Classy 1940s movies at the Balboa this weeked
Rather, it’s about Tracy Lord’s attempt at a declaration of independence of sorts from her wealthy family and their oppressive expectations, her pesky ex-husband (Cary Grant), two nosy tabloid reporters (James Stewart and the woefully underrated and thoroughly wonderful Ruth Hussey) and even her fiance (the appropriately bland John Howard).
On deck, also from the 1940s: “Casablanca” (July 9), “Arsenic and Old Lace” (July 16), my all-time favorite movie, Orson Welles’ “The Lady From Shanghai” (July 23) and Howard Hawks’ “Red River” (July 30), one of the great Westerns.
“The Third Man”: The new 4K restoration of Carol Reed’s classic premiered in May at the Cannes Film Festival (where it won the Palme D’Or in 1949), timed for the centennial of Welles’ birth.
Joseph Cotten carries this movie, along with his co-star, wartorn Vienna (captured by cinematographer Robert Krasker), and Anton Karas, some dude they found in a cafe in Vienna who ended up writing and performing the great zither music theme.
“On Her Own”: It sold out two screenings at last month’s DocFest; now Bay Area filmmaker Morgan Schmidt-Feng’s documentary about a Sonoma County farmer and her struggle to keep a fifth-generation family farm afloat screens as part of the Roxie’s excellent Bay Area Docs series.