Screening Room: Hitchcock’s color films at the American Cinematheque

The American Cinematheque frequently pays homage to Alfred Hitchcock. For its latest retrospective, “Vivid Obsessions: Hitchcock’s Technicolor Films,” the Cinematheque has booked several of the director’s stars to discuss working with the master of suspense.

On Thursday, Karen Black and Bruce Dern are scheduled to chat about appearing in Hitchcock’s final feature, 1976’s “Family Plot,” following a screening of the film at the Aero Theatre. Afterward, the 1948 film “Rope,” starring James Stewart, will be shown.

FOR THE RECORD:
Hitchcock tribute: The Screening Room column in the Sept. 16 Calendar section about American Cinematheque’s tribute to Alfred Hitchcock said Tippi Hedren would appear Sunday in conjunction with the screening of “The Birds” and “Marnie.” She will not be in attendance. —

Eva Marie Saint will be on hand Friday for a screening of 1959’s exhilarating romantic mystery “North by Northwest,” in which she plays the mistress to James Mason’s villain who ultimately winds up in the arms of Cary Grant. Rounding out the evening is another fun Hitchcock-Grant collaboration, 1955’s “To Catch a Thief,” which also stars Grace Kelly.

Saturday offers two additional Hitchcock-Stewart collaborations: 1954’s “Rear Window,” also with Kelly, and 1956’s “The Man Who Knew Too Much,” with Doris Day (who trills the Oscar-winning tune “Whatever Will Be, Will Be (Que Será Será).” The tribute concludes Sunday with a Tippi Hedren double bill pairing 1963’s “The Birds” and 1964’s underrated “Marnie.” Hedren is set to appear.

Meanwhile, the Cinematheque’s Egyptian Theatre will fete maverick director John Carpenter with a three-day salute. On Friday, Carpenter will be on hand between screenings to discuss both 1981’s “Escape From New York,” starring Kurt Russell as the one-eyed Snake Plissken, and its 1996 sequel, “Escape From L.A.” Scheduled for Saturday is 1988’s “They Live,” starring wrestler Roddy Piper, and 1986’s “Big Trouble in Little China,” also with Russell. On tap for Sunday are “The Thing,” Carpenter’s visceral remake of the 1951 sci-fi classic “The Thing From Another World,” and 1978’s seminal horror film “ Halloween,” with Jamie Lee Curtis and Donald Pleasence.

Cecil B. DeMille never met an epic he didn’t like. On Wednesday the Egyptian screens his pre-Code delight, 1934’s “Cleopatra,” starring Claudette Colbert as the Queen of the Nile and the always wonderful Warren William as Julius Caesar. Leonard Maltin will lead a post-screening discussion with Scott Eyman, author of the new book “Empire of Dreams: The Epic Life of Cecil B. DeMille.” https://www.americancinematheque.com

Barbara Stanwyck earned her fourth and final lead actress Oscar nomination in 1948’s “Sorry, Wrong Number,” as a wealthy invalid who overhears a plot to murder her. Burt Lancaster plays her scheming husband. The Anatole Litvak-directed film screens Friday and Saturday at the New Beverly Cinema along with the rarely seen 1954 Stanwyck thriller “Witness to Murder,” with George Sanders and Gary Merrill. https://www.newbevcinema.com

The Alex Film Society presents its 11th edition of “Vaudeville Returns!” Sunday afternoon at Glendale’s historic Alex Theatre. The live acts performing on stage include Ian Whitcomb and His Bungalow Boys and the world’s greatest hula hoop champ, Mat Plendl. There also will be a plethora of vintage shorts, including Laurel & Hardy’s 1930 comedy “Hog Wild,” a 1930s “Our Gang” comedy, a Hearst Metrotone Newsreel and a vintage cartoon. There will also be a sing-along to the 1933 Fleischer cartoon “When Yuba Plays the Rhumba on the Tuba” with the Mills Brothers. https://www.alexfilmsociety.org

susan.king@latimes.com