The Road Back

press release: USA | 1936 | 35mm | 101 min.

Director: James Whale; Cast: John King, Richard Cromwell, Slim Summerville

Intended as a sequel to All Quiet on the Western Front, this story of disillusioned German World War I veterans returning to an altered, unsympathetic home front was infamously compromised prior to its release. Completed after Universal removed the Laemmles from power and Nazi ambassador Georg Gyssling threatened boycotts over the film’s “anti-German” content, the release cut downplayed the climactic courtroom drama and instead emphasized the comedic antics of Summerville. This restoration of James Whale’s original, more trenchant cut is an event eight decades in the making, made possible in this 35mm print by The Library of Congress in cooperation with NBCUniversal and The Film Foundation.

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.