FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 16 - WRITERS/DIRECTORS 4 Films 8:00 p.m. (ET)/5:00 p.m. (PT) LOVE IN THE AFTERNOON (1957) Only in the romantic city of Paris could an unlikely couple like Gary Cooper and Audrey Hepburn find Love in the Afternoon(1957). Hepburn plays Ariane Chavasse, an inquisitive girl of eighteen who longs to be a wise, mature woman. Her father, Claude Chavasse (Maurice Chevalier) is a detective who specializes in adultery cases and often brings home a dayÕs work filled with juicy anecdotes and scandalous tales. Upon overhearing her fatherÕs conversation with a client who threatens to murder his wifeÕs lover, Ariane decides to take matters into her own hands and goes to warn the playboy, Frank Flannagan (Gary Cooper). Armed with little more than the information in her fatherÕs files, Ariane sets out to seduce the wealthy American playboy. Despite the age difference (a real 28 years between them), CooperÕs middle-aged bachelor is no match for the charming allure of Hepburn. Co-written and directed by Billy Wilder, Love in the Afternoon was filmed on location in Paris, showing off such sites as the Paris Opera House and the Chateau de Vitry. Like Sabrina(1954), a previous Wilder film also starring Audrey Hepburn, this May-December affair dealt with a younger womanÕs affection for an older man. Yet, despite the potentially disturbing age differences between the two characters, Love in the Afternoon managed to escape scathing comments from moralists due to WilderÕs subtle handling of the subject matter. For instance, Ariane was always fully clothed and never seen in a compromising situation with Flannagan. Only the occasional removal of her gloves and Flannagan bestowing kisses on her hand and arm hinted that the couple was involved romantically. When the film was released in Europe, the ending was altered slightly, leaving the relationship between Ariane and Flannagan unresolved. The U.S. version, however, concludes with a promise of commitment between the two lovers. For Love in the Afternoon, production designer Alexandre Trauner made use of Paris as a backdrop, weaving the city into the sets and creating a world that manages to be not only realistic but romantic. Wilder and Trauner would collaborate on six more films after Love In The Afternoon. Among their successful collaborations were One, Two, Three (1961), Irma la Douce (1963) and The Apartment (1960) for which Trauner was awarded the Oscar¨ for Best Black and White Art/Set Direction. TraunerÕs influence on the movies wasnÕt limited to design. He has a cameo role as an artist in Love in the Afternoon and can also be seen in the 1989 drama, Reunion, where he plays the caretaker of an estate. Director/Producer: Billy Wilder Screenplay: Billy Wilder, I.A.L. Diamond, (based on the novel Ariane by Claude Anet) Cinematography: William Mellor Editor: Leonide Azar Art Direction: Alexander Trauner Music: Franz Waxman Cast: Gary Cooper (Frank Flannagan), Audrey Hepburn (Ariane Chavasse), Maurice Chevalier (Claude Chavasse), Van Doude (Michel), John McGiver (M. X), Lise Bourdin (Mme. X). BW-130m. By Kerryn Sherrod & Stephanie Thames 10:30 p.m. (ET)/7:30 p.m. (PT) THE MALTESE FALCON (1941) Dashiell HammettÕs 1930 novel The Maltese Falcon had already been made into a movie twice before its most well known version was created in 1941 and became an American cinema classic. The Maltese Falcon (1941) was John HustonÕs directorial debut, and it made quite an impression on audiences and critics alike. George Raft, a Warner Bros. contract player, was the studioÕs first choice to play detective Sam Spade, but he turned down the opportunity because he felt that it was not an important picture. Humphrey Bogart, who had been on suspension for refusing to appear in Bad Men of Missouri (1941), was drafted into the role instead. Geraldine Fitzgerald was first choice to play Brigid, the role that ended up being immortalized by Mary Astor. John Huston cast his father, Walter, in an uncredited cameo as the man who staggers into SpadeÕs office with the infamous statue, then dies. John had some fun making his father do the scene over and over again, and that same night Mary Astor called Walter pretending to be JohnÕs secretary. She said that John would need him to re-shoot his scene because something had happened to the film in the lab. Walter screamed, "You tell my son to get another actor or go to hell!" as Mary held out the receiver for everyone to hear. Jokes such as this were commonplace on the set. The cast and crew had the feeling they were shooting something exciting and tried to deter any unwanted visitors from coming to the set. The publicity people once brought a group of priests to the set. Before shooting began, Astor looked down at her legs and said, "Hold it a minute, IÕve got a g**damn run in my stocking" while the publicity man quickly ushered the priests off the set. From that moment on, jokes like that became a way for the cast and crew to amuse themselves and keep unwanted people off the set at the same time. The people involved in The Maltese Falcon were so efficient that they often finished shooting for the day early and went to lunch at the nearby Lakeside Golf Club. On one of these days, Huston (who made detailed plans and sketches for each shot, much