Virtually unseen for more than 80 years and now presented in a beautiful new 35mm print from the Museum of Modern Art, Caravan is a delightful Hungarian musical romance. “With its complex camera movements, extreme long takes, Busby Berkeley-like musical spectacle and bittersweet, the politically charged story of a Gypsy (Boyer) foolish enough to believe that his love for a princess (Young) will surmount all social barriers, Caravan is a genuinely great movie awaiting its return to the spotlight” (Dave Kehr, The New York Times).

Valli plays the tragic, aristocratic Italian heroine whose downward spiral begins when she falls blindly for an Austrian soldier (Granger) in this “lush, melodramatic portrait of seduction and betrayal, decadence and deceit in the midst of Italy's resistance to Austrian occupation in the mid-19th century.” (Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader). Visconti’s sensuous direction, production design, and use of color are all seen at their finest in this new 35mm restoration by Studiocanal, Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia/Cineteca Nazionale, Cineteca di Bologna/L'Immagine Ritrovata. Funding provided by GUCCI, The Film Foundation and Comitato Italia 150.

Anna May Wong, the only Asian-American leading lady of her era, co-stars as a scorned and vengeful mistress of a ruthless racketeer. The second half of this double feature of late 30s Paramount ‘B’ thrillers from the stylish European emigre Florey provides another fine showcase for the third-billed Wong. Anthony Quinn, Wong's Daughter of Shanghai co-star, also appears. This program is part of Madison’s Asian-American Media Spotlight.

Laughton plays a sadistic mad doctor with a plan to create a population of half men/half animal mutants. Lugosi is one of the pathetic creatures who asks, “Are We Not Men?” Paramount’s pre-code sci-fi chiller is the first of three (so far) movie adaptations of H.G. Wells’ The Island of Dr. Moreau and still the best version. To read more about this film, visit our blog here.

Dreamily innovative, the nine independent short animated films by John Hubley (1914-1977) and Faith Hubley (1924-2001) showcased in this program combine often startling and original imagery with equally imaginative soundtracks. Often collaborating with legendary jazz artists, this collection features musical contributions from Dizzy Gillespie, Ella Fitzgerald, Oscar Peterson, Dudley Moore, Quincy Jones, and Benny Carter. The program includes   The Adventures of An *   (1956);   Tender Game   (1958);  Moonbird  (1959);  The Hat  (19 64);  Urbanissimo  (1966); Windy Day (1968); Of Men  and Demons (1969); Eggs (1970); and the Oscar-winning The Hole. The selected films address a wide range of topics - from urbanization and overpopulation to two boys’ search for a pet bird. All new 35mm prints, struck to commemorate John Hubley’s centennial, will be screened courtesy of Artist’s Public Domain. 

Heflin is disturbingly memorable as a really bad L.A. cop who seduces a married woman (Keyes, never better) and then plots to murder her husband. This intense thriller is the best of the Wisconsin-born Losey’s Hollywood films made prior to his blacklisting and European exile. The screenplay was written by the blacklisted and originally uncredited Dalton Trumbo, who also contributes an uncredited voiceover cameo. “Stark sinuous film noir. Opens with a bang and never lets up” (Leonard Maltin). 35mm restored print courtesy of the UCLA Film & Television Archive. Restoration funding provided by the Film Noir Foundation.