These Three
Dead End
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These Three
Directed by William Wyler.
With Miriam Hopkins, Merle Oberon, Joel McCrea.
US, 1936, 35mm, black & white, 93 min.
Print source: HFA
Lillian Hellman adapted her controversial stage play The Children's Hour for her first collaboration with director William Wyler. Miriam Hopkins and Merle Oberon star as college friends who work together at a posh private school for girls. Their sheltered world of privilege is turned upside down when a vengeful schoolgirl (played with malicious glee by Bonita Granville) enlists the aid of her high society grandmother to ruin the reputations of her headmistresses. William Hays, enforcer of the Production Code, insisted that the title of the film be changed to avoid direct association with the then-currently running stage play, and also demanded that all lesbian content in the original material be removed.
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Dead End
Directed by William Wyler.
With Humphrey Bogart, Joel McCrea, Claire Trevor.
US, 1937, 35mm, black & white, 93 min.
Print source: HFA
Set during an eventful day in a New York City slum, Dead End stars Humphrey Bogart as gangster Baby Face Martin, who returns to his old neighborhood and finds that nobody wants to see him. His mother is ashamed of his criminal past and his ex-girlfriend has become a syphilitic prostitute. Only the 'Dead End Kids' (in their screen debut) seem to welcome him, so they may learn his crooked way of life on the streets. Lillian Hellman's script remains faithful to Sidney Kingsley's popular stage play, and Wyler creates a gritty, urban milieu thanks to the visionary eye of cinematographer Gregg Toland.
Part of film series
Screenings from this program
Ballad of a Soldier / The Forty-First
Nightfall / Great Day in the Morning
Verboten! / Dead Pigeon on Beethoven Street
I'll Never Forget What's 'is Name / The Jokers
Hearts of the World / True Heart Susie
Anna Christie / The Long Voyage Home
Suddenly Last Summer / The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone
Quiet Days in Clichy / Henry and June
The Freshman / The Sin of Harold Diddlebock
The Sheep Has Five Legs / The Law is the Law
Hobson's Choice / Sidewalks of London
I Know Where I'm Going / Outcast of the Islands
An Inspector Calls / The Belles of St. Trinian's
Mother Joan of the Angels / Thérèse
Dawn of the Dead / Strange Behavior
