Collections/January 2023

Starring Joan Bennett

Born into a show-business family, Joan Bennett became one of Hollywood’s most versatile and endlessly watchable stars, collaborating with directors as legendary and varied as Fritz Lang, George Cukor, Jean Renoir, and Douglas Sirk. Starting out as a baby-faced blonde, she brought relaxed and charming sass to a pair of boisterous Raoul Walsh vehicles, including the irresistible waterfront romp Me and My Gal . In the late 1930s she darkened both her hair and her roles, soon embarking on a multifilm partnership with Lang and revealing deadly allure in a string of noir classics. Over the course of a career spanning half a century, she played working girls, femmes fatales, wives, and mothers, gracing all of her performances with dry wit, subtle intelligence, and a hint of mystery.

10 films — 1 on the Channel, 9 unavailable