To mark the centenary of Johnny Mercer's birth, director Bruce Ricker's latest jazz documentary focuses on the music and legacy of the great American songwriter, interweaving interviews with Tony Bennett, Andre Previn and Harry Connick, Jr. with screen performances of Mercer ballads by the likes of Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland and Nat King Cole. The Harvard Film Archive is pleased to welcome Bruce Ricker to discuss his latest film and to celebrate the very generous donation of his important film collection to the Archive.

Johnny Mercer’s close collaboration with Harold Arlen resulted in the wonderful score for Blues in the Night, a dark-edged yet affectionate story of a struggling jazz band directed by the underrated Anatole Litvak, with a tart script by Robert Rossen and surrealist-inspired montage sequences by future director Don Siegel. Featuring screen appearances by legendary bandleader and arranger Jimmie Lunceford with his swing orchestra, Blues in the Night also showcases Kazan’s talent as a character actor specializing in hard but likeable underworld immigrant types.