THE GREAT MCGINTY

(1940) “If you don’t have graft, you’d have a low type of person in politics. Men with no ambition.” Boss Akim Tamiroff helps crooked bum Brian Donlevy become an even more crooked governor, until honesty rears its ugly head. Sturges sold the script for $10 (upped from $5) for the chance to direct. Result: his only Oscar (Original Screenplay) and first of seven smash hits. Approx. 81 min. 35mm.
12:30, 3:50, 7:10, 10:30

THE GREAT MOMENT

(1944) Joel McCrea, as W.T.G. Morton, the 19th century dentist who claimed the first use of ether for anesthesia, plays straight man to the Sturges stock company in a bizarre combination of slapstick and stark drama – told in complicated flashback style. Despite being shelved and tampered with by befuddled studio execs, it’s still a rare personal statement. Approx. 83 min. 35mm.
 2:10, 5:30, 8:50