Film Series, Summer 1999
The Mary Pickford Theater presented a film retrospective in conjunction with the Library of Congress exhibition The Work of Charles and Ray Eames: A Legacy of Invention, featuring twenty-six films they made covering such disparate topics as toy trains, jellyfish, Indian textiles, algebra, and Jeffersonian democracy. Throughout the series, Eameses' films were often thematically paired with feature films and television programs. Noted for their furniture designs—the "Eames chair" in particular—the Eameses were also brilliant and inventive filmmakers, able to illustrate the most abstract concepts with readily understood images. The Mary Pickford Theater is located on the third floor of the Library of Congress Madison building.
Tuesday, May 25 Eames: Science, Fact and Fiction
Twilight Zone: On Thursday We Leave for Home (CBS, 1963). Director: Buzz Kulik. Writer: Rod Serling. Camera: George Clemens. Cast: James Whitmore, James Broderick, Paul Langton, Tim O'Connor, Jo Helton. (60 minutes, sound, b&w, 16mm; LC Collection, courtesy CBS).
Preceded by:
- Copernicus (Eames Office, 1973). Directors/Writers: Charles and Ray Eames. (10 minutes, sound, color, videotape; LC Collection, courtesy Eames Office).
- Kepler's Laws (Eames Office, 1973). Directors/Writers: Charles and Ray Eames. (3 minutes, sound, color, videotape; LC Collection, courtesy Eames Office).
- The Lick Observatory (Eames Office, 1968). Directors/Writers: Charles and Ray Eames. (9 minutes, sound, color, 16mm; LC Collection, courtesy Eames Office).
- House of Science (Eames Office, 1962). Directors/Writers: Charles and Ray Eames. (13 minutes, sound, color, 16mm; LC Collection, courtesy Eames Office).
- Information Machine (Eames Office, 1957). Directors/Writers: Charles and Ray Eames. (10 minutes, sound, color, 16mm; LC Collection, courtesy Eames Office).
- Computer Perspective (Eames Office, 1972). Directors/Writers: Charles and Ray Eames. (10 minutes, sound, color, 16mm; LC Collection, courtesy Eames Office).
Thursday, May 27 Eames: Ocean Life
Son of a Shark (Gaumont, 1993). Director: Agnes Merlet. Writers: Agnes Merlet and Santiago Amigorena. Camera: Gerard Simon. Cast: Ludovic Vandendaele, Erick Da Silva, Sandrine Blancke, Maxime Leroux. (88 minutes, French with subtitles, color, 35mm; LC Collection, courtesy Gaumont).
Preceded by:
- National Fisheries Center and Aquarium (Eames Office, 1967). Directors/Writers: Charles and Ray Eames. (11 minutes, sound, color, videodisc; LC Collection, courtesy Eames Office).
- A Small Hydromedusan: Polyorchis Haplus (Eames Office, 1970). Directors/Writers: Charles and Ray Eames. (3 minutes, sound, color, video; LC Collection, courtesy Eames Office).
- The Black Ships (Eames Office, 1970). Directors/Writers: Charles and Ray Eames. (8 minutes, sound, color, videodisc; LC Collection, courtesy Eames Office).
Friday, May 28 (6:30 pm start time) Eames: Numerical Essays
Drowning by Numbers (Miramax, 1988). Director/Writer: Peter Greenaway. Camera: Sacha Vierny. Cast: Joan Plowright, Juliet Stevenson, Joely Richardson, Bernard Hill, Jason Edwards. (119 minutes, sound, color, 35mm; LC Collection, courtesy Miramax).
Preceded by:
- Scheutz (Eames Office, 1967). Directors/Writers: Charles and Ray Eames. (5 minutes, sound, color, 16mm; LC Collection, courtesy Eames Office).
- IBM Mathematica Peep Show (Eames Office, 1961). Directors/Writers: Charles and Ray Eames. (11 minutes, sound, color, 16mm; LC Collection, courtesy Eames Office).
