Love Affair. 1939. USA. Directed by Leo McCarey

These notes accompany the screenings of Leo McCarey’s Love Affair on March 23, 24, and 25 in Theater 2.

Leo McCarey (1898–1969) was a key figure in 1930s Hollywood. We have previously shown two of his Laurel and Hardy shorts; Duck Soup (1933), with the Marx Brothers; and his melancholy meditation on old age, Make Way for Tomorrow (1937). Although we did not include it, The Awful Truth, from the same year, is one of the best screwball comedies, and he made several other noteworthy films during his best decade. Read more

Make Way for Tomorrow. 1937. USA. Directed by Leo McCarey

These notes accompany the screening of Leo McCarey’s Make Way for Tomorrow on December 29, 30, and 31 in Theater 3.

Leo McCarey (1898–1969) reached his creative peak in 1937, the year of The Awful Truth and Make Way for Tomorrow. He had already written and directed countless Hal Roach shorts, discovered the wacky chemistry between Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, and handled the likes of Eddie Cantor, Mae West, and the Marx Brothers. Make Way for Tomorrow is a film of devastating emotional impact and almost indescribable inner beauty. The great Japanese director, Yasujiro Ozu, gave McCarey credit for inspiring his own best film, Tokyo Monogatari (Tokyo Story), another masterpiece from 1953 about aging parents and insensitive families. Read more

Duck Soup. 1933. USA. Directed by Leo McCarey

These notes accompany the Leo McCarey screening program, October 6, 7, and 8 in Theater 3.

Leo McCarey (1898–1969) has long been one of the most unheralded major directors in film history. (I made my own small effort to resurrect his status in a 1973 Film Comment article.) At that time, I reminded readers of a quote from critic (and later screenwriter) Frank Nugent from 1939: “McCarey directs so well it is almost antisocial of him not to direct more often.” Unfortunately, McCarey remains all too obscure to this day. Read more