THE BAD AND THE BEAUTIFUL

1952, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer [Warner Bros.]. 116 min. Scr. Charles Schnee, based on a story by George Bradshaw. Dir. Vincente Minnelli

7:15 PM

Using a story structure borrowed from Citizen Kane, we learn the history of producer Jonathan Shields (Kirk Douglas) through the recollections of an actress (Lana Turner), a director (Walter Pidgeon), and a writer (Dick Powell)—all of whom are being wheedled by Shields into making another film together. The script artfully weaves true Hollywood stories into a seamless and stormy melodrama that, thanks to the vision of Vincente Minnelli and the performances of an extraordinary cast, becomes the ultimate "Hollywood" movie. The film won five Oscars®, including Best Supporting Actress for Gloria Grahame.

THE LODGER

1944, 20th Century-Fox. 84 min. Scr. Barré Lyndon, based on the novel by Marie Belloc Lowndes. Dir. John Brahm

1:00 PM

In this adaptation of the 1913 novel exploring the legend of Jack the Ripper, the notorious killer is depicted as a tortured soul, using the alias Mr. Slade (Laird Cregar), compelled to avenge the death of his artist brother, the victim of a beautiful actress. Slade insanely channels his brother's artistic sensitivity into his own "art"—the vengeful murder of attractive young women. John Brahm's expressionistic handling of the lurid material makes this the most affecting of all the many Ripper tales.

SCARLET STREET

1945, Universal–International. 102 min. Scr. Dudley Nichols, from the novel La Chienne by Georges de La Fouchardière. Dir. Fritz Lang

4:15 PM

On the night of his retirement, aging, mild-mannered cashier Christopher Cross (Edward G. Robinson) becomes an accidental hero—rescuing a gorgeous young woman, Kitty March (Joan Bennett), from a would-be attacker. The poor sap doesn't realize he's stumbled upon a dust-up between a hooker and her pimp (Dan Duryea), and before long the devious duo is playing him for a prize chump, selling to tony galleries the paintings the love-struck Cross bestows on Kitty. This roundelay can only end in tragedy.

THE RED SHOES

1948, The Archers. 133 mins. Scr. Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger, based on the fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen. Dir. Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger

7:15 PM

Ballerina Victoria Page (Moira Shearer) lives to dance, but finds her desire torn between two men: the impresario Lermontov who can fulfill her artistic ambitions, and Julian Craster, the young composer with whom she truly is in love. Her quandary culminates in a majestic staging of the classic fairy tale "The Red Shoes". One of the cinema's most vivid uses of Technicolor, this gorgeously designed film is one of the darkest and most compelling films ever made about artistic compulsion.

PEEPING TOM

1960, Michael Powell Productions. 101 min. Scr. Leo Marks, from his original story. Dir. Michael Powell

1:30 PM, 6:30 PM

Michael Powell's Peeping Tom, his first solo production (without collaborator Emeric Pressburger), almost destroyed his career and reputation as one of the world's most revered filmmakers. Upon its release, the British press savaged the film, offended by its unseemly theme and sexually graphic content. The tale revolves around a psychologically traumatized boy (Carl Boehm) who grows up to be a cameraman with a horrifying fetish: filming the fear of his female victims before he kills them.