Dressed to Kill. 1928. Directed by Irving Cummings

Film

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Held on Thu, Dec 26, 2019, 1:30 p.m.

MoMA, Floor T2/T1, Theater 2

The Roy and Niuta Titus Theater 2

Dressed to Kill. 1928. USA. Directed by Irving Cummings. Courtesy Photofest

Dressed to Kill. 1928. USA. Directed by Irving Cummings. Screenplay by Howard Estabrook. With Mary Astor, Edmund Lowe, Ben Bard. 35mm. Silent, with musical accompaniment. Approx. 73 min.

In Film Notes, Iris Barry and her assistant, Jay Leyda, include “A Short Table for a Study of the Gangster Film 1926–34,” containing a listing for the feature Dressed to Kill. The gangsters in this silent feature are so well dressed and concerned with their appearance that they change out of their swell hats and coats into work clothes when they get down to felonious business. Once they crack a safe, or flee from a robbery, they put on their finery again and drive off in a shiny car. The gang is suspicious of Jean, who falls for their leader, as she doesn’t seem like the kind of girl that would swoon for a hood.

This film accompanies Modern Matinees: Iris Barry’s History of Film.

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