Why Be Good? // White Woman

// Double Feature

Featuring archival interviews with such screen icons as Louise Brooks, Gloria Swanson, and Mary Pickford, Why Be Good? traces the evolution of screen sexuality and censorship in early Hollywood from 1900 to 1935.

It also examines the scandals (onscreen and off) that led to strict enforcement of the notorious Production Code starting in 1935. Narrated by actress Diane Lane, the film was executive produced by Hugh Hefner. (70 mins., video)

Filled with the sexual innuendo and surprising violence common to many of the more sensational “pre-Code” films, White Woman stars Carole Lombard as a lounge singer forced to marry a creepy rubber plantation owner, played by Charles Laughton, in an effort to escape her past. Set in tropical Malaysia, the film takes its title from the fact that Lombard is the only “white” woman most of the characters have seen for years. (68 mins., 35mm)

Second film begins at 8:30 PM.