MILDRED PIERCE, 1945, Co-presented with the Art Deco Society of Los Angeles: Los Angeles Restaurants of the ‘20s & ‘30s. June 16, 2012

Saturday, June 16 – 2:00 PM
Co-presented with the Art Deco Society of Los Angeles:
Los Angeles Restaurants of the ‘20s & ‘30s. Veronica Gelakoska, author of Images of Pig ‘n Whistle, part of the Arcadia Images in America series and Los Angeles Magazine columnist /preservationa and vintage culture expert, Chris Nichols will give an illustrated talk on the Pig ‘n Whistle, Melody Lane, Hody’s and other popular Los Angeles restaurants of the 1920s - ‘40s.
Followed by a screening of MILDRED PIERCE, featuring Joan Crawford as a divorced mother who must take a job as a waitress to support her demanding daughter’s desires. Eventually she becomes a successful Los Angeles restauranteur...and trouble ensues…
MILDRED PIERCE, 1945, Warner Bros., 111 min. Dir. Michael Curtiz. Joan Crawford gives her signature performance (an Oscar winner!) as James M. Cain's ultimate maternal martyr, in thrall to her own femme fatale daughter, Veda (a deliciously venal Ann Blyth). The twisted combination of high-strung soap opera and hard-edged pulp produced what may be the greatest Hollywood melodrama of all time. Slices of Mildred Pierce’s famous fruit pies will be for sale at this screening!