Event Film and Video Screenings Out of the Past (1947)

Date and Location

  • When: Thursday, January 25, 2024

    7:30 pm - 10:00 pm EST

  • Where: National Audio-Visual Conservation Center - Packard Campus Theater

    19053 Mount Pony Road, Culpeper, VA 22701-7551

All Packard Campus screenings are free and seating is on a walk-in basis. Learn more about the Packard Campus Theater

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

This classic example of 1940s film noir features some of the genre's best dialog. Daniel Manwaring, under the pseudonym Geoffrey Homes, smartly adapted his novel "Build My Gallows High," and the stars Robert Mitchum and Jane Greer breathe life and larceny into his characters. Directed with supreme skill by Jacques Tourneur and brilliantly photographed by Nicholas Musuraca, this film introduced the famous Mitchum screen persona of sleepy-eyed cynic ready to toss out a line like "Baby, I don't care" with nonchalant sex appeal. Jane Greer is equally effective, a combination of erotic fire and cool detachment.

Black & White, 97 minutes. Added to the National Film Registry in 1991. Plus selected short subject.

Screenings are free and open to the public. Children 12 and under must be accompanied by an adult. Seating at the screenings is on a first-come, first-served basis unless otherwise noted. 

Patrons must go through an “airport style” security check, and no large parcels, purses or backpacks are permitted. Federal law (18 U.S.C. 930) prohibits the possession of any firearm or other dangerous weapons on this Federal facility. This includes in the parking lot, on all roads, trails, and grounds as well as inside the building. This also applies to off-duty law enforcement officers (LEO) and concealed-carry permit holders.

The Packard Campus is located at 19053 Mount Pony Road in Culpeper, Virginia. Access to the campus parking lot begins one hour before show time, entrance into the building begins 45 minutes before the show, and the theater opens for seating 30 minutes before the curtain. Please do not arrive early and queue at the Packard Campus gate.