like Hitchcock later did) had set aside an entire day to shoot one elaborate moving camera sequence. The sequence lasted about seven minutes, and they nailed it perfectly in one take; the rest of the day was spent at the golf club. It was because of days like this that production finished two days ahead of schedule and $54,000 under budget. Today, many film scholars refer to The Maltese Falcon as the first official film noir. To Huston's credit, he did not change one line of dialogue, and he only dropped one short scene when he realized he could substitute a phone call instead. BogartÕs role in this film elevated him to cult status, and Ingrid Bergman studied him as Sam Spade to judge how to interact with him in Casablanca two years later. Mary Astor would hyperventilate before shooting for her scenes began in order to achieve that breathless quality she retained throughout the film, the look of a liar. Peter Lorre, as usual, turned in an excellent performance as Joel Cairo. And Sydney Greenstreet earned a Best Supporting Actor nomination for his first ever film role, as Casper Gutman. Greenstreet was extremely nervous just before shooting his first scene. "Mary dear, hold my hand, tell me I wonÕt make an ass of meself!" he begged Astor before he began his long monologue telling the history of the statue. Obviously, his fears were unfounded and the entire cast was perfection; critical acclaim and Oscar¨ nominations followed Ð Best Picture, Best Screenplay, and GreenstreetÕs nomination solidified the opinion that the film was indeed a great one. To this day, it is considered one of the quintessential detective thrillers and has attracted a loyal cult following. Director: John Huston Producer: Hal B. Wallis Screenplay: John Huston, based on the novel by Dashiell Hammett Cinematography: Arthur Edeson Editing: Thomas Richards Art Direction: Robert Haas Music: Adolph Deutsch Cast: Humphrey Bogart (Sam Spade), Mary Astor (Brigid OÕShaughnessy), Peter Lorre (Joel Cairo), Sydney Greenstreet (Casper Gutman), Barton MacLane (Detective Lieutenant Dundy) BW-101m. Closed captioning. Descriptive Video. By Sarah Heiman 12:15 a.m. (ET)/9:15 p.m. (PT) IN COLD BLOOD (1967) On November 15, 1959 at 2 a.m. in the morning, two ex-convicts, Perry Smith and Dick Hickock, broke into the Holcomb, Kansas home of Herbert Clutter hoping to find $10,000 in his safe. They had foolishly believed a story about his wealth from one of his former employees and now they knew the truth Ð there was no safe. But instead of leaving, the criminals roused the family of four from their beds, bound and gagged them, and then brutally murdered them before fleeing to Mexico with a pathetic $43 between them. Novelist Truman Capote happened to catch a news item about the murders in the paper and upon investigating further decided it would make a great subject for a book. When his "non-fiction" novel Ð In Cold Blood Ð appeared in 1966, it became a publishing sensation and made Capote both a wealthy man and an international celebrity. It was inevitable that Hollywood would make a movie of the book, but critics and audiences alike were quite unprepared for the film version that writer/director Richard Brooks delivered. While Capote maintained a cold objectivity in his book, Brooks opted for a starkly realistic approach to the material. In his version, the audience often views the world through the perspective of the killers. While this approach was criticized by fans of the book that said the film humanized the murderers while turning the innocent victims into one-dimensional caricatures, it was undeniably effective in dramatic terms, especially in the final execution sequence. In a New York Times article by William Cotter Murray, Brooks was quoted as saying, "I see the movie as a kind of Greek tragedy, American style. Everyone knows the ending. It's the treatment that matters. I'm not interested in Alfred Hitchcock stuff...I'm interested in the social aspect of this drama...If I thought this movie didn't have relevance to a general social problem, I wouldn't be making it....This isn't a tragedy of Fate. It's the tragedy of a house. Two houses. The poor farmer shack Hickock came from, and the Clutter's $40,000 farmhouse." Brooks' attention to detail was practically obsessive on the set of In Cold Blood. He did extensive research at the Menninger Foundation in Topeka, Kansas on the subject of detecting and treating mentally ill and potentially homicidal prisoners. He insisted on and received permission to shoot on location in the actual Clutter home and in the actual courtroom where the murderers were convicted. Brooks even cast some of the Clutters' neighbors as extras, used seven of the original jurors for the courtroom scenes, brought Nancy Clutter's horse Babe out of retirement for a scene, and even hired the same hangman who had executed Smith and Hickock. And Brooks was no less meticulous in instructing his cast. For instance, he insisted that John Forsythe meet agent Al Dewey, the man he was portraying on film, in order to closely study his mannerisms and personality. Brooks also had his share of battles with the front office at Columbia Pictures who wanted him to shoot the film in color and even suggested Steve McQueen and Paul Newman for the roles of Dick and Perry. While Truman