2004 Summer Cinema Season

6:30 pm Mondays in the Helen Hayes Gallery of The National Theatre, 1321 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington DC

UNCOMMON COURAGE: FILMS OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR

We proudly hail heroes on the Home Front and in Uniform.
This series is an official event of America Celebrates the Greatest Generation, a 100-day tribute in connection with the new WWII Memorial in Washington.

A short introduction to each film will be presented by Jack A. Green, Public Affairs Officer, Naval Historical Center.

First Come, First Seated - FREE ADMISSION - Information: (202) 783-3372
Seating is limited!! Tickets are Required, and are Distributed one Half-Hour Prior to Show Time.
Sorry, no food or drink is allowed in the theatre.

14 June - CASABLANCA

Rated a "perfect movie" by some critics, this film still impresses, and for good reason. Its unique story of a love triangle set against life-and-death stakes in the struggle against fascism is sophisticated instead of outlandish, intriguing instead of garish. Humphrey Bogart plays an allegedly apolitical nightclub owner in French Morocco which is unoccupied but nevertheless crawling with Nazis. Ingrid Bergman is the lover who mysteriously deserted him in Paris; and Paul Henreid is her heroic, slightly bewildered husband. Claude Rains, Sydney Greenstreet, and Peter Lorre round out what many consider to be the best supporting cast in the history of Hollywood.

Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Paul Henreid, Claude Rains, Peter Lorre and Sydney Greenstreet
Warner Brothers, Directed by Michael Curtiz, Not Rated, 102 minutes, B&W, 1942

21 June - MRS. MINIVER

This touching portrait of an idealized English citizenry tending prize-winning roses while confronting the terror of war struck a patriotic chord with audiences . Kay Miniver is doing her bit for wartime England, comforting children in a bomb shelter, capturing an enemy parachutist and delivering an inspirational portrait of stiff-upper-lip resolve. Winston Churchill would later say that Mrs. Miniver was more vital to England than a fleet of destroyers. A wartime classic of a nation’s darkest – yet finest – hour, it became the #1 box-office hit of 1942, winning six Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Actress.

Greer Garson and Walter Pidgeon
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Directed by William Wyler, Not Rated, 134 minutes, B&W, 1942

28 June - WATERLOO BRIDGE

Roy, an upper-class British army officer and Myra, a young ballerina, fall into a whirlwind romance on the famed bridge in London during an air raid. Before they can marry, their love is put to the test when Roy is called to duty, and Myra is dismissed from her ballet company. Alone and increasingly destitute, she mistakenly thinks that Roy has been killed in action. Broken hearted and unconcerned for herself, Myra drifts into prostitution, plying the world's oldest profession along Waterloo Bridge . . . until she experiences a horrific twist of fate. Vivien Leigh chose this as her favorite film role, bypassing both GONE WITH THE WIND and A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE.

Vivien Leigh and Robert Taylor
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Directed by Mervyn LeRoy, Not Rated, 108 minutes, B&W, 1940

12 July - WATCH ON THE RHINE

Aging and weary German resistance leader, Kurt Muller (Paul Lukas) is traveling incognito with his American born wife, Sara (Bette Davis) and their three frightened children. They cross the Mexican border into the United States - only one step ahead of the Gestapo. Seeking security in the suburban Washington mansion of Sara’s wealthy mother, they meet Rumanian expatriate and Nazi sympathizer Teck de Brancovis. The Facisim they fled soon threatens them again as they clash with de Brancovis in a harrowing climax. The film’s proud, patriotic message and brilliant performances earned it four Academy Award nominations and a Best Actor Award for Lukas.

Bette Davis, Geraldine Fitzgerald and Paul Lukas
Warner Brothers, Directed by Herman Shumlin, Not Rated, 114 minutes, B&W, 1943

19 July - ABOVE SUSPICION

Joan Crawford takes on the Nazis in this campy WWII thriller that deftly combines unrelenting suspense and witty marital banter. Affable American expatriate and Oxford professor Richard Miles (Fred MacMurray) and his jaunty bride Francis (Crawford) are off on a romantic romp through 1939 Europe – until they are asked by British Intelligence to track down a missing British agent. The newlyweds embark on a perilous quest as they follow a series of baffling clues that lead them into the heart of Nazi Germany. Surrounded by sinister agents and diabolical informers, they must outwit the Nazis and rescue their quarry, with the Gestapo never more than a goose-step behind!

