Sudden Fear
This program is presented by the UCLA Film & Television Archive. Part of the UCLA Film & Television Archive screening series A Place of Rage: Women and Anger on Screen. Learn more at cinema.ucla.edu.
She’s Beautiful When She’s Angry (1969)
This 1969 Newsreel company short captures a fiery feminist play performed at an abortion rally, in which a beauty contestant is “prepared” by family, school and industry for the roles demanded by a sexist society. Produced during Newsreel’s peak years (1968–1972), it exemplifies the collective’s urgent, unfiltered documentation of protest, liberation movements and grassroots organizing beyond the reach of mainstream media.
DCP, b&w, 17 min. Director: Newsreel Collective/Third World Newsreel.
Sudden Fear (1952)
A riveting Joan Crawford anchors this masterful blend of romance, suspense and noir. As playwright-turned-heiress Myra Hudson, Crawford turns in a tour-de-force performance, transforming from smitten newlywed to cunning survivor when she discovers her husband’s (Jack Palance) murderous plot. Shot on location in San Francisco, the film builds exquisite tension through shadowy visuals, razor-sharp plotting and Crawford’s electrifying emotional range — her face a shifting canvas of shock, hurt and resolve in this rediscovered classic of Hollywood’s Golden Age. The film received Academy Award nominations for Sheila O’Brien’s costume design, Charles Lang’s cinematography and the performances of both Crawford and Palance.
DCP, b&w, 110 min. Director: David Miller. Screenwriters: Lenore Coffee, Robert Smith. With: Joan Crawford, Jack Palance, Gloria Grahame.
The UCLA Film & Television Archive is a division of UCLA Library, and presents its public programs in the Billy Wilder Theater at the Hammer, among other venues. For more information about the Archive, visit cinema.ucla.edu.
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