EIGHT GIRLS IN A BOAT (1934) in 35mm

Special Features: Intro by film historian David Stenn

At a Swiss school for girls, Christa, the sheltered daughter of a wealthy industrialist learns she is pregnant as her emotionally remote father, unaware of her condition, forbids marriage. Facing the disgrace and exile of unwed motherhood, she chooses suicide and plans a final night of freedom. Kay Johnson (mother of actor James Cromwell) gives a memorable performance as the school’s stern athletic instructor whose efforts to break Christa will carry faint echoes of MÄDCHEN IN UNIFORM (1931). Unseen since its original release and never available on television, home video or streaming, this is a major pre-Code rediscovery — an unexpectedly frank portrait of the cruel social penalties imposed on women. DIR Richard Wallace; SCR Casey Robinson, from the 1932 film by Helmut Brandis and Franz Winterstein; PROD Charles R. Rogers. U.S., 1934, b&w, 85 min. NOT RATED

Restored by the UCLA Film & Television Archive and The Packard Humanities Institute.

Run Time: 85 Minutes

Opening Date: Saturday, November 14, 2026

Genre: Drama

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