35mm Dbl Feature: BLACK LEGION/THEY WON'T FORGET
BLACK LEGION in 35mm
Humphrey Bogart stars in this hard-hitting drama about a factory worker who joins the anti-immigrant Black Legion — which really existed in the 1930s — after he loses out on a promotion to a harder-working Polish immigrant. Robed in black, Frank Taylor (Bogart) and the Legion stage a torchlit raid on the man's home, causing him and his family to flee town and nabbing Taylor the job. But his outlaw activities eventually cost Taylor his wife, his best friend and his dignity. A classic Warner Bros. "social problem" film, this brave conscience-raiser against hate crime is as moving today as it was 86 years ago. DIR Archie Mayo; SCR Abem Finkel, William Wister Haines, from a story by Robert Lord; PROD Robert Lord. U.S., 1937, b&w, 83 min. NOT RATED
35mm print preserved by the Library of Congress.
Followed by
THEY WON'T FORGET in 35mm
A teenaged schoolgirl is murdered. An ambitious prosecutor (Claude Rains, CASABLANCA) wants publicity. And an outsider (Edward Norris, DECOY) — a northerner teaching in a sleepy southern town — makes a handy defendant, someone the locals will happily convict, innocent or guilty. Based on the infamous Leo Frank case (also the basis for the celebrated musical "Parade," now in revival on Broadway), THEY WON'T FORGET is an explosive indictment of bigotry, full of deceptive motives, sudden violence and courtroom suspense. The talent is as powerful as the story: Mervyn LeRoy (I AM A FUGITIVE FROM A CHAIN GANG) produced and directed with a steady hand and crackling pacing; Robert Rossen (THE HUSTLER) co-wrote the unflinching script; Rains etches a portrait of the ruthless prosecutor with poison and guile; and in her first credited role, Lana Turner makes the schoolgirl beguiling prey for an unhinged mind. (Note adapted from Warner Bros.) DIR/PROD Mervyn LeRoy; SCR Robert Rossen, Aben Kandel, based on the novel "Death in the Deep South" by Ward Greene. U.S., 1937, b&w, 95 min. NOT RATED
35mm print preserved by the Library of Congress.
AFI Member passes accepted.
Run Time: 180 Minutes
Opening Date: Sunday, May 21, 2023
Genre: Drama
