Mired in copyright lawsuits, this film has not been seen in 90 years. But now, thanks to Crawford’s grandson, we can finally see this 4k restoration to die for. Starring Joan Crawford as a socialite who poisons her tyrannical ex-lover, it’s based on the 1931 novel of the same name by Marie Adelaide Belloc Lowndes. But that’s not all. That novel was one of many adaptations of the real-life historical murder trial of Madeleine Smith in 19th-century Scotland. (dir. Clarence Leon Brown, U.S., 1932, 84 min.)
“The return of Letty Lynton represents a rare convergence of film preservation and legal history, bringing back a culturally significant work long held in purgatory.” —Dallas Express
David Weir will host an introduction and a discussion at both screenings.
David Weir is a Professor Emeritus of Comparative Literature at the Cooper Union in New York City, where he taught literature, linguistics, and cinema. He has published books on Jean Vigo, James Joyce, William Blake, orientalism, anarchism, and decadence, as well as two books in the BFI Film Classics series, one on Ernst Lubitsch’s Trouble in Paradise and one on Luchino Visconti’s Il gattopardo (The Leopard).