ABOUT THE EVENT: 

7:30pm | Introduction

7:40pm | A DOUBLE LIFE

9:30pm | Intermission 

9:40pm | THE VELVET TOUCH

Start times are approximate.

ABOUT THE FILMS: 

A DOUBLE LIFE, 107 Minutes, Paramount Pictures, USA. 

Originally released, December 25, 1947 by Universal Pictures

Screenplay by Ruth Gordon and Garson Kanin

Produced by Michael Kanin

Directed by George Cukor

Ronald Colman plumbs frigid depths as an actor truly lost in his work. Did he really kill that poor waitress (Shelley Winters) or was that just a rehearsal for his next great Shakespearian turn? Colman’s Oscar-winning performance remains stunningly fresh. A genuine classic filmed on location at the Empire Theatre in New York City. Directed by George Cukor from a brilliant script by husband-and-wife writing team Ruth Gordon and Garson Kanin.

CAST:  Ronald Colman (Anthony John), Signe Hasso (Brita), Edmond O’Brien (Bill Friend), Shelley Winters (Pat Kroll), Ray Collins (Victor Donlan)

FORMAT: DCP

THE VELVET TOUCH, 100 Minutes, Park Circus, USA. 

Originally released August 25, 1948 by RKO Radio Pictures

Screenplay by Leo Rosten

Produced by Frederick Brisson

Directed by Jack Gage

Following the success of 1947’s A DOUBLE LIFE, in which Ronald Colman played a murderous Broadway actor, Rosalind Russell took her only trip into Dark City as Valerie Stanton, a revered Broadway actress who accidentally kills her producer (and former lover) during an argument. Valerie’s thespian talents help cover up the crime, but when her archrival (played by Claire Trevor) becomes the prime suspect, will Valerie’s guilty conscience prevail? As with A DOUBLE LIFE, the film plays with the concept of actors having to act their way out of a crime, and the talented cast rises to the occasion. Russell white-knuckles her way through one of her strongest performances, while Sydney Greenstreet and Leon Ames excel as the leading investigator and aforementioned producer, respectively. A wonderful, if rarely screened, backstage thriller.

CAST: Rosalind Russell (Valerie Stanton), Leo Genn (Michael Morrell), Claire Trevor (Marian Webster), Sydney Greenstreet (Capt. Danbury), Leon Ames (Gordon Dunning), Frank McHugh (Ernie Boyle), Walter Kingsford (Peter Gunther), Dan Tobin (Jeff Trent), Lex Barker (Paul Banton), Nydia Westman (Susan Crane), Theresa Harris (Nancy), Irving Bacon (Herbie), Esther Howard (Pansy Dupont), Harry Hayden (Mr. Couch), Martha Hyer (Helen Adams)

FORMAT: 35mm