NIGHT NURSE

(1931) Barbara Stanwyck and Joan Blondell, quick-changing between uniforms and déshabillés, breezily battle bootleggers, drunken mothers, corrupt doctors, and menacing chauffeur Clark Gable. Preserved by Library of Congress.
1:00, 5:15, 9:30

THE PURCHASE PRICE

(1932) Becoming George Brent’s mail order bride in Elk’s Crossing, North Dakota, don’t look so bad to Broadway thrush Barbara Stanwyck after tussles with gangster boyfriend Lyle Talbot. But all’s not good in Eden, even before Talbot shows up. Preserved by the Library of Congress.
2:25, 6:40, 10:50

THE MAN I LOVE

(1929) Wellman’s first all-talkie, scripted by Herman Mankiewicz, with arrogant boxer Richard Arlen  romancing Mary Brian, then falling for temptress Olga Baclanova (Freaks) on the eve of the big fight. 
3:45, 8:00

REVIEWS

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NIGHT NURSE
“Directed with leering vigor by Wellman. Stanwyck is the purest embodiment of Pre-Code pluck and sexual adventurousness.”
– Dave Kehr, The New York Times

“A wonderfully pacy thriller, with sparkling dialogue, a nice line in blackish humor, an undertow of Pre-Code eroticism, and Stanwyck in full-hard-bitten cry.”
– Tom Milne, Time Out (London)

“Hard as nails, with lots of spunk.”
– Jonathan Rosenbaum

“Edgy, frightening, and very tough.”
– David Thomson

“Lurid but fast-paced and highly entertaining thriller.”
– John A. Gallagher

THE PURCHASE PRICE
“An eyebrow-rocketing fallen-woman hand-wringer that hits on Hardy-esque wife-bartering.”
– Michael Atkinson

“A fascinating, zippy concoction.”
– Jeremy Arnold

THE MAN I LOVE
“Perhaps the first film that is truly representative of Wellman.”
– Frank J. Thompson