Nathaniel BellSaturday, June 2
The American Cinematheque's rare tribute to Czech animator Jirí Trnka continues with a program headlined by A Midsummer Night's Dream, a phantasmagoric Shakespeare adaptation performed entirely by puppets. All unintended comedic potential is cut short by the breathtaking beauty of the film's colors and movement, which suggest an Arabian Nights ambience. The evening will begin with two of Trnka's short subjects, Merry Circus and The Animals and Brigands. Aero Theatre, 1328 Montana Ave., Santa Monica; Sat., June 2, 7:30 p.m.; $12. (323) 466-3456, americancinemathequecalendar.com.
Alice Adams; Credit: Warner Bros.
Monday, June 4
In Alice Adams, Katharine Hepburn plays a young social climber from a podunk town who falls in love with wealthy Fred MacMurray. Booth Tarkington wrote the Pulitzer Prize–winning novel, George Stevens directed, and Hepburn garnered a Best Actress nomination. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences has curated a special evening in honor of the Stevens family, beginning with a lecture and remarks by screenwriter and Academy Governor Robin Swicord, followed by a screening of the film. Samuel Goldwyn Theater, 8949 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills; Mon., June 4, 7:30 p.m.; $5. (310) 247-3000, www.oscars.org.
Charlie Chaplin and Jackie Coogan in The Kid; Credit: Wikimedia Commons
Tuesday, June 5
Charles Chaplin — already the most recognizable movie star in the world — expanded his artistic scope with The Kid, his first foray into features. The Dickensian story, of a little tramp who cares for an orphaned boy, features a knockout mixture of meticulous clownery and heart-tugging pathos, and would establish the elegant pattern that would define the remainder of the star-writer-director-composer's career. LACMA will feature the film in a monthlong tribute to Chaplin as part of its Tuesday Matinees series. A mere $4 gains you access to a 35mm print. LACMA, 5905 Wilshire Blvd., Mid-Wilshire; Tue., June 5, 1 p.m.; $4. (323) 857-6000, lacma.org.
Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes; Credit: 20th Century Fox
Laemmle's Anniversary Classics Tuesday series offers a double dose of Marilyn Monroe for the price of a single ticket. In Gentlemen Prefer Blondes — based on the smash novel by Anita Loos — Monroe teams up with Jane Russell for a gold-digging romantic expedition in Paris. This is the one that opens with “Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend,” and the dazzling sights and sounds hardly let up after that. How to Marry a Millionaire fills out the double bill, and finds Marilyn keeping company with Betty Grable and Lauren Bacall as NYC roommates who contrive to ensnare Mr. Big. Debra Levine of arts*meme introduces the 7 p.m. screening of Blondes at the Royal. Laemmle Royal (also playing at NoHo 7 and Playhouse 7), 11523 Santa Monica Blvd., West L.A.; Tue., June 5, 7 p.m.; $13. (310) 478-3836, laemmle.com.
Sam Peckinpah's The Wild Bunch; Credit: Warner Bros.
Thursday, June 7
Laemmle's Throwback Thursday series, a collaboration with Eat/See/Hear, will screen Sam Peckinpah's dirt-and-sweat-drenched 1969 Western The Wild Bunch — the 144-minute director's cut. This transitional American classic dramatizes the plight of a group of outlaws at the twilight of the Old West, and also functions as a farewell to the Western genre itself, which, along with the American musical, was going the way of the dodo. The bold displays of macho violence resulted in some well-earned notoriety (the film was butchered for its original theatrical release), although it remains, at heart, a deeply sentimental picture. Laemmle NoHo, 5420 Lankershim Blvd., North Hollywood, Thu., June 7, 7:30 p.m.; $12. (310) 478-3836, laemmle.com. —Nathaniel Bell
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