Capote approved the choice of Brooks as director over all other candidates, he was still not allowed to read the screenplay, which Brooks had written himself. The director bluntly told him, "Truman, I can't work that way. Either you trust me to make it or you don't." When Capote finally viewed the film, he made the following remarks in private, "The introduction of the reporter, who acted as a kind of Greek chorus, didn't make sense. There also wasn't enough on the Clutter family. The book was about six lives, not two, and it ruined it to concentrate so much on Perry and Dick. On the other hand, I thought that the actors who played the two boys were very well cast, acted well, and were directed well." Indeed, critics were especially impressed with the performances of Robert Blake (a former child actor who appeared in Our Gang comedies) as Perry and Scott Wilson as Dick. But both actors were ignored when the Academy Award¨ nominations for 1967 were announced. Instead In Cold Blood received Oscar¨ nominations for Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography (Conrad Hall), and Best Music Score (Quincy Jones). Director/Producer: Richard Brooks Screenplay: Richard Brooks, Truman Capote (novel) Cinematography: Conrad L. Hall Music: Quincy Jones Art Direction: Robert F. Boyle Principle Cast: Robert Blade (Perry Smith), Scott Wilson (Dick Hickock), John Forsythe (Alvin Dewey), Paul Stewart (Reporter Jenson), Gerald S. OÕLoughlin (Harold Nye), Jeff Corey (Mr. Hickock), John Gallaudet (Roy Church) BW-135m. Letterboxed. By Jeff Stafford 2:30 a.m. (ET)/11:30 p.m. (PT) M (1931) From its opening scene of a morbid children's game where a circle of small tykes sing about a murderous man in black chopping his victims to bits, the 1931 German classic M is a sinister tour through Germany's underbelly of haggard mothers, criminals, prostitutes and the child-murderer who terrorizes the streets of Berlin. Director Fritz Lang (who considered the film his personal favorite) collaborated on the screenplay for M with his wife Thea von Harbou who also co-scripted Lang's 1926 silent masterpiece Metropolis. Their plan was, in Lang's words, to depict "the ugliest, most utterly loathsome crime" imaginable, and the first script was about a person who sends anonymous letters. "But then we both decided that the most horrible crime was that of a child murderer," Lang later recalled. Because he had directed a few crime thrillers during the silent era (including Spies (1928) and Dr. Mabuse, The Gambler (1922), Lang had several contacts within the Berlin police department. Through friends in the homicide bureau, he was able to meet several actual murderers, but the greatest source of dark inspiration was a man who, at the time of production, had not yet been caught. An apparently indiscriminate sadist and killer of men, women and children in Dusseldorf, Peter Kurten was eventually captured and guillotined in July of 1931. Lang was frequently drawn to ideas of vengeance and justice, and never allowed the two to be reduced to simplistic terms (the 1936 lynch mob thriller Fury (1936) is a prime example). In M, the child murderer is pursued by the thieves and beggars of Berlin, who hope that his capture will reduce the number of arrests made within their own ranks by police. Once the killer falls into their hands, a kangaroo court is convened and Lang Ð in a rare cinematic move Ð allows the murderer to plead his case, thoroughly clouding the moral waters in this engaging, challenging thriller. Lang originally titled his film Murderer Among Us but the ascending Nazi party objected to that title as possibly critical of their new ranks. Both Lang, whose mother was Jewish, and the film's star, Peter Lorre, who was Jewish (and, ironically, Hitler's favorite actor) eventually fled Germany for America, making M a significant milestone between the German Expressionist cinema of the past and the Nazi-controlled cinema on the horizon. Taking a drastically different course, Theda von Harbou remained in Germany as a Nazi screenwriter and eventually divorced Lang. Peter Lorre was a complete unknown at the time M was made whose disarming, bizarre demeanor allowed him to play the role of the child murderer Franz Becker to perfection. Portraying the killer as a quiet, retiring creature whose gentle manner and appearance present a disarming facade to his inner demons, Lorre's portrayal of a serial killer was precedent-setting, paving the way for all of the "ordinary," killers-next-door who populate the modern criminal landscape. Lorre's portrayal of Becker was undoubtedly the most memorable of his career, though it doomed the actor to a lifetime of typecasting, forever consigned to playing heavies, perverts and psychopaths in films from The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934) to Mad Love (1935). Director: Fritz Lang Producer: Seymour Nebenzal Screenplay: Paul Falkenberg, Adolf Jansen, Fritz Lang, Karl Vash, Thea Von Harbou, Egon Jacobson (article) Cinematography: Fritz Arno Wagner Music: Edvard Greig Art Direction: Emil Hasler, Karl Vollbrecht Principle Cast: Peter Lorre (Hans Beckert), Gustaf Grundgens (Schraenker), Ellen Widmann (Madaem Becker), Inge Landgut (Elsie), Otto Wernicke (Inspector Karl Lohmann), Franz Stein (Minister) BW-111m. By Felicia Feaster