SECRET MOVIE CLUB presents
Part of our ALFRED HITCHCOCK: THE MASTER Series, Saturday, April 8, 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 SUSPICION (1941, dir. Alfred Hitchcock, RKO Pictures, USA, 99mns, Digital)
9:30pm MARNIE (1964, dir. Alfred Hitchcock, Universal, USA, 130mns, 35mm)
Tonight, we look at two of Hitch’s female-centered works. First up, his very early American picture Suspicion which reunited Hitch with Rebecca star Joan Fontaine and marked the first time Hitch worked with his oft-collaborator Cary Grant.
Suspicion is one of those fascinating movies where Hitchcock found a way to explore most of what he wanted even though the studio refused him the ending he initially prepared.
Lina falls in love with and marries irresponsible heavy-in-debt gambler Johnny (Cary Grant). As their marriage settles in, Lina begins to fear that Johnny has married her more for her money than for love. And his strange, violent, unpredictable behaviors soon cause her to fear that her suspicion is more than correct.
Hitch keeps us guessing to the very last moment (will Cary Grant kill or not kill his wife!!!). And for a movie from 1941, it’s quite unsettling to see Grant take his beloved charm and magnetism and turn it into something borderline psychotic.
Twenty plus years and much more creative freedom later, Hitchcock would make what this programmer considers his last truly great masterpiece (though Frenzy is incredible), Marnie.
A kind of inversion of Suspicion, Marnie tells the story of cleptomaniac and petty thief Marnie (Tippi Hedren) who fascinates her publisher boss Mark (a superb Sean Connery) so much. . . he marries her knowing full well she has psychological problems.
One of Hitchcock’s works in his “Dysfunctional Psychology of the Main Character” subgenre that includes Spellbound and Psycho, Marnie treads controversial territory (even know) in its exploration of how someone’s psychological trauma can be sexually arousing to someone else.
Hitchcock deals with suppressed memories here (as he did in Spellbound) but with an even more unsettling obsessive sexual focus. A fascinating movie powered by two incredible lead performances. This is Hitchcock at his most perceptive and disturbing. And we’re showing it on 35mm!
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.