The Trial of Vivienne Ware. 1932. Directed by William K. Howard

Film

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The Trial of Vivienne Ware. 1932. USA. Directed by William K. Howard. 56 min.

Screenplay by Barry Conners, Kenneth M. Ellis, Philip Klein. With Joan Bennett, Donald Cook, Richard “Skeets” Gallagher, Zasu Pitts, Lilian Bond. Machine-gun dialogue, an innovative, insistent use of whip pans, and an intricate flashback structure contribute to the high-speed, headlong rush of William K. Howard’s highly experimental treatment of a popular radio play about a socialite (Joan Bennett, in her early blonde period) on trial for the murder of her faithless fiancé. Flying knives, chorus girls, and courtroom histrionics (from Donald Cook, Bennett’s defense attorney and jilted lover) keep this one roaring along. Preserved by The Museum of Modern Art with support from the Celeste Bartos Fund for Film Preservation; courtesy Twentieth Century Fox.

This film accompanies To Save and Project: The 13th MoMA International Festival of Film Preservation.

Past events

Mon, Nov 9, 2015, 1:30 p.m.

Education Center, Mezzanine, Theater 3

The Celeste Bartos Theater
Sun, Nov 8, 2015, 3:15 p.m.

MoMA, Floor T2, Theater 2

The Roy and Niuta Titus Theater 2

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