HESBURGH Q&A’s with director Patrick Creadon following the 4:30 pm and 7:00 pm shows on Saturday, 5/4 at the Fine Arts. Producer Christine O’MAlley will Q&A after the 7:20 pm show on Friday, 5/3 at the Playhouse 7.
Marcel Pagnol’s Classic French Comedy THE BAKER’S WIFE, Restored and Back in Theaters April 26-May 2.
The warmth and wit of celebrated playwright turned auteur Marcel Pagnol (The Marseille Trilogy) shines through in the enchanting slice-of-life comedy The Baker’s Wife (1938). Returning once again to the Provençal countryside he knew intimately, Pagnol draws a vivid portrait of a close-knit village where the marital woes of a sweetly deluded baker (the inimitable Raimu, heralded by no less than Orson Welles as “the greatest actor who ever lived”) snowball into a scandal that engulfs the entire town. Marrying the director’s abiding concern for the experiences of ordinary people with an understated but superbly judged visual style, The Baker’s Wife is at once wonderfully droll and piercingly perceptive in its nuanced treatment of the complexities of human relationships.
Here’s are some fun facts about the movie:
—The story is taken from the novel Blue Boy (Jean le bleu) by Jean Giono. It was Marcel Pagnol’s fourth and final Giono adaptation, after Jofroi (1934), Angèle (1934), and Harvest (1937).
—Pagnol’s initial choice for the role of the baker was Marcel Maupi, whose frail constitution was more in keeping with Giono’s physical description of the character in Blue Boy. But the part eventually went to the burly Raimu. (Maupi plays Barnabé in the film.)
—Pagnol wrote the part of Aurélie for Joan Crawford, using minimal dialogue since she didn’t speak French. After she declined, Raimu convinced Pagnol to cast Ginette Leclerc, who would go on to star in such films as Le Corbeau (1943) and Tropic of Cancer (1970).
—Raimu refused to play his dialogue scenes outdoors. Therefore, much of the film was shot in a studio, giving many scenes a look that’s a combination of location and studio photography.
—The film’s exteriors were shot in the medieval village of Le Castellet, roughly thirty miles southeast of Marseille. Today, the area is famous for its wine production and Formula 1 racetrack.
—The film was a major critical and box office hit in France when it was released in 1938. In 1940, the film also had a successful run in the U.S., where it won best foreign film honors from both the National Board of Review and the New York Film Critics Circle.
—In the mid-forties, after the war, Orson Welles visited Pagnol and told him that he had seen The Baker’s Wife and would like to meet its star, Raimu, whose acting Welles revered. Pagnol informed Welles that Raimu had recently passed away, and Welles burst into tears.
—Pagnol adapted his script for The Baker’s Wife into a theatrical production but only staged one performance. In 1976, a musical adaptation of the same name, with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Joseph Stein, embarked on a six-month tour of small venues in the U.S., undergoing major retooling along the way. The musical finally premiered in the West End in 1989. Although the reviews and audience reaction were positive, the show lasted here for only fifty-six performances. It has not been produced on Broadway.
—In The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield, despite his own distaste for movies, mentions that his younger sister, Phoebe, likes them and knows the difference between good and bad films. He says that he took her to see The Baker’s Wife and she found it hysterical.
We will screen The Baker’s Wife daily at the Ahrya Fine Arts April 26-28 and April 29 at the Laemmle Glendale, April 30 at the Playhouse 7, May 1 at the Town Center and Claremont, and May 2 at the Royal.
BE NATURAL: THE UNTOLD STORY OF ALICE GUY-BLACHÉ Q&A’s with Filmmakers and Guests Opening Weekend at the Monica Film Center
BE NATURAL: THE UNTOLD STORY OF ALICE GUY-BLACHÉ Q&A details below:
April 19th – after the 7:10 pm show
Filmmakers Pamela B. Green (director) and Joan Simon (co-writer) with Kathy Bates, Kiernan Shipka and Catherine Hardwicke. Moderated by Evan Kleiman.
April 20th – after the 1:40 pm show
Filmmakers Pamela B. Green (director) and Joan Simon (co-writer) with Cari Beauchamp, Teri Shropshire and Patricia Riggen.
