Double Indemnity (1944)
Directed by Billy Wilder, from a screenplay by Wilder and Raymond Chandler, “Double Indemnity” is considered by many to be the greatest film noir movie. The story centers on insurance agent Walter Neff (Fred MacMurray), who becomes entangled in a web of deceit, betrayal, and murder. The femme fatale who spins this web is Phyllis Dietrichson (Barbara Stanwyck), the bored wife of an oil executive. Her goal is to murder her husband and make it look like an accident. Neff is the perfect dupe, just smart enough to comprehend the scheme, but not half as clever as he thinks. Neff’s cigar chomping boss (Edward G. Robinson) prides himself on his ability to sniff out false claims, but may be missing this duplicity by his most trusted agent. Showing at Fox Theatre, 17 W. Congress St., on Saturday, July 24, 7:30 p.m. & Sunday July 25, 2 p.m.
The Awful Truth (1937)
In “The Awful Truth,” one of the best screwball comedies, Cary Grant plays Jerry, an unfaithful husband who distrusts his wife, Lucy (Irene Dunne). Grant’s performance reminds us that he was not just a handsome leading man, but a gifted physical comedian. Jerry’s entrance into Lucy’s singing recital is a comic gem. Director Leo McCarey keeps the pace frantic, and Vina Delmar’s script gives some of the best lines to Lucy’s Aunt Patsy (Cecil Cunningham). When spurned lover Ralph Bellamy tells Lucy he has learned a lot about women from her, Aunt Patsy hands him Lucy’s breakup letter, saying, “And here’s your diploma.” Showing at Fox Theatre, 17 W. Congress St., on Saturday, August 7, 7:30 p.m. & Sunday, August 8, 2 p.m.
The Shop Around the Corner (1940)
Directed by Ernst Lubitsch, the film stars Jimmy Stewart and Margaret Sullavan as bickering clerks in a Budapest shop, who do not realize they are each other’s secret pen pals. It’s a movie for fans of great romantic comedies. Showing at Cinema La Placita, 110 S. Church Ave., on Thursday, July 22, 7:30 p.m.