- Exponents (Eames Office, 1973). Directors/Writers: Charles and Ray Eames. (3 minutes, sound, color, 16mm; LC Collection, courtesy Eames Office).
- Alpha (Eames Office, 1972). Directors/Writers: Charles and Ray Eames. (2 minutes, sound, color, 16mm; LC Collection, courtesy Eames Office).
Tuesday, June 8 Eames: An Eames Primer
Powers of Ten (Eames Office, 1978). Directors/Writers: Charles and Ray Eames. (9 minutes, sound, color, videodisc; LC Collection, courtesy Eames Office).
Preceded by:
- Eames Celebration: Several Worlds of Charles and Ray Eames (WNET, 1977). Director: Perry Adato. (90 minutes, sound, color, 16mm; LC Collection, courtesy WNET).
- 901: After 45 Years of Working (Eames Office, 1989). Director/Writer: Eames Demetrios. (28 minutes, sound, color, videodisc; LC Collection, courtesy Eames Office).
Friday, July 2 Eames: American Culture
Lost in America (Warner Bros., 1985). Director: Albert Brooks. Writers: Albert Brooks and Monica Johnson. Camera: Eric Saarinen. Cast: Albert Brooks, Julie Hagerty, Maggie Roswell, Garry K. Marshall. (91 minutes, sound, color, 35mm; LC Collection, courtesy Turner Entertainment).
Preceded by:
- The World of Franklin and Jefferson (Eames Office, 1976). Directors/Writers: Charles and Ray Eames. (29 minutes, sound, color, 16mm; LC Collection, courtesy Eames Office).
Thursday, July 8 Eames: An American Way of Life
American Madness (Columbia, 1932). Director: Frank Capra. Writer: Robert Riskin. Camera: Joseph Walker. Cast: Walter Huston, Pat O'Brien, Kay Johnson, Constance Cummings. (76 minutes, sound, b&w, 35mm; LC Collection, courtesy Columbia).
Preceded by:
- Goods (Eames Office, 1981). Directors/Writers: Charles and Ray Eames. (7 minutes, sound, color, video; LC Collection, courtesy Eames Office).
Thursday, July 15 Eames: Photography
Blowup (MGM, 1966). Director: Michelangelo Antonioni. Writers: Michelangelo Antonioni and Tonino Guerra, English dialogue by Edward Bond. Camera: Carlo di Palma. Cast: David Hemmings, Sarah Miles, Vanessa Redgrave. (110 minutes, sound, color, 35mm; LC Collection, courtesy MGM).
Preceded by:
- SX-70 (Eames Office, 1972). Directors/Writers: Charles and Ray Eames. (11 minutes, sound, color, video; LC Collection, courtesy Eames Office).
Friday, July 16 Eames: Trains
Closely Watched Trains (Filmove Studio Barrandov, 1966). Director/Writer: Jiri Menzel, from the novel by Bohumil Hrabal. Camera: Jaromir Sofr. Cast: Vaclav Neckar, Jitka Bendova, Vladimir Valenta. (92 minutes, Czech with subtitles, b&w, 35mm; LC Collection).
Preceded by:
- Tocatta for Toy Trains (Eames Office, 1957). Directors/Writers: Charles and Ray Eames. (14 minutes, sound, color, videodisc; LC Collection, courtesy Eames Office).
Friday, July 30 (6:30 pm start time) Eames: Fun and Games
Playtime (Specta Films, 1967). Director: Jacques Tati. Writers: Jacques Tati, Jacques Lagrange. English dialogue: Art Buchwald. Cast: Jacques Tati, Barbara Dennek. (119 minutes, sound, color, 16mm; LC Collection, courtesy Films Incorporated).
Preceded by:
- Kaleidoscope: Jazz Chair (Eames Office, 1960). Directors/Writers: Charles and Ray Eames. (7 minutes, sound, color, videodisc; LC Collection, courtesy Eames Office).
- Lucia Chase (Eames Office, 1978). Directors/Writers: Charles and Ray Eames. (3 minutes, sound, color, videodisc; LC Collection, courtesy Eames Office).
