Category: Melodrama

Sass Mouth Dames Film Club series 33

Megan McGurk introduces two classic gems from the 1950s.

Tickets available at Eventbrite.

Have a glass of wine or bring your own.

Death of a Scoundrel (1956)

Screens Thursday March 13 at 7.00

Who killed George Sanders? Was it Bridget Kelly, the wharf hustler who became his executive secretary, played by Yvonne DeCarlo? Was it Mrs Ryan, the widow he swindled, played by real life ex-wife Zsa Zsa Gabor? Could it be Mrs. Van Renasslear (Coleen Gray), the married woman he seduced and tossed aside? Or was it Stephanie North (Nancy Gates), the budding ingenue he promised Broadway glory? Directed by Charles Martin, with cinematography by James Wong Howe, and a score by Max Steiner, the picture offers a glamorous postmortem of a savage financier who had it coming.

Beloved Infidel (1959)

Screens Wednesday March 19 at 7.00

Sheilah Graham was part of the mighty ‘unholy trio’ of gossip columnists that ruled Hollywood, along with Louella Parsons and Hedda Hopper. Sheilah distinguished herself by printing acid barbs about stars who were used to flattering publicity. In multiple books she covered a bigger story about her own affair with F. Scott Fitzgerald. The literary lion was a studio screenwriter on the skids when she threw him a lifeline. Deborah Kerr captures the unique torment of loving a man haunted by his own demons. Although critics believed Gregory Peck was miscast as Fitzgerald, the actor taps into the enduring appeal the Jazz Age novelist had for Graham.

Sass Mouth Dames Film Club series 32

Megan McGurk introduces two superlative melodramas to ring in the new year.

Complimentary wine and snacks or bring your own.

Tickets are available at Eventbrite

The Best of Everything (1959)

Screens 9 January at 7.00

Rona Jaffe’s bestselling novel follows Hope Lange, Suzy Parker, and Diane Baker, three roommates who work as secretaries in a New York City publishing house. Their career path is littered with the usual perils: The louche boss who chases them around desks (Brian Aherne), a detached and judgy know it all (Stephen Boyd), a heartless Broadway lothario (Louis Jordan), a rich fuck boy (Robert Evans), and a boss who fears they are after her job (the exquisite Joan Crawford). This picture has the best of everything.

All That Heaven Allows (1955)

Screens 16 January at 7.00

Douglas Sirk’s portrait of suburban America highlights the poisonous underbelly that lurks behind the large homes and manicured lawns. Jane Wyman plays a widow who falls for the hunky gardener, played by Rock Hudson, a man who’s built like one of the trees he cultivates. Unfortunately, their passion is uniformly disapproved of by the local gossips and her snotty kids. Like so many heroines before her, Wyman’s character ignores what she desires just to please everyone else. Melodrama, thy name is Sirk.