Event Film and Video Screenings Ceiling Zero (1936)

Date and Location

  • When: Friday, June 16, 2023

    9:00 pm - 10:30 pm EDT

  • Where: AFI Silver Theatre

    8633 Colesville Rd, Silver Spring, MD 20910

Part of Festival of Film and Sound

Request ADA accommodations five business days in advance at (202) 707-6362 or ADA@loc.gov.

Introduced by Jon Mirsalis.

This long-unavailable Howard Hawks drama stars James Cagney and Pat O’Brien in a tense story of air mail pilots in the struggling early years of commercial aviation. Less well known than Hawks’ later "Only Angels Have Wings" (1939), this film explores many of the same themes of professionalism, camaraderie and sacrifice. DIR Howard Hawks; B&W. 95 min. Not Rated. 35mm print from the Library of Congress.

Preceded by Caldonia (1945). Introduced by Maya Cade, founder of BlackFilm Archive. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame called Louis Jordan “the supreme ruler ofForties R&B” and this film captures the energy and enthusiasm of his live performances.DIR William Forest Crouch; CAST Louis Jordan and his Tympany Five. B&W. 18 min. Not Rated. Digital. Restored in 2022 by the Library of Congress.