Alexander Mackendrick: Auteur and Academic
September 5–30, 2005

Alexander Mackendrick (1912–1993) occupies a unique position in film history. After distinguishing himself as a director of nine films, Mackendrick made a midcareer move into teaching filmmaking, becoming Dean of the School of Film/Video at the California Institute of the Arts. His legion of devoted students testify to his pervasive influence on recent generations of filmmakers. American-born but Scottish-bred, Mackendrick had a talent for bridging barriers and linking seemingly diverse strands of culture. This complete retrospective ranges from his madcap Ealing comedies to his charming childhood adventures, with intermittent stops for slashingly modern social commentary, exemplified by Sweet Smell of Success (1957). The retrospective coincides with the publication of Alexander Mackendrick: On Film-making (Farrar, Straus & Giroux), a compilation of Mackendrick’s insightful essays on the art of making movies, edited by Paul Cronin. Hilary Mackendrick introduces the September 29 screenings of Whisky Galore! (1949) and Sweet Smell of Success, and a panel discussion about the director’s work both as an auteur and an academic takes place on September 30.

Organized by Charles Silver, Associate Curator, Department of Film and Media. Special thanks to the bfi National Film and Television Archive, George Eastman House, Martin Scorsese, Warner Bros., and Hilary Mackendrick.

Whisky Galore! (Tight Little Island). 1949. Great Britain. Directed by Alexander Mackendrick. Screenplay by Compton Mackenzie, Angus Macphail, based on Mackenzie’s novel. With Basil Radford, Joan Greenwood, James Robertson Justice. In Mackendrick’s directorial debut, wacky Scottish islanders salvage vast quantities of whisky from a sinking ship. 82 min.
Monday, September 5, 8:00; Thursday, September 29, 6:00 (introduced by Hilary Mackendrick). T1

The Man in the White Suit. 1951. Great Britain. Directed by Alexander Mackendrick. Screenplay by Roger MacDougall, Mackendrick, John Dighton. With Alec Guinness, Joan Greenwood, Cecil Parker. In one of his signature roles, Guinness plays an inventor whose perfect fabric causes chaos in the textile industry. 84 min.
Wednesday, September 7, 6:00. T1; Friday, September 30, 6:00. T2

Mandy (Crash of Silence). 1952. Great Britain. Directed by Alexander Mackendrick. Screenplay by Jack Whitingham, Nigel Balchin, based on Hilda Lewis’s novel The Day Is Ours. With Phyllis Calvert, Jack Hawkins, Mandy Miller. A poignant drama about a young deaf girl and the strains her condition puts on her family. 93 min.
Wednesday, September 7, 8:00; Sunday, September 11, 2:00. T1

The Maggie (High and Dry). 1954. Great Britain. Directed by Alexander Mackendrick. Screenplay by William Rose. With Paul Douglas, Alex Mackenzie, James Copeland. The comic struggle between Douglas, an American tycoon, and Mackenzie, the captain of a boat that has seen better days. 93 min.
Thursday, September 8, 6:00; Sunday, September 11, 5:00. T1

The Ladykillers. 1955. Great Britain. Directed by Alexander Mackendrick. Screenplay by William Rose. With Alec Guinness, Cecil Parker, Peter Sellers. Mackendrick’s classic black heist comedy, which marked a high point for Ealing Studios. 90 min.
Thursday, September 8, 8:00; Monday, September 12, 6:00. T1

Sweet Smell of Success. 1957. USA. Directed by Alexander Mackendrick. Screenplay by Clifford Odets, Ernest Lehman. With Burt Lancaster, Tony Curtis, Marty Milner. A scathing and amazingly contemporary portrait of media smarminess with a stunningly directed script, brilliant performances, and gorgeous black-and-white cinematography by James Wong Howe. U.S. version. 88 min.
Friday, September 9, 6:30 (introduced by James Mangold). T2; Thursday, September 29, 8:00 (introduced by Hilary Mackendrick). T1

Sammy Going South (A Boy Ten Feet Tall). 1963. Great Britain. Directed by Alexander Mackendrick. Screenplay by Denis Cannan. With Edward G. Robinson, Fergus McClelland, Constance Cummings. A charming picaresque saga about an orphaned ten-year-old trekking across Africa on his own. 118 min.
Friday, September 9, 8:30. T2; Monday, September 12, 8:00. T1

A High Wind in Jamaica. 1965. Great Britain. Directed by Alexander Mackendrick. Screenplay by Stanley Mann, Ronald Harwood, Denis Cannan, based on the novel by Richard Hughes. With Anthony Quinn, James Coburn, Dennis Price. Swashbuckling pirate-captain Quinn kidnaps a boatload of children and lives long enough to regret it. 104 min.
Saturday, September 10, 6:00; Monday, September 19, 6:00. T1

Don’t Make Waves. 1967. USA. Directed by Alexander Mackendrick. Screenplay by Ira Wallach, George Kirgo, Maurice Richlin, based on Wallach’s novel Muscle Beach. With Tony Curtis, Claudia Cardinale, Sharon Tate. A satirical look at southern Californian surfer culture, and a West Coast counterweight to Sweet Smell of Success. 97 min.
Saturday, September 10, 8:15; Monday, September 19, 8:15. T1

Alexander Mackendrick: Auteur and Academic. A distinguished panel discusses the director’s contribution both as filmmaker and teacher of filmmaking. Participants to be announced. 120 min.
Friday, September 30, 8:00. T2

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