Hungarian immigrant Janos Szabo (Lorre) is horribly burned in a NYC rooming house. Unable to find work and seeking the funds for plastic surgery, he soon becomes a mask-donning master thief. When he finds love with a blind girl (Keyes), Szabo has second thoughts about his criminal activities. Lorre’s remarkable performance in this terrific horror/noir hybrid displays his full range of talent. "A marvelous little film...Florey's subtly stylized direction, Planer's superb camerawork and first-rate performances (Lorre, cleverly made up, has rarely been better) weave it into a miracle of tenderness” (Phil Hardy, The Encyclopedia of Horror Films). Preceded by Bugs Bunny in Hare-Raising Hare (1947, 6 min.)

In this clever punk comedy that revels in the bizarre, alienated Otto ( Estevez) quits his soulless supermarket job and loses his girlfriend, eventually finding a form of salvation as an apprentice to career repo agent Bud (Stanton, in one of his quintessential roles). Bolstered by some of the best comedic writing of the 80s, and a punk rock score featuring Iggy Pop, The Circle Jerks, and Black Flag, Alex Cox's directorial debut excoriates Los Angeles with playful rage.

This charmingly morbid screwball comedy teams up director Capra and leading man Grant for their only film together. The complex story involves two elderly sisters who commit “mercy” killings, Grant as their drama critic nephew, his new bride, and his two brothers – one who is convinced he’s Teddy Roosevelt and the other (Massey) a serial killer on the run with a drunken plastic surgeon played by Lorre. Preceded by Daffy Duck & Dr. Lorre in Birth of a Notion (1947, 7 min., 35mm). Prints courtesy Library of Congress.

In his directorial debut, acclaimed martial arts stylist King Hu (Dragon Inn, A Touch of Zen) presents a complex tale of deception, intrigue, and shifting alliances in ancient China.  With its innovative choreography of combat sequences, brilliant camerawork, and high production values, this film established a new standard of excellence in its genre.  “The beginning of a legendary run of filmmaking… it’s no exaggeration to say that Come Drink With Me was to the wuxia what The Wild Bunch was to the Western” (Artforum).

This thinly veiled political allegory and satire depicts the mounting mayhem that begins when a small town’s fire department decides to throw a big party. Forman’s last Czech production, a sharp and lucid depiction of human weakness and moral decay, was originally banned in his homeland. Presented with the support of UW’s Center for Russia, East Europe, and Central Asia (CREECA).

A down-and-out ex-con plans a brazen daytime robbery in order to recover his underworld status.  Working in exile from McCarthy-era Hollywood, Dassin transplants his American noir aesthetic to the dark streets of Paris in this edgy heist film. Rififi’s cinematic tour-de-force: a 30-minute burglary sequence performed entirely without dialogue. Preceded by Tex Avery’s Deputy Droopy (1955, 7 min.).

Bogart is Dashiell Hammett’s detective Sam Spade, and not about to play the sap for anyone. In a labyrinthine plot involving false identities, trans-continental smuggling, and murder, Spade meets an eccentric crew of antique hunters (Sydney Greenstreet, Lorre, and Astor) all looking for the title bird, which, like Huston’s detective noir classic, is “the stuff dreams are made of”. Print courtesy Library of Congress.