The National Theatre of Washington DC

Mondays at 6:30 pm * FREE admission * Tickets required: first come-first seated.
Tickets are distributed 1/2 hour prior to screening: One ticket per person in line.
Food and drink are not allowed.
The National Theatre * 1321 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW * Washington, DC 20004
Information: (202) 783-3372

June 21, 2010
To Catch a Thief

Alfred Hitchcock’s chic, picture postcard caper is full of witty dialogue and sparkling subtext. Paul Robie (Grant) was “The Cat,” the most notorious jewel thief in Europe before he retired and joined the resistance in World War II. But now impossible heists—made in Robie’s unique style—are popping up all over Cannes, and he is the immediate suspect. Working undercover to clear his name, Robie masquerades as an American tourist and becomes romantically involved with pretty oil heiress Frances Stevens (Grace Kelly) and her nouveau riche, big-hearted mother. When their jewels are stolen, Frances gets an inkling of Robie’s true identity. It takes a thief to catch a thief, but who is catching whom here? Grace Kelly, Jesse Royce Landis. Paramount; directed by Alfred Hitchcock; screenplay by John Michael Hayes. Not rated, 106 minutes, color, 1955. This screening is made possible by a generous donation from Baldwin Graphics, www.baldwingraphics.com.

June 28, 2010
My Favorite Wife

Seven years after his wife Ellen (Irene Dunne) was lost in a shipwreck and declared legally dead, Nick (Grant) marries venomous socialite Bianca only to discover on his honeymoon that #1 wife Ellen has returned alive and kicking after surviving on a deserted tropical island. Naturally, Ellen wants to pick up the pieces of her life, while a dazed and confused Nick makes the situation worse by his reluctance to break the shattering news to Bianca. Adding to the marital mix-up, Nick discovers the marooned Ellen’s sole island companion was a strapping Adonis she affectionately calls Adam who is determined to pursue his Eve. Grant and Dunne are hilarious in this snappy screwball comedy! Irene Dunne, Gail Patrick, Randolph Scott. RKO Radio Pictures; directed by Garson Kanin; screenplay by Bella Spewack, Sam Spewack, and Leo McCarey. Not rated, 88 minutes, B&W, 1940.

July 12, 2010
An Affair to Remember

Amorous playboy Nickie Ferrante (Grant) and comely nightclub singer Terry McKay (Deborah Kerr) meet aboard the transatlantic ocean liner, SS Constitution, steaming to New York. Although engaged to other people, the two are drawn together by an undeniable chemistry and fall deeply in love. Pursued by personal doubts and the gossip of other passengers, they agree to meet six months later at the top of the Empire State Building if they still feel the same way about each other. But a tragic accident prevents their rendezvous and the lovers’ future takes an emotional and uncertain turn. Witty, romantic and sophisticated, Grant and Kerr illuminate the screen with an unrivaled intensity sure to touch your heart. Deborah Kerr, Cathleen Nesbitt. 20th Century Fox; directed by Leo McCarey; screenplay by Delmar Daves, David Ogden Stewart and Leo McCarey. Not rated, 119 minutes, color, 1957.

July 19, 2010
His Girl Friday

Conniving newspaper editor Walter Burns (Grant) is trying to keep his ace reporter and ex-wife Hildy (Rosalind Russell) from quitting and getting married. Walter bamboozles her into carrying out one last assignment—an interview with a dreary little man convicted of killing a policeman. It sounds like a snap, but before you can say screwball comedy, the press room of the Criminal Courts Building has become ground zero for the lunacy created by a jailbreak, a shooting, a
corrupt city administration, and the most Machiavellian “hero” ever produced by Hollywood. Howard Hawks’ snappy romantic comedy, full of verve and aplomb, is certain to tickle your funny bone! Rosalind Russell, Ralph Bellamy. Columbia Pictures; directed by Howard Hawks; screenplay by Charles Lederer, Ben Hecht, Charles MacArthur. Not rated, 92 minutes, B&W, 1940.

August 2, 2010
Notorious

Alicia Hermann (Ingrid Bergman), the daughter of a disgraced man convicted of treason against the United States during World War II, is loyal to her country but notorious for her heavy drinking and torrid love affairs. Contacted by handsome government agent T. R. Devlin (Grant), she is recruited into renewing an old acquaintance of her father’s—a Nazi sympathizer suspected of leading a spy ring operating out of Brazil. Her assignment: marry the leader and get the goods on everyone involved. Danger, deceit, betrayal and romance combine into a perfect and surprising climax in this classic Alfred Hitchcock thriller. Ingrid Bergman, Claude Rains. RKO Radio Pictures, directed by Alfred Hitchcock; screenplay by Ben Hecht; additional dialogue by Clifford Odets. Not rated, 101 minutes, B&W, 1946.

August 9, 2010
Bringing Up Baby

Befuddled paleontologist David Huxley (Grant) is eagerly awaiting the arrival of a brontosaurus bone for his museum when he becomes mired in the madcap escapades of Susan Vance (Katharine Hepburn), a free spirited eccentric with a pet leopard named Baby. Susan just happens to be the niece of an elderly philanthropist David has been courting for a generous donation. Toss in a yappy terrier with a penchant for burying things in the garden, a jealous fiancé, a pompous big game hunter, a traveling circus, a suspicious psychiatrist and a dim-witted constable and you have all the ingredients for a breathless screwball comedy guaranteed to leave you weak with laughter! Katharine Hepburn. RKO Radio Pictures, directed by Howard Hawks; screenplay by David Ogden Stewart. Not rated, 102 minutes, B&W, 1938.

August 16
Charade, 2010

After her husband’s body is found abandoned by a French railroad track, Regina Lampert (Audrey Hepburn) finds herself the center of considerable attention. Apparently he hid $250,000 that others claim belongs to them. Now three sinister thugs and an all-too-suspicious government official are convinced that Regina holds the clue to the whereabouts of the missing loot and are determined to wrestle the information from her any way they can. Smooth talking Peter Joshua (Grant) offers to assist Regina unravel the mystery, but is he really who he claims to be? Grant and Hepburn have chemistry to burn in this suave romantic thriller with an evocative Henry Mancini score. Audrey Hepburn, Walter Matthau, George Kennedy, James Coburn. Universal Pictures, directed by Stanley Donen; screenplay by Peter Stone. Not rated, 114 minutes, color, 1963.

Producer: John Henry Loomis. Todd Clark is the M.C.
The National Theatre is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization.
Projection equipment graciously provided by Chuck Fazio Media.