From restaurant specials to trite introductions of newspaper articles, the recession has already become the worse cliché of 2009. Popular classic theater Film Forum is the latest venue to capitalize on the recent economic downturn. The monthlong special “Breadlines & Champagne,”,which begins Friday, includes 50 films from the height of the 1930s depression era. The idea may sound cliché, but the films certainly are not.
Despite being studio system productions, the films are surprisingly subversive. They may contain somewhat predictable plots, classic character archetypes, and sometimes-forced happy endings, but their acknowledgement of the troubles of the time seem honest and rare.
Screwball comedies like My Man Godfrey (Feb. 14) and It Happened One Night (Feb. 22) may end with lovers coming together, but each film examines class differences at a pivotal moment in time. Godfrey’s opening shot sweeps down the Lower East Side of Manhattan, revealing bum after bum, one of which is William Powell. By the time Powell pushes social queen Carole Lombard into a pile of ashes, Godfrey establishes the scene as a class battle, a curious topic for a mainstream movie.
The same can be said for the series’ gangster films, like the original Scarface (Feb. 21) and Little Caesar (Feb. 25), which warn against obsessive capitalism. Paul Muni and Edward G. Robinson may rise to power through illegal means, but death is waiting just around the corner.
The films act as a paradox, glorifying the riches in which these men immerse themselves, while always ensuring that justice is served. In Scarface, Muni constantly stares at a billboard that tells him “The World is Yours,” only to fall into the dumps in a shoot-out right in front of it.
Although the series misses some classic films about problems in America, such as I Am a Fugitive From a Chain Gang, it includes instead some particularly troubling, rarely seen films. A double feature of Black Legion and Black Fury (Feb. 18) portrays crime as well as strikes as a proletariat dream, the former coming close to glorifying the Ku Klux Klan.
Also playing is Gabriel Over the Mountain (Feb. 16), a rare classic that demanded then-President Franklin Roosevelt take dictator-like powers to control the nation.
“Breadlines” seems to glorify the spectacle within the depression. King Kong (Feb. 28) is about men driven to the end of the Earth to keep a job, but it’s truly a monster movie. “We’re in the Money” from the musical Gold Diggers of 1933 (March 1) might be an ironic song about the Depression, but its iconic status has become reflected as quite the opposite.
What these iconic movies suggest, which is rare for films today, is that it is possible to use an economic crisis as a springboard for films to become classics. It would be as if James Bond were to give up his Aston Martin to cut MI6 costs, or if Bruce Wayne put Batman on hold because he missed a payment on his latest gadget.
Films as distractions are always nice, but at the “Breadlines” festival, audiences can have both ideas and entertainment to chew on.
“Breadlines and Champagne” Festival is playing at Film Forum Feb. 6 through March 5. Film Forum is located at 209 W Houston St. (between Varick Street and 6th Avenue). On opening night, all films cost $35.
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