Freshwater Film Club screening, introduced by film historians Tony Dalton and Tim Nicholson

Programme starts with a special illustrated talk by Tim Nicholson on THE HOLLYWOOD STAR SYSTEM.

Dir: William Wyler
Cast: Bette Davis, Herbert Marshall, James Stephenson & Gale Sondergaard

The intriguing story of the wife (Davis) of a rubber plantation administrator (Marshall) shoots a man to death and claims it was self-defence. Her poise and seemingly natural stoicism fools everyone including her sympathetic husband, but her lawyer is sceptical and knows there’s more to the incident than meets the eye. It’s only when an incriminating letter surfaces that the truth begins to be revealed.

Davis gives one of her great portrayals as the devious Leslie Crosbie in this dark and poisonous melodrama, based on the novel by W. Somerset Maugham.

There is a film noir quality to the visual style of the photography – lots of shadows, moonlight and slatted blinds – but it is the boredom of life in colonial Malaya that director Wyler bring to the fore in the storyline.

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All the screenings start at 7.00pm (doors open at 6.30pm) and membership for the season is £21.00 (or £3.00 per film on the door).