Screening Room: Films tied to the Ring Festival and ‘The 39 Steps’ on stage
With Los Angeles in the grips of Ring Festival LA fever launched by the L.A. Opera’s presentation of Richard Wagner’s “Der Ring des Nibelungen,” the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the Goethe Institut are presenting Fritz Lang’s two-part 1924 silent masterpiece, “Die Nibelungen,” Friday and Saturday at LACMA’s Bing Theater.
Paul Richter, Gertrud Arnold and Rudolf Klein-Rogge star in one of the seminal films from the German silent era. The film features a newly recorded version of the original score by Gottfried Huppertz and conducted by Berndt Heller. https://www.lacma.org
With the hit theatrical version of “The 39 Steps” currently at the Ahmanson, the American Cinematheque’s Aero Theatre is presenting Alfred Hitchcock’s 1935 classic version Friday as part of its “Monochrome Mind-Bogglers: Alfred Hitchcock’s Black & White Films.” Screening with “Steps” is Hitch’s equally delightful 1938 thriller “The Lady Vanishes.” On tap for Saturday is his final black-and-white feature, 1960’s masterwork, “Psycho,” plus his 1945 psychological thriller, “Spellbound,” with Ingrid Bergman and Gregory Peck. Sunday’s offerings are the 1942 chiller “Shadow of a Doubt,” starring Teresa Wright and the marvelous Joseph Cotton as her serial killer uncle, and 1950’s rarely screened British thriller, “Stage Fright” with Jane Wyman, Richard Todd and Marlene Dietrich.
The festival continues Wednesday with 1951’s riveting thriller, “Strangers on a Train,” starring Farley Granger and a perfectly cast Robert Walker, and 1944’s “Lifeboat.”
The Aero will be holding a raffle for free tickets to the play “39 Steps” at each program. https://www.aerotheatre.com
“Glee” creator Ryan Murphy and executive producer Dante Di Loreto are scheduled to introduce a screening of the 1968 musical “Funny Girl,” for which Barbra Streisand won the lead actress Oscar in her debut as the legendary Fanny Brice — the star-making role she created on Broadway. Omar Sharif also stars in this delight directed by William Wyler. https://www.egyptiantheatre.com
The Los Angeles Jewish Film Festival kicks off six days of programming Saturday night at the Writers Guild Theatre in Beverly Hills with the L.A. premiere of “A Matter of Size” (Sipur Gadol). https://www.lajfilmfest.org
The seemingly ageless 95-year-old actor-director Norman Lloyd will discuss his illustrious career and his friendships with Charlie Chaplin, Orson Welles, Alfred Hitchcock and Jean Renoir on Wednesday at the Hollywood Heritage Museum at the Lasky-DeMille Barn in Hollywood. Also screening is the documentary “Who Is Norman Lloyd?” https://www.hollywoodheritage.org
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