Tuesday Nights at the Movies wraps its 2023 season
with a trio of films featuring cold-blooded gangsters,
soft-hearted con artists, and loyal comrades.
White Heat
Tuesday, December 5, 7PM
1949
114 minutes
Along with The Public Enemy and Angels with Dirty Faces, White Heat completes a triumvirate of James Cagney gangster films released by Warner Brothers in the 1930’s and 1940’s. In this film, the latest of the three, Cagney is at his unhinged best as a psychopathic criminal with some serious mommy issues who escapes from prison and leads his gang in a chemical heist.
In 2003, White Heat was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.
The Young in Heart
Tuesday, December 12, 7PM
1938
90 minutes
While not technically a holiday movie, The Young in Heart has all the hallmarks of the best feel-good seasonal fare: heartwarming characters, witty dialogue, light-hearted romance, and the type of redemption that would give even Scrooge a run for his money. When a family of grifters is ousted from Monte Carlo after their latest scam goes awry, they set their sights on a lonely spinster. Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Janet Gaynor, Billie Burke, and Roland Young headline this effervescent comedy about haves and have-nots.
Variety called this forgotten gem “a beautiful and deeply touching picture.”
Beau Geste
Tuesday, December 19, 7PM
1939
112 minutes
Gary Cooper, Ray Milland, and Robert Preston star in this ageless tale of three heroic brothers who join the French Foreign Legion in Northern Africa after one of them steals a prized heirloom jewel from their adoptive family. William Wellman directs this great adventure about brotherhood, loyalty, and sacrifice, and Brian Donlevy gives a memorable performance as the brothers’ sadistic sergeant, a role for which he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Beau Geste boasts a 100% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. This film will be followed by a screening of a shorter documentary film about Beau Geste. |