American Auteurs: Masters from the Studio Era

One could approach Oak Street’s July retrospective as an aesthetic exegesis of the changing modes of cinematic expression in the mid-century heyday of the Hollywood studio system. One could seek evidence of unique directorial styles finding voice in an artistic medium defined strongly by the visions of the moneymen on top. Alternatively, one could just say “Hey, awesome, a Bogart double feature!” There are certainly plenty of excellent films to partake of here. Auteurs gathers works two-by-two from the best directors of the era, people like Howard Hawks, George Cukor and John Ford—including his 1924 career-launching silent The Iron Horse (July 16). If you’re missing Gregory Peck, who died in June, check out his 1956 performance as Ahab in Moby-Dick, costarring Orson Welles, who surprisingly does not play the whale. As for Bogey, he’s here both in the July 5-6 pairing of Hawks’ To Have and Have Not and The Big Sleep, and on July 25-27 in John Huston’s two great crime films, Key Largo and The Maltese Falcon. Oak Street, 309 Oak St. S.E., (612) 331-3134, oakstreetcinema.org