Sass Mouth Dames Film Club series 34

Megan McGurk introduces two classic woman’s pictures.

Join us for a complimentary glass of wine or bring your own.

Tickets are available at Eventbrite

The Palm Beach Story (1942)

Screens Friday May 9 at 7.00

In Preston Sturges’s glorious screwball comedy, ‘sex always has something to do with it,’ which means that Claudette Colbert can step on Rudy Vallee’s face (twice), and rather than give out to her, he buys her a new wardrobe. Claudette plays a mug’s game, by convincing herself that she can divorce her swoon merchant husband Joel McCrea, who happens to be broke, just to grab the first millionaire she meets. In a classic woman’s picture, economic pragmatism flies out the window when Eros shoots an arrow in your can.

The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946)

Screens Thursday, May 15 at 7.00

Lana Turner takes as much pride in her Twin Oaks uniform as the soldiers who stormed Normandy Beach. She’s a hard worker, keen on amounting to something. But what’s a gal to do when a drifter (John Garfield) gives you a look that promises to give you the business? Her husband (Cecil Kellaway) plans to cart her off to another country to be a caretaker for his sister. It will take an attorney more twisted than a corkscrew (Hume Cronyn) to pull her heels out of the fire. Lana should have gotten her flowers for playing a woman caught in a jam between duty and desire.

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.

Sass Mouth Dames Film Club Christmas

Megan McGurk introduces a classic Hollywood Christmas picture.

Tickets are available at Eventbrite.

Complimentary wine and snacks (or you can bring your own).

I’ll Be Seeing You (1944)

Ginger Rogers and Joseph Cotten meet on a train just before Christmas. They are equally lonesome and guarded, because they both struggle with the shame of a terrible secret. Will they succeed in hiding the past from each other? Or does the Christmas season give them a fresh start? Ginger Rogers is famed for dancing backwards in high heels, but don’t forget that she was a triple threat: She could sing and dance, but she was also an inventive comedian, and she was an accomplished dramatic performer. Joseph Cotton brings sensitivity and nuance to the role of a war-weary soldier. Shirley Temple and Spring Byington join an outstanding ensemble cast.

Refunds available until 24 hours before the screening.

The Dot Theatre is located across from Dax Restaurant in a laneway and to the left.

Look for the disco ball outside the door.

Sass Mouth Dames Film Club series 31

Megan McGurk introduces three gems about a social-climbing waitress, a hard boiled canary, and two warring novelists in October.

Get your tickets at Eventbrite

Good Girls Go to Paris (1939)

Screens 3 October at 7.00

Joan Blondell plays a waitress on the hunt for a rich husband. She strikes up a friendship with Melvyn Douglas, a swoon merchant disguised as a stuffed-shirt professor who can’t help giving lessons on how to be a lady. Trying to curb her penchant for accepting gifts from men, he advises that she only accept flowers, fruit, candy, and hospitality. Just how creative can Joan Blondell get with those directions?

The Big Street (1942)

Screens 10 October at 7.00.

Best known for being a comedic powerhouse who invented appointment TV and later bought the studio that once considered her only a second-tier contract player, Lucille Ball proves her dramatic chops in one of the best Broadway fables from Damon Runyon. Lucy plays a hard-boiled canary with a cash register where a heart ought to be. Henry Fonda, a bus boy, worships her from a far and then up close.

Old Acquaintance (1943)

Screens 17 October at 7.00.

Bette Davis and Miriam Hopkins play college pals who become rival novelists. Bette is the highbrow author who struggles writing literary fiction. Miriam writes bodice rippers that turn into commercial best sellers. Bette wears jackets and ties; Miriam wears ruffles and lace. Sparks fly whenever they meet, making the love interests with men the least interesting thing about the picture.