WILD BOYS OF THE ROAD

(William Wellman) Instead of burdening their penniless families, Frankie Darro and pals decide to ride the rails, dodging train detectives in search of jobs and shelter. Plus Hearst newsreel coverage of FDR’s inauguration exactly 80 years ago today. Plus Hearst Metrotone News! Approx. 68 min. 35mm.
1:20, 4:30, 7:50

“A mesmerizing portrait of the Depression landscape… With its Hooverville warfare and righteous socialism, the film never forgets that its tough-talking protagonists are still children in way over their heads… Darro is a revelation of shame-faced sympathy beneath the proto-Cagney demeanor of the day.”
– Michael Atkinson

“Completely undated, well-paced, surprisingly well acted by the youthful players, and graced by photography that is both grimly realistic and strangely beautiful at the same time.”
– William K. Everson

“One of Wellman’s very best.”
– Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader

THIS DAY AND AGE

(Cecil B. DeMille) A fascist fantasy? Schoolboys find new ways to rid their town of rampant gangsterism, including grilling mobster Charles Bickford over a pit of rats. Approx. 86 min. 35mm.
2:50, 6:00

“A slice of De Mille dementia from 1933, with Cecil’s patented blend of Republican politics and sexual hysteria in a story about a neo fascist boys club out to clean up civic corruption.”
– Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader