NOTE CHANGE OF PR​OGRAM!

NOTHING SACRED

(1937) Carole Lombard learns she isn’t dying of radium exposure, but why give up that all-expense-paid trip to Gotham courtesy of human interest-mongering reporter Fredric March? Ben Hecht poisonly penned this send-up of cheap sensationalism — the first modern-dress feature in 3-color Technicolor.
3:20, 7:25

THE HAPPY​ YEARS

(1950) 1896 and after being expelled from two prep schools, it’s a rough start for Dean Stockwell’s (Blue Velvet) pugnacious Dink Stover at Lawrenceville, taking what proves to be stuffy headmaster Leo G. Carroll for a bumpy joy ride, and going toe to toe with Darryl Hickman.
1:00, 5:05, 9:05

REVIEWS

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NOTHING SACRED
“Irresistible performance from Lombard… Ben Hecht's sparkling script is even more caustic about newspapermen than The Front Page ('The hand of God reaching down into the mire couldn't elevate one of 'em to the depths of degradation'), and provides a welcome antidote to Capracorn in its view of small towns as hellholes to be got out of where an intruder is likely to be stoned or bitten by small boys.”
– Tom Milne, Time Out (London)

“Wellman’s direction is more leisurely than usual; he has such good material here that he takes his time. There are classic sequences: March, the New York City sophisticate, arrives in a small town and learns how the natives feel about strangers when a small boy runs up and bites his leg; the swozzled Lombard passes out while showgirls impersonating the heroines of history parade in her honor. And a great slugging match between March and Lombard.”
– Pauline Kael

“Wellman's unsentimental, ‘nothing sacred’ irreverence makes the picture a classic of American sound comedy, worthy of the best of Capra, Lubitsch or Sturges. The director skillfully combined visual comedy with the dialogue tradition in one of the funniest films of any decade.”
– John Andrew Gallagher & Frank Thompson

“A raucous send-up of the gullibility and sentimentality of the tabloid-transfixed public.”
– Andrew Sarris

“A true reflection of the ‘cockeyed’ wisdom—that the world was a ridiculous place and it would be a good thing if a few smart young people saw that and said so in a way that makes you laugh. If you want to get the best, bravest insouciance in Hollywood of the thirties, you’re better off going to comedies like this than the sagas.”
– David Thomson

“The definitive Ben Hecht screenplay.”
– Dave Kehr

THE HAPPY YEARS
“One of Wellman’s very best – and most typical – films.”
– John Andrew Gallagher & Frank Thompson