COME BACK TO THE FIVE AND DIME, JIMMY DEAN, JIMMY DEAN

We are kicking off this new monthly series with a Robert Altman's classic, recently restored by our friends at UCLA Film and Television Archive. The Disciples of James Dean are gathering at a dusty and run-down five-and-dime to relive old times, but shocking secrets will be revealed before the reunion is over. Mona (Sandy Dennis) claims that her son Jimmy is the child of the Rebel Without a Cause himself, sassy waitress Sissy (Cher, in her breakthrough role as a serious actress) has her own surprising truths to reveal - and what's the story with Joanne (Karen Black), a big-city stranger who seems to know a lot about these women, even though they've never met before? This deliriously dishy drama features a powerful ensemble case that includes Kathy Bates making one of her earliest big-screen appearances.

Scr. Ed Graczyk, based on his play; dir. Robert Altman. 109 min. Digital. (1982)

JOHNNY GUITAR 

Director Nicholas Ray upends any preconceived notions about gender roles of the old West, with a baroque adventure that climaxes with butch Joan Crawford and an even butcher Mercedes McCambridge facing off in one of the screen’s most unforgettable gunfights. Whether you read the film as a Freudian Western or a metaphor about McCarthy-era witch hunts and Red-baiting, JOHNNY GUITAR goes over the top and stays there for its entire running time. The extraordinary ensemble cast also includes Sterling Hayden, Ernest Borgnine, Ward Bond, Scott Brady and John Carradine — not to mention a theme song sung by Peggy Lee. (Fun fact: This is the movie that Carmen Maura’s character in WOMEN ON THE VERGE OF A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN is overdubbing into Spanish.) 

Scr. Philip Yordan, based on the novel by Roy Chanslor; dir. Nicholas Ray. 110 min (1954)

LITTLE DARLINGS 

In this epic summer-camp comedy, rich bitch Tatum O’Neal and streetwise Kristy McNichol make a bet to see who can lose their virginity first. O’Neal puts the make on counselor Armand Assante while McNichol works her wiles on Matt Dillon from the neighboring boys’ camp. (From their matching haircuts to their soft-butch demeanors, McNichol and Dillon are like a junior version of Lily Tomlin and John Travolta in MOMENT BY MOMENT.) One of the frankest films about adolescent female sexuality to ever make it out of the Hollywood studio system, LITTLE DARLINGS remains quotably hilarious and features early work by two future lesbian icons, McNichol and Cynthia Nixon (who co-stars as a teen hippie-chick). 

Scr. Kimi Peck and Dalene Young; dir. Ronald F. Maxwell. 96 min. (1980)