UCLA Film and Television Archives Nicholas
Ray and Gloria Grahame together on
set.
Mayra Marquez
Daily Bruin Contributor
An era characterized by suspicion and cynicism in film following
World War II is resurrected at the James Bridges Theater in two
concurrent film series sponsored by the UCLA Film and TV Archive.
These series feature some of the most striking achievements of
1950s actor Gloria Grahame and director Nicholas Ray, titled
“Bad and Beautiful” and “In a Lonely
Place,” respectively.
“We felt that these were two figures who deserved some
attention in today’s climate and we were happy to give them a
space where their work can be received by a new generation,”
said UCLA Film and Television programming associate Jesse
Zigelstein. “They were also married, so presenting their
films together was a unique opportunity to showcase their
remarkable work.”
In the 1950s, Ray and Grahame were not only making films
together but also raising eyebrows during their brief but
scandalous marriage. During this time, they worked together on
“In a Lonely Place” (1950), a film that captures the
real-life ebb and flow of their doomed marriage.
The Grahame series began with “In a Lonely Place” on
April 6 and will continue until April 21, while the Ray series,
also concluding the same day, will feature “Bitter
Victory” (1957) and the rare print “Run for
Cover” (1955).
Tomorrow night’s films will include the Grahame headliner,
“The Bad and the Beautiful” (1952) and “Sudden
Fear” (1952). “The Bad and the Beautiful” earned
Grahame an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in her
portrayal of a Southern belle married to a Hollywood
screenwriter.
“Gloria Grahame is a wonderful actress of that
period,” said Jonathan Kuntz, professor of the History of the
American Motion Picture. “She’s almost an iconic, film
noir heroine type and very much a bad girl. She starts out in
“˜It’s a Wonderful Life’ directed by Frank Capra,
playing a girl who ends up in some scenes of the film being a bad
girl and then she’s quite wonderful in many “˜50s films
playing a similar role.”
Perhaps Ray’s most recognizable work, “Rebel Without
a Cause” (1955), immortalized James Dean as a screen legend.
It will be shown tomorrow night following the 7 p.m. presentation
of “Bigger than Life.” Set in post-war America,
“Rebel Without a Cause” explored an area previously
untouched by Hollywood at the time ““ the troubled,
angst-ridden teenager.
“It was a pivotal film where Hollywood was trying to
capture the youth market as the mass audience that slipped away in
the ’50s,” Kuntz said. “They did a darn good job
of it with “˜Rebel,’ making a film about issues that
were of interest to young people ““ juvenile delinquency,
youth gangs and so on, but doing it in a very serious and
fascinating style.”
Unwilling to let these stars dim, their respective series bring
life back to these films by projecting them onto the big
screen.
“The films that the series covers are what we like to
think are their best films and a representative sample. They were
very prolific back in those days. Directors and especially actors,
if they were in demand, made a lot of films but we feel that these
two retrospectives encompass their finest achievements,”
Zigelstein said.