SECRET MOVIE CLUB presents
Part of our ALFRED HITCHCOCK: THE MASTER Series, Saturday, January 14, 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.
7pm REBECCA (1940, dir. Alfred Hitchcock, Swank, USA, 130mns, 35mm)
9:30pm FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT (1940, dir. Alfred Hitchcock, AGFA, USA, 120mns, DCP)
Alfred Hitchcock made only one movie that won the BEST PICTURE Oscar: his very first American movie Rebecca. Hitch didn’t get BEST DIRECTOR (that went to John Ford for The Grapes of Wrath). In fact, along with Stanley Kubrick, Hitchcock may be the Academy’s most egregious oversight in the Director category.
Rebecca – produced by David O. Selznick and adapted from the Daphne du Maurier novel of the same name – tells the unnerving story of the second Mrs. de Winter (Joan Fontaine) who slowly comes to discover that her husband Maxim (Laurence Olivier) is still haunted by the memory (or ghost?) of his first wife, Rebecca. Maxim’s housekeeper, Mrs. Danvers (an amazing Judith Anderson) makes life even more difficult for poor Mrs. De Winter by constantly comparing her (unfavorably) to the dead Rebecca.
A kind of strange rough draft for Vertigo, Rebecca showcases what a crafty and intelligent director Hitchcock could be, even with material that didn’t originate from himself. Determined to make his mark in Hollywood, Hitch found numerous genius visual strategies to show how Rebecca’s presence haunts everyone – Maxim, Mrs. Danvers-and even the Manderlay estate itself.
Hitch had to contend with notoriously hands-on producer David O Selznick as well. But he accomplished what he set out to do – he made a hit movie that took the US by storm. And Hitch firmly established himself as a top-tier Hollywood director for the next three decades.
We follow Rebecca with Hitchcock’s second American picture, Foreign Correspondent starring Joel McCrea. Foreign Correspondent tells the story of journalist McCrea as he discovers a cabal of spies plotting the destruction of Europe in the lead-up to World War II.
Although Foreign Correspondent, like Rebecca, was based on a pre-existing work, it feels much more like Hitchcock’s first true “Hitchcockian” masterpiece in the US. Hitchcock uses the tale of journalists and spies to stage a series of thrilling set pieces including a pursuit in a windmill that presaged North by Northwest in some aspects. Hitch also found a way to smuggle in a pro-active message of American involvement in the growing European conflict with fascism several years before the rest of Hollywood.
Foreign Correspondent is filled with classic Hitchcock images, sequences, and themes. It too was nominated for BEST PICTURE in 1940. With these two movies, Hitch became the go-to director for suspense, thrillers, and espionage.
Join us to watch these two movies. Hitch shows you how to start a new phase of your career with a bang. Not a whimper.
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.