THE OTHER SIDE OF "THE LOST CONTINENT" 2023
18 LOST/ULTRA-RARE FRENCH CINEMA GEMS - 1931-1947
APRIL 1 • 2 • 3 • 8 • 9 / ROXIE THEATRE
PRESENTED BY MID-CENTURY PRODUCTIONS
SHE RETURNED AT DAWN / THE FANTASTIC NIGHT / THIRTEEN DAYS OF LOVE
PAPA STRIKES BACK!
This long-gestating series (our four-film "Other Side" preview enchanted "Roxie film club" audiences in 2019) is finally here, and not a moment too soon! With it, Midcentury Productions continues to dispel the slurs beset upon so many films produced in France between 1930-1960 by the Cahiers du Cinema crowd. We are delighted to turn around their jeers at what they termed "le cinéma de papa" with eighteen (18!) films that will open eyes and minds to the hidden glories still to be rediscovered in French cinema. A preview of the program and times is below.
Attendees of our FRENCH HAD A NAME FOR IT festival will discover many familiar faces—but in films you've never seen before, including works from lost "auteurs" (Louis Valray, Fedor Ozep, Albert Valentin), masters thought to be past their prime (Marcel L'Herbier, René Clair) and from those who were unjustly maligned (Henri Decoin, Maurice Tourneur, Marc Allegret, Jean Delannoy).
Your gracious-but-pugnacious host, Don Malcolm (MCP's exective director), will be on hand throughout to fill in the backstory and stoke the fires of this long-overdue revaluation. Seats are limited, so please buy seats just as soon as you can!
Join the Midcentury mailing list for news on upcoming shows. Read MCP head honcho Don Malcolm's overview of the festival on his Substack. Watch for additional updates on Facebook and Twitter.
“Beginning Saturday, April 1, at the Roxie Theater, Malcolm unveils one of his most ambitious programs. "The Other Side of 'The Lost Continent': 18 Lost/Ultra Rare French Cinema Gems 1931-1947" reveals vibrant films — screened in double and triple features — virtually unknown to modern viewers. Most have never been screened or even been on home video in the United States.”
—G. Allen Johnson, SF Chronicle Datebook
"If there is any doubt that San Francisco is one of the best cities for movies in the United States — if not the best in the world— the proof is that the Roxie is showing a Micheline Presle double feature.What, never heard of her? Exactly. But she should be heard of."
—Mick LaSalle, SF Chronicle Datebook
DON MALCOLM ON SUBSTACK
• The Occupation from a different lens...
• Further reading for "The Other Side" Part 1, Part 2
SATURDAY MATINÉE - APRIL 1
'30s PASSION! TRIPLE FEATURE MATINÉE
12:00 pm: The Night Beauty / La belle de nuit
(1934, Louis Valray, 87 min)
1:45 pm: Thirteen Days of Love / Escale
(1935, Louis Valray, 83 min)
3:30 pm: Amok
(1934, Fedor Ozep, 92 min)
SUNDAY MATINÉE - APRIL 2
'30S SEXISM, GREED, AND…GHOSTS! TRIPLE FEATURE MATINÉE…
12:00 pm: Dactylo
(1931, Wilhelm Thiele, 77min)
1:30 pm The Last Billionaire / Le dernier milliardaire
(1934, René Clair, 90 min)
3:15 PM The Tender Enemy / La tendre ennemie
(1936, Max Ophuls, 69 min)
SUNDAY EVENING - APRIL 2
EARLY EVENING DOUBLE FEATURE WITH HARRY BAUR!
5:15 pm The Old Devil / Cette vieille canaille
(1933, Anatole Litvak, 99 min)
7:15 pm Samson
(1936, Maurice Tourneur, 90 min)
MONDAY, APRIL 3
EVENING DOUBLE FEATURE—HENRI DECOIN & DANIELLE DARRIEUX!
6:45 pm She Returned at Dawn / Retour à l'aube
(1938, Henri Decoin, 94 min)
8:30 pm Beating Heart / Battement de coeur
(1940, Henri Decoin, 97 min)
SATURDAY MATINÉE - APRIL 8
OCCUPATION ERA QUARTET PART 1: ALBERT VALENTIN
12:00 pm Marie-Martine
(1943, Albert Valentin, 103 min)
2:00 pm Life of Pleasure / La vie de plaisir
(1944, Albert Valentin, 85 min)
SATURDAY EVENING - APRIL 8
OCCUPATION ERA QUARTET PART 2: DECOIN/DARRIEUX REDUX & MARC ALLEGRET
4:30 pm Her First Affair / Premier rendez-vous
(1941, Henri Decoin, 105 min)
6:30 pm The Little Ones of the Flower Platform / Les petites du quai aux fleurs
(1944, Marc Allegret, 92 min)
SUNDAY MATINÉE - APRIL 9
THEATRICAL COMPLICATIONS! TWO WITH FRANÇOIS PÉRIER…
12:00 pm Silence Is Golden / Le silence est d'or
(1947, René Clair, 100 min)
2:00 pm A Lover's Return / Un revenant
(1946, Christian-Jaque, 85 min)
SUNDAY EVENING - APRIL 9
FRANCE'S LAST GREAT CLASSIC STAR! TRIBUTE TO MICHELINE PRESLE
4:45 pm The Fantastic Night / La nuit fantastique
(1942, Marcel L'Herbier, 103 min)
6:45 pm The Chips Are Down / Les jeux sont faits
(1947, Jean Delannoy, 92 min)
San Francisco's
Roxie Theatre is located at 3117 16th St. between Valencia & Guerrero, one block from 16th & Mission BART.
Box Office: 415.863.1087
MIDCENTURY PRODUCTIONS is a "boutique"
programming venture designing "mini film festivals, featuring films from cinema's most explosive three
decades—the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. We program original festivals and work with organizations and
individuals to craft singular programming that illuminates the hidden corners of these three decades.
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