<<< May 21 - 23, 2009 >>>

Writer Dalton Trumbo got his start writing short stories, essays and articles, some of which appeared in the Saturday Evening Post, Vanity Fair and the Hollywood Spectator in the early 1930s. His first novel was published in 1934. That year, he also began working as a script reader at Warner Bros., which was his introduction to the film world. Almost immediately, he began writing screenplays that were made into successful movies. From the mid-1930s to late 1940s he was especially prolific with films such as ROAD GANG, FIVE CAME BACK, HEAVEN WITH A BARBED WIRE FENCE, the acclaimed films A BILL OF DIVORCEMENT, KITTY FOYLE (for which he won an Academy Award), A GUY NAMED JOE, THIRTY SECONDS OVER TOKYO, OUR VINES HAVE TENDER GRAPES and A MAN TO REMEMBER. However, the 1947 - 1949 period was one of turmoil as he battled against the rabidly anti-communist witch-hunters in Congress and the film industry who were rampaging against those they tarred as "un-American". Trumbo fought the battle valiantly, and for this sin he was blacklisted by Hollywood throughout most of the 1950s. Undaunted by this Salem mentality, Trumbo continued to write superlative screenplays under pseudonyms. His identity protected by a series of "fronts" -- he scripted such films as GUN CRAZY, ROMAN HOLIDAY (Oscar winner for Best Original Story), THE PROWLER, THE BRAVE ONE (another Oscar winner) and COWBOY. In 1958, Kirk Douglas hired Trumbo to write the script for SPARTACUS, and the following year Otto Preminger recruited him for his epic EXODUS. Both films were released in 1960, and both gave full screen credit to Trumbo. Being publicly credited for these two masterpieces delivered a crushing blow to the infamous blacklist, and consequently many other writers were able to reappear under their own names. Further acclaimed work came from Trumbo on such films as the magnificent LONELY ARE THE BRAVE, HAWAII, THE FIXER, PAPILLON and a pet project of his, JOHNNY GOT HIS GUN -- a stunning anti-war film that Trumbo directed (his first and only such undertaking) based on his 1939 novel. Please join us for this long-overdue 3-day salute to screenwriter Dalton Trumbo. In-person guests during the series will include Dalton’s son Christopher Trumbo, daughter Mitzi Trumbo (unit photographer on "Johnny Got His Gun"), DP Jules Brenner and actor Timothy Bottoms (all schedule permitting).

Thursday, May 21 - 7:30 PM
Double Feature:
Premiere of Remastered Film! JOHNNY GOT HIS GUN, 1971, Shout Factory, 111 min. Dalton Trumbo not only wrote but directed this fiercely powerful cry of anguish against the legions of aggression - the ultimate anti-war film. Joe, a foot soldier (Timothy Bottoms) during WWI, loses his legs, arms and most of his face in an explosion. He awakes in a hospital and slowly becomes aware that not only is he imprisoned in a shell of a body, but the doctors think he is a vegetable. Through a series of flashbacks involving his father (Jason Robards), his fiancee and his fantasy encounters with Jesus Christ (Donald Sutherland), we learn about Joe’s character. As Joe’s hospital stay lengthens, he develops a friendship with a sympathetic nurse (Diane Varsi). (Screened from remastered digital source)."Trumbo has taken the most difficult sort of material -- and handled it, strange to say, in a way that's not so much anti-war as pro-life. Perhaps that's why I admire it. Instead of belaboring ironic points about the "war to end war," Trumbo remains stubbornly on the human level. He lets his ideology grow out of his characters, instead of imposing it from above." - Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times Trailer

LONELY ARE THE BRAVE, 1962, Universal, 107 min. David Miller directed screenwriter Dalton Trumbo’s mournful masterpiece, a hymn to rugged individualism and freedom slowly being strangled to death by voracious urban development. Kirk Douglas, a Korean war vet, is a footloose cowboy who lives most of his life under the stars, going from job to job, and not averse to cutting his way through barb wire fences when they get in his way. His uncompromising spirit is severely challenged when he breaks out of jail after a minor offense, and the entire county’s police force tries to recapture him before he can leave the territory. Walter Matthau is the pursuing sheriff, a thoughtful man with a growing, begrudging admiration for his fugitive, and Gena Rowlands is Douglas’ faithful friend, a woman who fears the world will sooner or later crush him. NOT ON DVD. Discussion between films with Christopher Trumbo (Dalton’s son), Mitzi Trumbo (Dalton's daughter and unit photographer), DP Jules Brenner and actor Timothy Bottoms. Trailer

Friday, May 22 - 7:30 PM
SPARTACUS, 1960, Universal, 184 min. Stanley Kubrick’s magnificent epic is one of the most visually stunning films ever produced. Kirk Douglas stars as the gladiator who leads his fellow slaves in a revolt against Rome, while co-stars Laurence Olivier, Tony Curtis, Jean Simmons, Peter Ustinov, John Gavin and Nina Foch get swept into the firestorm. Brilliantly scripted by Dalton Trumbo, whose hiring by producer Douglas helped demolish the blacklist, with Oscar-winning photography by Russell Metty. Discussion before the film with Christopher Trumbo. Trailer

Saturday, May 23 - 7:30 PM
EXODUS, 1960, MGM Repertory, 208 min. Otto Preminger’s expansive, stirring, wide-screen epic about the birth of Israel, filmed on location in Israel and Cyprus, where refugees aboard the ship Exodus are determined to break the British embargo. The sizable, excellent cast includes Paul Newman as a no-nonsense freedom fighter, Eva Marie Saint as a Gentile nurse gradually converted to the Zionist cause, and Sal Mineo (Oscar-nominated) as a rebellious Holocaust survivor. Preminger helped break the blacklist when he gave screenplay credit to Dalton Trumbo, one of the Hollywood Ten. "As good a modern epic movie as has ever been made." - Peter Bogdanovich. Discussion before the film with Christopher Trumbo. Trailer