Warner Bros. Film Festivals at the National Museum of American History

The red carpet rolls out on the National Mall and leads to the new Warner Bros. Theater in the National Museum of American History. The museum will present four public film festivals as well as a new display focused on Hollywood memorabilia with Warner Bros. Entertainment, a subsidiary of TimeWarner.

Editor’s Note: All programs listed are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted.  See https://americanhistory.si.edu/filmseries for up-to-date information on shows and times.

Warner Bros. Film Festival: The Films of Humphrey Bogart
Friday, Feb. 3 – Sunday, Feb. 5
Warner Bros. Theater

The inaugural event is a three-day film festival spotlighting Humphrey Bogart and the Golden Age of Hollywood, featuring Casablanca, The Maltese Falcon, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre and The Big Sleep. It will be followed by festivals in June, July and October focusing on the films of Clint Eastwood, early sound in the movies and the Civil War through film.

Download the program guide for the Humphrey Bogart festival, which includes a biographical essay by author Richard Schickel and introductions by interim director Marc Pachter and curator Dwight Blocker Bowers.

Display Case: You Must Remember This
Feb. 1 – Summer 2012
Artifact Walls, First Floor

Coinciding with the grand opening of the Warner Bros. Theater, this display will showcase 20 feet of Hollywood memorabilia, including costumes worn by Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall and Clint Eastwood along with Harry Potter’s robe. Visitors will also see objects representing Warner Bros. Studio history such as Jack Warner’s silver telephone and Bugs Bunny animation drawings.

Casablanca
Friday, Feb. 3; 7 p.m.
Tickets Required: Visit the Smithsonian Resident Associate Program
(As of Jan. 3 this event is sold out.)

(Dir. Michael Curtiz, 1942, 102 min) One of the most beloved American films, Casablanca is a captivating wartime drama of adventurous intrigue and romance starring Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman and Paul Henreid. Set in Morocco during World War II, Bogart is a cynical American expatriate living in Casablanca. He owns and runs the most popular nightspot in town "Rick's Café Américain", an upscale nightclub that has become a haven for refugees looking to purchase illicit letters of transit which will allow them to escape to America.

When Rick's former lover, who deserted him when the Nazis invaded Paris, Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman), surfaces in Casablanca with her Resistance leader husband, Victor Laszlo (Paul Henreid), Rick is pulled into both a love triangle and a web of political intrigue. Ilsa and Victor need to escape from Casablanca, and Rick may be the only one who can help them.

Stephen Bogart, son of Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, is among the special guests who introduce Casablanca and take questions from the audience afterward.

The Maltese Falcon
Saturday, Feb. 4; 2 p.m.
Free; First Come, First Seated

(Dir. John Huston, 1941, 100 min.) Adapting Dashiell Hammett’s novel, The Maltese Falcon, and rendering the film as close to the original story as the Production Code allowed, rookie director John Huston created what is often considered the first film noir. In his star-making performance as Sam Spade, Humphrey Bogart embodies the ruthless private investigator who accepts the dark side of life with no regrets. One night, a beguiling woman named Miss Wanderly walks into the office and by the time she leaves, two people are dead. Miss Wanderly appeals for Sam’s protection and throughout the movie murder after murder occurs over the lust for a statue—the Maltese Falcon.

The Maltese Falcon was nominated for three Oscars including Best Picture and Best Screenplay, establishing Huston as a formidable double talent and Bogart as the archetypal detective antihero.

One hour prior to the presentation, NPR film commentator Murray
Horwitz will lead a pre-screening discussion highlighting historical tidbits and things to look and listen for in this classic Hollywood movie.

The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
Saturday, Feb. 4; 7 p.m.
Free; First Come, First Seated

(Dir. John Huston, 1948,126 min) Written by Huston as well, this treasure-hunt classic begins as drifter Fred C. Dobbs (Humphrey Bogart) down on his luck in Tampico, Mexico, spends his last bit of money on a lottery ticket. Meeting a fellow indigent Curtin (Tim Holt) they seek lodging in a cheap flophouse and meet a grizzly looking man named Howard (Walter Huston, the director’s father) who enraptures them with stories about prospecting for gold. Sold on the idea, Dobbs and Curtin agree to let Howard join them in their search for gold. The men are successful in finding gold, but bandits, the natural elements and greed make their success more difficult that they expected.

The Treasure of the Sierra Madre won John Huston Oscars for both Director and Screenplay, as well as a supporting actor award for his father, Walter. Huston became the first to direct his own father to an Oscar, and it was the first instance of a son and father winning in the same year.

One hour prior to the presentation, NPR film commentator Murray Horwitz will lead a pre-screening discussion highlighting historical tidbits and things to look and listen for in this classic Hollywood movie.

The Big Sleep
Sunday, Feb. 5; 2 p.m.
Free; First Come, First Seated

(Dir. Howard Hanks, 1946, 114 min) Howard Hawks directs Raymond Chandler's first novel of an acclaimed series about Detective Phillip Marlowe. This film noir classic features superb acting by Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall in this grand black and white thriller.