Joan Crawford, Fred MacMurray and Basil Rathbone
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Directed by Richard Thorpe, Not Rated, 90 minutes, B&W, 1943

26 July - SO PROUDLY WE HAIL!

This moving wartime drama is based on a true story about American Army nurses serving gallantly in World War II. Claudette Colbert, as Lt. Janet Davidson, leads nine Army nurses into the hellhole of the Pacific Theatre. From the first Pearl Harbor casualties until they are finally shipped home, the women work tirelessly to treat the wounded and boost moral. Friendships, hardships and love keep them going in the face of unrelenting Japanese assaults. From frightening days of continuous shelling to bittersweet Christmas celebrations, the film captures a remarkable period in American history and documents women’s contributions to the war effort.

Claudette Colbert, Paulette Goddard, Veronica Lake and George Reeves
Paramount Pictures, Directed by Mark Sandrich, Not Rated, 126 minutes, B&W, 1943

2 August - LIFEBOAT

When a German U-Boat torpedoes an Allied freighter, eight survivors are cast adrift in a small lifeboat. They rescue a Nazi sailor from the U-Boat that sank their ship. The lives and personalities of nine strangers forced to coexist in the cramped boat reveal a cross-section of international society that is filled with pathos, humor, tyranny and compassion. Part mystery, part wartime polemic, Alfred Hitchcock’s riveting film is a meditation on the fine line between nationalism and morality, examining human strengths and frailties under extraordinary circumstances. The film was nominated for three Academy Awards, including Best Director, Best Original Story and Best Cinematography.

Tallulah Bankhead, Hume Cronyn and Walter Slezak
Twentieth Century Fox, Directed by Alfred Hitchcock, Not Rated, 96 minutes, B&W, 1944

9 August - CHRISTMAS IN CONNECTICUT

Laughs, romance and holiday cheer abound in this amiable farce. Barbara Stanwyck is Elizabeth Smart – the Martha Stewart of her day – who provides expert homemaking tips to an adoring American public in her column for Smart Housekeeping magazine. In actuality, Elizabeth has no culinary expertise, no lush Connecticut farm, no adoring hubby and no baby-makes-three - fictions that her column so lavishly details. But she must get them, because her boss has invited himself and a recently returned war hero to her farm for Christmas dinner! Delightful ruses make for a very merry Yuletide celebration.

Barbara Stanwyck, Sydney Greenstreet and Dennis Morgan
Warner Brothers, Directed by Peter Godfrey, Not Rated, 102 minutes, B&W, 1945

About Summer Cinema at the National . . .

Free films are shown at the National Theatre during summer months. Performances are at 6:30 pm on Monday evenings in the Helen Hayes Gallery, where the national portrait of Miss Hayes is displayed. Admission is free, on a first-come, first-seated basis. The series was inaugurated in 1985.

Program Schedules can be secured by sending a Self-Addressed, Stamped Envelope to "Cinema," National Theatre, 1321 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C. 20004. Recorded program information is available at 202-783-3372.

Credits

PRODUCER Donn B. Murphy	COORDINATOR John H. Loomis	TECHNICAL Chuck Fazio
The National Theatre thanks Charles A. Fazio and Vision Digital Media/Vision Creative for the Projection Equipment provided for this series.
MC Todd Clark	HOST Gregory Lee	HOST Allison Canada
FLYER ART Faith Moeckel BOOKING Brian Fox, Swank Motion Pictures, Inc. GENERAL MANAGER Harry Teter, Jr. THEATRE MANAGER Carol Hayes SECURITY Elizabeth Doherty, Esther King and Bob Lawrence BARRYMORE TEAM Jon Carrow, Cynthia Evans, Sheryl John, Betty Lanier and Krystal Morris