Event Film and Video Screenings “Elevator to the Gallows” (1958)

Date and Location

  • When: Friday, February 28, 2025

    5:00 pm - 6:33 pm EST

  • Where: James Madison Building - Pickford Theater (LM302)

    101 Independence Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20540

Part of Concerts from the Library of Congress

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

In a late-night session on December 4, 1957, Miles Davis gathered his French quintet—featuring Barney Wilen on tenor sax, René Urtreger on piano, Pierre Michelot on bass, and Kenny Clarke on drums—to record a mostly improvised, modal score for Louis Malle’s debut film, “Ascenseur pour l'échafaud” (Elevator to the Gallows), released in 1958.  Jazz critic Phil Johnson described the score as “the loneliest trumpet sound you will ever hear, and the model for sad-score music ever since.”