Also this evening, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is throwing a 100th birthday party for the late John Wayne at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater. "A Centennial Salute to John Wayne" features a restored CinemaScope print of one of the Duke's most-popular non-westerns, the 1954 disaster thriller "The High and the Mighty," directed by William Wellman. Scheduled to discuss the actor's legacy are Army Archerd, Gretchen Wayne, William Wellman Jr.
, Angie Dickinson, Nancy Olson and Karen Sharpe Kramer. Robert Rossen wrote and directed this adaptation of Robert Penn Warren's novel based on the rise and fall of flamboyant politician Huey P. Long (Broderick Crawford).
Screening with "King's Men" is "The Harder They Fall." Guffey was Oscar-nominated for his innovative cinematography inside the boxing ring in the powerful 1956 expos of the sport. The film was the swan song for Humphrey Bogart, who plays a washed-up sportswriter who aligns himself with a crooked promoter (Rod Steiger).
Scheduled for Saturday are two crime dramas starring Glenn Ford: 1954's "Human Desire," based on Emile Zola's novel "La Bete Humaine," and 1949's "The Undercover Man." It's also a busy weekend at the American Cinematheque's Aero Theatre. On Saturday, "Bedknobs and Broomsticks" will alight.
Angela Lansbury is perfectly cast as an apprentice witch in Disney's enchanting 1971 live-action/animated musical, while Richard and Robert Sherman, who penned the score to "Mary Poppins," wrote the toe-tapping tunes. In addition, "Poppins" director Robert Stevenson directed the film, which was overlooked upon release but won the best special effects Oscar. On Sunday, the Aero presents two of Carol Reed's most acclaimed films: 1949's "The Third Man" and 1948's "The Fallen Idol.
" The British filmmaker was best known for taut thrillers such as these, even though he later won the Academy Award for directing the treacly 1968 Oscar-winning best film "Oliver!" "The Third Man" is a crackerjack thriller penned by Graham Greene and set in the murky underworld and sewers of post-World War II Vienna. Reed was nominated for an Oscar for his direction; Robert Krasker won for his moody black-and-white cinematography.
Elsewhere: On Wednesday, the UCLA Film and Television Archive will present the restored 1957 "Playhouse 90" TV version of Clifford Odets' "Clash by Night." John Frankenheimer directed the work, with Broadway star Kim Stanley in her first foray in Hollywood. Stanley's performance caused the show to run overtime and the final commercial to be dropped.
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