Tuesday, August 3 (6:30 pm start time) Eames: Toys
Babes in Toyland (Hal Roach, 1934). Directors: Charles Rogers and Gus Meins. Writers: Frank Butler and Nick Grinde, from the Victor Herbert operetta. Camera: Francis Corby and Art Lloyd. Cast: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Virginia Karns, Charlotte Henry. (69 minutes, sound, b&w, 16mm; LC Collection, courtesy Hal Roach).
Preceded by:
- Dupont Show of the Week: The Wonderful World of Toys (NBC, 1961). Directors: Richard Barstow and Roger Englander. Writer: George Foster. Cast: Harpo Marx, Carol Burnett, Edie Adams, Rube Goldberg, Milton Berle. Broadcast: November 12, 1961. (60 minutes, sound, b&w, video; LC Collection, courtesy NBC).
- Parade (Eames Office, 1952). Directors/Writers: Charles and Ray Eames. (6 minutes, sound, color, video; LC Collection, courtesy Eames Office).
- Tops (Eames Office, 1969). Directors/Writers: Charles and Ray Eames. (8 minutes, sound, color, videodisc; LC Collection, courtesy Eames Office).
Tuesday, August 10 Eames: Flight
Criminals of the Air (Columbia, 1939). Director: C.C. Coleman, Jr. Writer: Owen Francis, based on a story by Jack Cooper. Camera: George Meehan. Cast: Rosalind Keith, Charles Quigley, Rita Hayworth, John Gallaudet. (61 minutes, sound, b&w, 35mm; LC Collection, courtesy Columbia). new Motion Picture Preservation Lab print.
Preceded by:
- The Expanding Airport (Eames Office, 1958). Directors/Writers: Charles and Ray Eames. (10 minutes, sound, color, videotape; LC Collection, courtesy Eames Office).
- La Jetée (Argos Films, 1964). Director/Writer/Camera: Chris Marker. Cast: Helene Chatelain, Davos Hanich, Jacques Ledoux, Jean Negroni. (28 minutes, sound, b&w, 16mm; LC Collection, courtesy Argos Films).
Friday, August 13 Eames: Rock and Roll and Jazz
Jailhouse Rock (MGM, 1957). Director: Richard Thorpe. Writer: Guy Trosper, from a story by Ned Young. Camera: Robert Bronner. Songs: Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. Cast: Elvis Presley, Judy Tyler, Mickey Shaughnessy, Dean Jones. (96 minutes, sound, b&w, 35mm; LC Collection, courtesy MGM).
Preceded by:
- The Fiberglass Chairs (Eames Office, 1970). Directors/Writers: Charles and Ray Eames. Music: Buddy Collette. (9 minutes, sound, color, video; LC Collection, courtesy Eames Office).
Tuesday, August 24 Eames: India
Hallmark Hall of Fame: Shangri-La (NBC, 1960). Director: George Schaefer. Writers: Harry Warren, James Lawrence, and Robert Lee, based on the novel by James Hilton. Cast: Richard Basehart, Maria Pavan, Gene Nelson, Alice Ghostley, Helen Gallagher, Claude Rains. Broadcast: October 24, 1960. (90 minutes, sound, b&w, 16mm; LC Collection, courtesy NBC).
Preceded by:
- Textiles and Ornamental Arts of India (Eames Office, 1955). Directors/Writers: Charles and Ray Eames. (11 minutes, sound, color, 16mm; LC Collection, courtesy Eames Office).
Friday, August 27 Eames: Domestic Life
The Old Dark House (Universal, 1932). Director: James Whale. Writer: Benn Levy, from the novel Benighted by J.B. Priestley. Camera: Arthur Edelson. Cast: Raymond Massey, Melvyn Douglas, Gloria Stuart, Charles Laughton, Boris Karloff, Charles Thesiger. (71 minutes, sound, b&w, 35mm; LC Collection, courtesy Universal).
Preceded by:
- House (Eames Office, 1955). Directors/Writers: Charles and Ray Eames. (11 minutes, sound, color, videodisc; LC Collection, courtesy Eames Office).