April 21st – after the 1:40 pm show
Filmmaker Jon Wilkman, film archivist Dino Everett, and film historian Anthony Slide. With David Kipen serving as moderator.
TIME STANDS STILL Q&A with Star Sandor Soeth at the Town Center.
TIME STANDS STILL Q&A with star Sandor Soeth following the 7:30 pm show on Thursday, 4/25.
LOST & FOUND Q&A’s with Cast and Crew Opening Weekend at the Monica Film Center.
LOST & FOUND Q&A’s with filmmaker Liam O. Mochain and star Norma Sheahan following the 7:10 pm show on Friday, 4/19 and Saturday, 4/20 and after the 1:10 pm show on Sunday, 4/21. Friday’s Q&A will be moderated by Nathaniel Bell, film critic, LA Weekly.
BARDO BLUES Q&A’s with Cast & Crew at the Monica Film Center.
BARDO BLUES Q&A’s with filmmaker Marcia Kimpton after the 5:30 pm and 7:40 pm shows on Friday, 5/3; with star Natalie Sperl after the 7:40 pm show on Saturday, 5/4 and Sunday, 5/5 and with star Stephen McClintic following the 7:40 pm show Monday, 5/6 through Wednesday, 5/8.
https://vimeo.com/327778660
I AM CUBA Introduction by John Bailey Opening Night at the Ahrya Fine Arts.
John Bailey, the great cinematographer and the President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will introduce the 7:30 pm show of I AM CUBA on Friday, 4/12.
La-Di-Da: A Tribute to Diane Keaton Every Throwback Thursday in May at the NoHo 7!
The sui generis actress (and photographer, real estate developer, author, and singer) Diane Keaton has a new movie coming out on May 10 called Poms, providing us with a nice excuse to screen five of her best films in our Throwback Thursday series.
From Annie Hall and Looking for Mr. Goodbar in 1977, to Reds in 1981, Baby Boom in 1987 and The First Wives Club in 1996, Ms. Keaton, born Diane Hall here in L.A. in 1946, is funny and charming, haunting and heartbreaking, exuding an intelligence and wit, a je ne sais quoi unlike any other performer.
We’ll screen one of these movies each Thursday in May at the NoHo 7. It’s by necessity a brief look at her 50-year career, leaving out gems like Manhattan (’79), Shoot the Moon (’82), Mrs. Soffel (’84), Marvin’s Room (’96), Something’s Gotta Give (’03) and of course The Godfather movies (’72, ’74 and ’90), but la-di-da.
Our Throwback Thursday series screens every Thursday evening at our NoHo 7 theater. Doors open at 7pm, trivia starts at 7:30, and movies begin at 7:40pm. More details at www.laemmle.com/tbt!
Looking for Mr. Goodbar, May 2: A schoolteacher begins cruising bars for romance, sex and escape from her repressive home life, seeking out progressively more risky one night stands. Diane Keaton, Richard Gere, Tuesday Weld, and William Atherton star. Format: Blu-ray.
Annie Hall, May 9: Neurotic New York comedian Alvy Singer falls in love with the one-of-a-kind aspiring actress-singer Annie Hall. The cast includes Keaton, Woody Allen, Tony Roberts, Carol Kane, Paul Simon, and Christopher Walken. Format: DCP.
Reds, May 16: This historical drama directed by Warren Beatty follows on the life and career of John Reed, the journalist and writer who chronicled the Russian Revolution in his book Ten Days That Shook the World, and his tempestuous relationship with feminist writer Louise Bryant, played by Diane Keaton. Jack Nicholson co-stars as Eugene O’Neill. Format: Blu-ray.
Baby Boom, May 23: The life of super-yuppie J.C. is thrown into turmoil when she learns that her long-lost cousin has died and given her custody of her 14-month-old baby daughter. Co-starring Harold Ramis and Sam Shepard. Written by Nancy Meyers and Charles Shyer. Format: Blu-ray.
The First Wives Club, May 30: Reunited by the death of a college friend, three divorced women seek revenge on the husbands who left them for younger women. Starring Bette Midler, Goldie Hawn, and Diane Keaton. Format: Blu-ray.
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