What's on at AFI's Silver Theatre: Jean Arthur

For all of those of us who live in the Mid-Atlantic region, particularly the Washington, D.C., area, there's a promising roster of films at the AFI Silver Theatre in Silver Spring, MD.



Among the highlights are a Jean Arthur retrospective. It includes the classics you'd expect -- e.g., Frank Capra fare such as Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, You Can't Take It with You, and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington -- but also lesser-known titles such as The Whole Town's Talking (See below), which ought not to be confused with The Talk of the Town (See above), also included in the festival.



Here's a list:

http://www.afi.com/silver/new/nowplaying/2010/v7i1/jeanarthur.aspx



Of course as I write this, Snowmageddon has descended upon the region, and the storm continues. Digging out should take a couple days, and though AFI had planned to reopen on Sunday, it's not clear at this point if they will. Stay tuned.



I've often wondered what kind of a following Jean Arthur has today. She strikes me as one of the more neglected stars of the classic era, probably because she hasn't been accorded any kind of icon status -- unlike, say, Gary Cooper or Bette Davis. But she certainly had an impressive resume.

Which Arthur films have you seen? Which are your favorites? Which would you like to see?

I really like her, although I haven't seen much of her work. I checked her IMDb listing and was astonished at the
sheer volume of work. Heaps of silents, and I've not seen one of them; I'd like to. I wonder how many of them are
still available today?

I loved "The Talk of the Town"; with those three stars, how could anyone not enjoy it? I also liked "Mr Smith Goes
to Washington" and "Mr Deeds Goes to Town". I've seen "Only Angels Have Wings" but as I can't recall much of it,
I don't think it made an impression. One film I have heard of but have never seen and would like to is "The
Devil and Miss Jones". I don't recall that it's ever been shown on TV here. "Shane" I haven't seen, although I
know it was well regarded; not being a Western fan, I've just let it pass me by.

According to IMDb, she turned down the female lead in "It's A Wonderful Life" because she didn't want to work with
James Stewart again. I wonder what happened there? I can see her doing that role, perhaps with a little more bite
than Donna Reed gave it (although I think Donna Reed was lovely).

I seem to recall that later in life she did a lot of work caring for animals, rather like Doris Day.

There's a fairly recent biography of her written, "The Star Nobody Knew", which has good reviews on Amazon. I must
try and get hold of it.

Thanks for the reminder, CB!

Edited to add: One well-known film I didn't like much was "You Can't Take It With You". I'm probably a minority of
one, but somebody lent me a copy a couple of years ago, and I just couldn't get into it. Not even with all the
talented people in it. I found it cliched.

"The Devil and Miss Jones" is one of my all-time favorite movies. She and Charles Coburn were a riot together -- I know they did others too, including "The More the Merrier," I think it's called?

I once got my daughter to watch "The Devil" with me, and she just looooved Jean Arthur -- that's saying a lot from a then-teenager.

I know nothing about the AFI Theatre. I will definitely check this out! Thanks for the info. :hi:

Edited to add: Valentine's Day fare on TCM includes:

12:00 - The More the Merrier
AND
2:00 - The Devil and Miss Jones !! :D

http://www.tcm.com/schedule/index.jsp?startDate=2/14/2010&timezone=EST&cid=N

:bounce:

If your daughter hasn't caught that one, make sure she does. The chemistry, the comic timing, the sheer good humor of the whole project are endearing. Charles Coburn is a complete hoot, and Jean Arthur and Joel McCrea have a surprisingly steamy moment...on the front stoop of an apartment building.

Oh, and it's a weirdly patriotic movie (See it and you'll understand why).

(Just wasn't sure of the title at first.)

I love all her cute outfits for going to work -- there's one where she has lots of bows in her hair -- and also the scene where she has cream all over her face and braids, and realizes for the first time there's a third roommate!