Private eye Marlowe (Bogart)is hired by the very wealthy, elderly General Sternwood,to protect his youngest daughter from her own indiscretions and along the way there is murder, blackmail, car chases and gun play to deal with. Right smack in the middle of this complex case, Marlowe finds time to fall in love with his client's eldest daughter (Bacall).

One hour prior to the presentation, NPR film commentator Murray Horwitz will lead a pre-screening discussion highlighting historical tidbits and things to look and listen for in this classic Hollywood movie. 

Clint Eastwood’s Westerns
Friday, June 22 – Sunday, June 24
Warner Bros. Theater

This series, running from June 22 to June 24, will highlight several major Eastwood films, including Academy Award-winning Unforgiven, Pale Rider, The Outlaw Josey Wales and the documentary, The Eastwood Factor. Visit https://americanhistory.si.edu/filmseries for updates on tickets.

Unforgiven
Friday, June 22; 7 p.m.

(Dir: Clint Eastwood, 1992, 131 min) Retired Old West gunslinger William Munny (Eastwood) reluctantly takes on one last job, with the help of his old partner and a young man.

The Outlaw Josey Wales
Saturday, June 23; 2 p.m.

(Dir: Eastwood, 1976, 135 min) A Missouri farmer (Eastwood) joins a Confederate guerilla unit and winds up on the run from the Union soldiers who murdered his family.

The Eastwood Factor
Saturday, June 23; 7 p.m.
Tickets Required: Visit the Smithsonian Resident Associate Program

(Dir: Richard Schickel, 2010, 90 min) A documentary narrated by Morgan Freeman with Eastwood commenting on his film career as an actor, director and song writer.

Pale Rider
Sunday, June 24; 2 p.m.

(Dir: Eastwood, 1985, 115 min) A mysterious preacher (Eastwood) protects a humble prospector village from a greedy mining company trying to encroach on their land.
 

The Advent of Sound
Friday, July 13 – Sunday, July 15
Warner Bros. Theater

The birth of motion picture sound will be the focus of the third festival, to be held July 13 to 15, with Singin’ In The Rain (celebrating its 60th anniversary), The Jazz Singer, The Broadway Melody and Don Juan. Visit https://americanhistory.si.edu/filmseries for updates on tickets.

The Jazz Singer
Saturday, July 14; 2 p.m.

(Dir: Alan Crosland, 1927, 88 min) The son (Al Jolson) of a Jewish Cantor must defy his father in order to pursue his dream of becoming a jazz singer. The Jazz Singer was the first feature-length motion picture with talking sequences.

The Broadway Melody
Saturday, July 15; 7 p.m.

(Dir: Harry Beaumont, 1929, 100 min) Harriet (Bessie Love) and Queenie (Anita Page) Mahoney, a vaudeville act, come to Broadway, where their friend Eddie Kerns (Charles King) needs them for his number in one of Francis Zanfield's shows. The Broadway Melody was the first sound film to win an Academy Award for Best Picture.

Don Juan
Sunday, July 16; 2 p.m.

(Dir: Alan Crosland, 1926, 110 min) John Barrymore plays the legendary lover Don Juan, raised by his cynical father (also played by Barrymore) to "love 'em and leave 'em", and to never trust any woman. All of this changes when he meets the beautiful Adriana Della Varnese (Mary Astor).

Don Juan was the first feature-length film with synchronized Vitaphone sound effects and musical soundtrack, though it has no spoken dialogue.
 

The Civil War on Film
Friday, Oct. 19 – Sunday, Oct. 21
Warner Bros. Theater

To mark the 150th anniversary of the start of the American Civil War, the final series of 2012 will open Oct. 19 with Gone With The Wind, followed by Glory, Gettysburg and Gods and Generals Oct. 20 and 21. Visit https://americanhistory.si.edu/filmseries for updates on tickets.

Glory
Saturday, Oct. 20; 2 p.m.

(Dir: Edward Zwick, 1989, 122 min) Robert Gould Shaw (Matthew Broderick) leads the Civil War's first all-black volunteer company (including Denzel Washington and Morgan Freeman), fighting prejudices of both his own Union army and the Confederates.

Gettysburg
Saturday, Oct. 20; 7 p.m.

(Dir: Ronald F. Maxwell, 1993, 261 min) In 1863, the Northern and Southern forces fight at Gettysburg in the decisive battle of the American Civil War. The film stars Tom Berenger, Stephen Lang and Martin Sheen.

Gods and Generals
>Sunday, Oct. 21; 2 p.m.

(Dir: Ronald F. Maxwell, 2003, 219 min) Gods and Generals follows the rise and fall of legendary war hero Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson (Stephen Lang) as he leads the Confederacy to great success against the Union from 1861 to 1863. This movie is the prequel to Gettysburg.
 

About the Museum
The National Museum of American History collects, preserves and displays American heritage in the areas of social, political, cultural, scientific and military history. To learn more about the museum, check https://americanhistory.si.edu. For Smithsonian information, the public may call (202) 633-1000, (202) 633-5285 (TTY).