Gems From the ‘30s by Capra and Lubitsch

Director Frank Capra and writer Robert Riskin faced a formidable challenge in trying to follow up “It Happened One Night” (1934), the first film to sweep all the major Oscars, but they came through with another winner, “Broadway Bill” (1934), which opens a weeklong run Thursday at the NuWilshire after being out of circulation since Capra remade it as “Riding High” in 1950. Although it hasn’t the structure nor the inspiration that made “It Happened One Night” a classic, it’s a thoroughly delightful racetrack comedy-drama, steeped in authentic raffish atmosphere.

Capra would have liked to have had his “It Happened One Night” star Clark Gable as the son-in-law of a small-town tycoon who breaks away to race his beloved horse, Broadway Bill. As it turns out, Gable’s unavailability mattered not, for Warner Baxter is terrific in the role, and so is Myrna Loy as Baxter’s adoring sister-in-law. From the mature and usually formal Baxter, Capra drew a performance of exceptional warmth and charm. As for Loy, she’s ideally cast, gamely trying to hide her adoration for her older sister’s husband. “Broadway Bill” is a perfect example of why ‘30s movies hold up so well: unpretentiousness, breezy dialogue, smart decor and costumes, inimitable supporting players. For showtimes: (310) 394-8099.

Lubitsch’s Favorite: Speaking of the ‘30s, one of that decade’s greatest films, “Trouble in Paradise” (1932), screens Saturday at 8 p.m. at LACMA’s Bing Theater as part of “The Lubitsch Touch” series. The director’s favorite among his films sounds trifling: Glamorous Miriam Hopkins and debonair Herbert Marshall are a pair of thieves who meet in Venice and move on to Paris, where they attempt to fleece rich widow Kay Francis--only to have Marshall fall in love with his intended victim. From this slender premise, Lubitsch wrought the most exquisite comedy of manners and romance in which each of the characters eventually tries to outdo the others in gallantry. It’s the supremely assured sense of style and quality of civility that Lubitsch brings to the material and in turn elicits from his cast that makes “Trouble in Paradise” so poignant and irresistible. For full schedule: (213) 857-6010.

A Priest’s Progress: One of the most profoundly spiritual films ever made, Robert Bresson’s “Diary of a Country Priest” (1950) screens Thursday at 8 p.m. at Beyond Baroque, 681 Venice Blvd., Venice. With the utmost austerity, Bresson charts the excruciating progress toward saintliness by a sickly young priest (Claude Laydu), ill-suited to the grimly provincial parish to which he has been assigned. Information: (310) 822-3006.