A House Divided

press release: USA | 1931 | 35mm | 70 min.

Director: William Wyler; Cast: Walter Huston, Douglass Montgomery, Helen Chandler

Huston is mesmerizing as a temperamental widower fisherman whose new young bride has fallen in love with his sensitive and dominated son. Perhaps Wyler’s first fully-realized film, this riveting, powerfully acted patriarchal drama features screenplay contributions from Huston’s real-life son, John, who was just beginning his own legendary Hollywood career.

Sunday Cinematheque at the Chazen: It’s a Universal Picture

This lineup of movies released by Universal Pictures from 1928-1936 shows how one of the smallest of the major studios, under the leadership of head honcho Carl Laemmle, Jr., held their own with a variety of fun and fast-paced features that delivered innovation in a number of genres: melodramas, comedies, thrillers, war stories, musicals and horror movies. Our series partly focuses on Universal’s top-flight, best-known directors like William Wyler, John Stahl and James Whale, but you will also have a chance to discover the expressive and riveting work of Edward L. Cahn, Paul Fejos, and others. As a bonus, many of the features will be preceded by animated preludes starring Universal’s top cartoon star of the day, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. Special Thanks to Dave Kehr, whose series of Universal discoveries curated for New York’s Museum of Modern Art and Bologna’s Il Cinema Ritrovato provided significant inspiration.

Admission free for all screenings, seating limited. No admission 15 minutes after scheduled start times.