The Other Mank
With all the attention paid to Herman J. Mankiewicz with the release of Mank, it is an opportune time to focus on Joseph L. Mankiewicz: Herman’s younger, quieter, yet more prolific and accomplished brother. Joe was brought to Hollywood by his brother, where he was given a writing job at Paramount at the ripe age of twenty. He started writing titles for silent films and eventually moved on to dialogue and screenplays, some of it uncredited.
He continued this work at MGM, where he spent a decade. It was also at MGM that he was given an opportunity to produce, shepherding projects and ideas from inception through production, including some of the studio’s biggest hits—Fury (1936), A Christmas Carol (1938), The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1939), The Philadelphia Story (1940), and Woman of the Year (1942).
Mankiewicz moved to Twentieth Century-Fox for the opportunity to direct and cement his legend. He directed eleven features for Fox and achieved the unmatched feat of winning back-to-back Academy Awards in both writing and directing for A Letter to Three Wives (1949) and All About Eve (1950). This spring, the Dryden brings you a series of some of Joseph L. Mankiewicz’s best films, demonstrating a legacy of cinematic achievement that can stand on its own.
Rear Window
By Popular Demand/We Knew Jack Hitchcock was one of Jack Garner’s favorite directors, but when it came time to include an article about the director in his book From My Seat on the Aisle, there was only one title to choose: “Rear Window . . . [is] pretty special in the theater."
My Darling Clementine
We Knew Jack Part of the Ford, Fonda, and the Duke series that Jack Garner programmed at the Dryden in 2014, My Darling Clementine is perhaps the most famous retelling of the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral.
Fury
The Other Mank Joseph Mankeiwicz’s first film as producer of A-level titles for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer was also Fritz Lang’s first American film as director. Mankiewicz chose a socially conscious story that might have seemed more at home at Warner Bros. It was inspired by the story of a pair of men in San Jose a few years earlier who were murdered by a lynch mob after kidnapping allegations put them in jail.
The Philadelphia Story
The Other Mank Labeled “box office poison” in 1938, primarily for being a non-conformist, Katharine Hepburn returned to the stage in a play written by Philip Barry to showcase the actress’s strengths: The Philadelphia Story.
The Heiress
We Knew Jack The first film Jack Garner introduced at the Dryden back in 1998, The Heiress is another in a line of exquisitely rendered historical dramas from director William Wyler (Jezebel, Wuthering Heights, Carrie). Olivia de Havilland earned her second Academy Award in four years for her portrayal of Catherine Sloper, the heiress of the title.
Dragonwyck
The Other Mank Mankiewicz’s first opportunity to direct came with the added bonus of working with Ernst Lubitsch, a hero of his whom he had met during his time at Paramount. Dragonwyck holds a host of secrets, including murder, madness, and drug addiction. Gorgeous art and set direction highlight this wrenching melodrama.
Curator's Choice—Le Plaisir
Curator's Choice It is hard to tell what exactly changed Max Ophüls’s reputation from a director of obscure, elegant little films to one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. Perhaps it is the incredible blend of sensuality and purity in his films that attracts audiences and filmmakers alike (the directors of the French New Wave, Stanley Kubrick, Martin Scorsese, and Paul Thomas Anderson being just a few of his devout followers). Introduction by Peter Bagrov, Curator in Charge, Moving Image Department
Night of the Kings
Rochester Premiere Only the third film ever submitted by Côte d’Ivoire to the Academy Awards for Best International Film, Night of the Kings draws upon the West African griot tradition to craft a masterful look at the primacy of storytelling.
Night of the Kings
Rochester Premiere Only the third film ever submitted by Côte d’Ivoire to the Academy Awards for Best International Film, Night of the Kings draws upon the West African griot tradition to craft a masterful look at the primacy of storytelling.
The Lost World
A Preservation Legacy: Ed Stratmann The crowning achievement of Ed Stratmann’s career at the George Eastman Museum, the restoration of The Lost World took over a decade to complete. Live piano accompaniment by Dr. Philip C. Carli.
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
We Knew Jack “When your character is called master and commander, you better be a take-charge guy.” This bon mot begins Jack Garner’s 2003 review of one of his favorites of that year.
Jackie Brown
We Knew Jack The last time Jack Garner graced the Dryden Theatre in the course of a public program was in 2019 when we honored Robert Forster with a double feature of some of the actor’s most iconic roles. Jack considered Forster a friend for several decades and was honored to introduce these two films to the audience that day.
Frances Ha
IFC Comedies More distraught by her roommate and best friend, Sophie, moving to Tribeca than her recent breakup with her boyfriend, Frances (Greta Gerwig) is adrift in New York City. Co-written by Gerwig and director Noah Baumbach, this film captures the wayward nature of that time between extended adolescence and true adulthood.
The Ghost and Mrs. Muir
The Other Mank Mankiewicz’s second film with Gene Tierney (after Dragonwyck) is this haunting, supernatural romance from the novel by R. A. Dick. Most known for Bernard Herrmann’s beautiful sea-swept score, the film was also nominated for an Academy Award for Charles Lang’s black-and-white cinematography.
The Trip
IFC Comedies During production of Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story (2005), director Michael Winterbottom became enamored with the improvised divergences between actors Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon. A few years later, Winterbottom approached Coogan and Brydon with an idea for a television series. Surprisingly touching despite its rapid-fire humor, the television series was edited into a feature film that spawned three more iterations.
The Trip to Italy
IFC Comedies Rob Brydon and Steve Coogan are back, visiting sites associated with Byron and Shelley in Italy. This time, Brydon has been engaged to write a follow-up article and invites Coogan along for the excursion.
The Dryden Theatre will reopen on April 2
Steve Kelly, Aeolian pipe organ
Between 3 and 4 p.m., Steve Kelly will play a selection of music on the Aeolian pipe organ in the Conservatory.
Margaret Anne Milne, Aeolian pipe organ
Between 3 and 4 p.m., local organist and American Guild of Organists member Margaret-Anne Milne will play a selection of music on the Aeolian pipe organ in the Conservatory.
