implications than Capra's other films and the film addresses the concerns of the so-called "common" man, a stereotype whom we now call "John Doe."