SECRET MOVIE CLUB presents
Part of our MASTER-DISCIPLE: FILMMAKERS INFLUENCED BY ALFRED HITCHCOCK Series, Wednesday, February 15, 2023
LOCATION: The Secret Movie Club Theater, 1917 Bay Street, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90021
*Please note entrance/parking is actually in the back of the building. Make a right on Wilson Street, then a right behind the building. We’re the first set of black steps after the big gate.
7:30pm PLAY MISTY FOR ME (1971, dir. Clint Eastwood, STUDIO, USA, 108mns, 35mm)
9:40pm FRANTIC (1988, dir. Roman Polanski, STUDIO, USA/France, 120mns, 35mm)
Although many moviemakers cast a long shadow when it comes to later directors who are inspired by their work, maybe no single filmmaker casts quite as long a shadow as Alfred Hitchcock.
Although there are a few of the obvious disciples to the master-Brian De Palma (and don’t worry, we’ll be showing De Palma) possibly being the clearest example-it’s quite extraordinary just how many moviemakers have made Alfred Hitchcock-inspired pictures.
We kick off a shadow series (if you will) of Alfred Hitchcock inspired movies with Clint Eastwood’s debut directing feature Play Misty For Me. A surprisingly stylish and adroit thriller about Central Californian DJ Dave (Eastwood) who has a casual affair with Evelyn (a wonderful Jessica Walter) only to discover that Evelyn may be much more possessive and obsessive than Dave realized.
Nobody was prepared for Eastwood to be as good a director as he turned out to be (by which we mean one of the best of the last 60 years) since up to that point, most folks knew him as a very handsome action star. And though the material is definitely pulpy and of its time (it plays like a proto-Fatal Attraction), Play Misty For Me is a surprisingly adroit Hitchcock riff. In fact, it’s so good, you wish Eastwood had made as many suspense thrillers as he did westerns.
We follow this up with Roman Polanski’s heart on its sleeve Hitchcock homage Frantic starring Harrison Ford. A cross between The Lady Vanishes and The 39 Steps and Taken (before Taken was even made), Frantic follows Dr. Richard Walker whose wife mysteriously disappears from their hotel room while he’s taking a shower. When she doesn’t return, Walker plunges into the 1980’s French underworld with the help of young drug smuggler Michelle to find what has happened to his wife.
Ford, wanting to break out from sole identification as Han Solo and Indiana Jones, made a series of fascinating movies in the mid 1980’s including Mosquito Coast, Witness, Working Girl, and Frantic to show his range and interest in different material.
The pairing of Polanski and Ford yields a very crazy, fun Hitchcockian riff.
Come join us to watch great moviemakers get their Hitchcock on with their own suspense thrillers.
Best always,
Craig Hammill
Secret Movie Club Founder.Programmer
*Please note that though we strive to always show titles on 35mm film if advertised, we may have to screen digitally if the print we receive is in such bad shape or if we don't receive the print in time because of a shipping delay. We will do our best to alert the audience. When this does occur, we will offer each ticket holder who chooses not to attend a complimentary ticket to a future event in exchange. (Disclaimer: Good for 90 days – Future screening must have available tickets, cannot be a fundraiser, and must be comparably priced)
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
REFUNDS:
We can offer refunds up to 24 hours before showtime. Please request a refund through Eventbrite and we will process ASAP. After that, no refunds. Sorry.
However if something last minute comes up and you can’t make the screening, for whatever reason, just write to us before showtime: community@secretmovieclub.com and we’ll offer you complimentary tickets to a future screening, good for 90 days. (Disclaimer: Future screening must have available tickets, cannot be a fundraiser, and must be comparably priced)
HELPFUL SECRET MOVIE CLUB (1917 Bay Street, 2nd Floor, LA, CA 90021) THEATER PARKING TIPS:
We recommend that you park just outside our theater. Remember our theater is actually in a beautiful street art alleyway in the back of the 1917 Bay Street building. You get to our entrance by taking a right on Wilson, then a right behind the building. We are the first set of black steps on the right after the big gate.
There is also a parking lot at the corner of Mateo and Violet Street, just 2 blocks from our theater, which costs $7 per car.
HOW CAN WE STAY ON TOP OF NEWLY ANNOUNCED 35MM SCREENINGS, EVENTS, ETC?
You can follow us on Instagram/Twitter: @secretmovieclub or Facebook: @secretmovieclub35mm
You can also subscribe to our weekly email newsletter at secretmovieclub.com or by writing to us at community@secretmovieclub.com and using the header “SUBSCRIBE ME TO NEWSLETTER”.
HOW CAN I CONTACT YOU IF I HAVE OTHER QUESTIONS/RECOMMENDATIONS:
You can always email us at community@secretmovieclub.com with any other questions, concerns, thoughts, recommendations.