SILVER

HUMORESQUE (1946) in 35mm
Young Paul Boray (played by John Garfield in the present and Robert Blake in childhood flashbacks) fights his way out of the New York ghetto not with his fists, but with the hands, and heart, of a virtuoso violinist. His meteoric rise is funded by arts patron Helen Wright (Joan Crawford) who, despite being married, falls desperately in love with her younger protégé. This film is that rarest of Hollywood offerings — a concoction of archly melodramatic artifice that is profoundly affecting, featuring a mesmerizing performance by Garfield and perhaps the most deeply felt performance of Crawford's legendary career. Pianist Oscar Levant features in a memorable supporting role as Boray's loyal friend and accompanist Sid Jeffers. (Note adapted from Noir City.) DIR Jean Negulesco; SCR Clifford Odets, Zachary Gold, from a short story by Fannie Hurst; PROD Jerry Wald. U.S., 1946, b&w, 125 min. NOT RATED
35mm print preserved by the Library of Congress.

Followed by:
NOBODY LIVES FOREVER in 35mm
A former conman, Nick Blake (John Garfield) returns from World War II intending to stay on the straight and narrow. But when his fellow grifter Doc (George Coulouris, CITIZEN KANE) finds an easy mark, a widow sitting on a fortune, he's drawn back into the game. The plan is thwarted when Nick falls in love with his intended victim (Geraldine Fitzgerald, DARK VICTORY, WUTHERING HEIGHTS) and tries to back out of the scheme. Screenwriter W. R. Burnett (HIGH SIERRA, LITTLE CAESAR) adapted his own novel for the big screen, with director Jean Negulesco (HUMORESQUE, JOHNNY BELINDA) giving it a decidedly noir twist. DIR Jean Negulesco; SCR W. R. Burnett, from his novel "I Wasn't Born Yesterday"; PROD Robert Buckner. U.S., 1946, b&w, 100 min. NOT RATED

AFI Member passes accepted.