AIR LAND SEA Hitchcock Film Series

Presented in conjunction with the exhibition AIR LAND SEA: A Lithographic Suite by William Crutchfield, the Norton Simon Museum screens three cinematic masterpieces by Alfred Hitchcock. The films selected, Lifeboat from 1944, Strangers on a Train from 1951 and North by Northwest from 1959, showcase the auteur’s unmatched skill at capturing tension and terror, whether in the air, on land or at sea. The three films screen on Fridays in October at 5:30 p.m. (except for Friday, October 11, when the Museum participates in Art Night Pasadena) and are free with Museum admission.

Lifeboat (1944), NR
Directed by Alfred Hitchcock
Friday, October 4, 5:30–7:10 p.m.
In this tense Hitchcock thriller based on a John Steinbeck novella, American and British civilians who have survived the sinking of their ship by a German submarine struggle to reach land in a crowded lifeboat. When they rescue a German officer (Walter Slezak) from the water, the group allows him to board, but his presence only increases the tensions on the boat. Soon treachery ensues, and the population of the vessel gradually decreases as conflicts come to a head.

Strangers on a Train (1951), PG
Directed by Alfred Hitchcock
Friday, October 18, 5:30–7:10 p.m.
Hitchcock’s classic suspense tale is widely considered one of the master’s best works. When two strangers—tennis star Guy Haines (Farley Granger), whose wife will not grant him a divorce, and wealthy but deranged Bruno Anthony (Robert Walker), who wants to be rid of his father—happen to meet on a train from Washington to New York, the conversation casually turns to a possibly perfect crime: what if each committed a murder for the other? There is nothing to connect the two men, no apparent motive for either killing. When the trip ends, Guy believes the conversation is hypothetical and that he will never see Bruno again. Then his wife is murdered . . . and Bruno returns for payback. Raymond Chandler co-wrote the screenplay of this film adaptation of the novel by Patricia Highsmith.

North by Northwest (1959), NR
Directed by Alfred Hitchcock
Friday, October 25, 5:30–7:45 p.m.
Cary Grant stars as an innocent man mistaken for a spy in one of Hitchcock’s greatest thrillers. While leaving New York’s Plaza Hotel, advertising executive Roger Thornhill (Grant) has the misfortune of standing just as the name “George Kaplan” is paged—starting a lethal case of mistaken identity and a nonstop game of cat and mouse as he is pursued across North America by espionage agents trying to kill him—and by police who suspect him of murder.

ADMISSION: All screenings are free with Museum admission. Admission is $15.00 for adults; $12.00 for seniors; and free for Museum members, students with I.D., and everyone age 18 and under. Admission on October 4^th is free from 5:00 – 8:00 p.m. as part of the Museum’s Free First Friday program. For more information, call (626) 449-6840 or visit www.nortonsimon.org.

WHERE: Norton Simon Museum | 411 West Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena; located on the corner of Colorado and Orange Grove Boulevards at the intersection of the 210 and 134 freeways |Parking at the Norton Simon Museum is free but limited. Public transportation or ridesharing is encouraged.