MoMA Film Presents David Niven: A Centenary Tribute 4/17

David Niven (1910-1983) was an actor of such diverse talents and charm that he is often categorized using clichéd phrases like "urbane light comedian" or "leading man." These descriptions are indeed accurate, but one does not survive before the camera for a half-century on charm alone. The problem-if you can call it that-is that Niven made it all look too easy. Like Phileas Fogg in Around the World in 80 Days, he took everything in stride, unflappably and (seemingly) effortlessly playing his part, always prepared for whatever came his way. He was, after all, originally a military man by profession. He then chose to "bum" around America, eventually winding up in Hollywood. Just as his film career began to blossom, he was one of the first to answer Britain's call when World War II broke out, serving on active duty for the duration and rising to the rank of colonel. He even made two propaganda films during brief leaves, including The Way Ahead, which is included in this series. After making his return in Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger's masterpiece A Matter of Life and Death (Stairway to Heaven), he resumed a glorious career in film, theater, television, and writing with his typical debonair insouciance. This series aims to recapture some of the special glory that was David Niven.

Organized by Charles Silver, Curator, Department of Film. Special thanks to James Niven, The Film Foundation, George Eastman House, and the Library of Congress.

The Way Ahead. 1944. Great Britain. Directed by Carol Reed. With David Niven, James Donald, John Laurie, Peter Ustinov, Trevor Howard.
This stirring evocation of the British wartime ethos follows a disparate group of soldiers as they come together under Niven's gentle but firm command. This was Niven's second wartime propaganda assignment; his first, The First of the Few (Spitfire), was directed by Leslie Howard, who was shot down by a Nazi fighter plane later that same year. Reed's next film was to be The True Glory, the official Allied documentary on the re-conquest of Europe. 91 min. Monday, April, 12, 4:30; Saturday, April 17, 1:30

Separate Tables. 1958. USA. Directed by Delbert Mann. Screenplay by Terence Rattigan, John Gay, adapted from two of Gay's plays. With David Niven, Deborah Kerr, Burt Lancaster, Rita Hayworth, Wendy Hiller.
Set in a small-scale grand hotel, this story of a strange crew of unfulfilled people trying to find solace in one another occasionally betrays its theatrical origins. Yet when Mann-a Yale School of Drama graduate and specialist in adapting plays-keeps the focus on the performances of his all-star cast, his "uncinematic" vision becomes a virtue. Niven's very moving final scene helped to win him an Oscar for this, his fiftyfifth film. 108 min. Monday, April 12, 8:00; Thursday, April 15, 4:30

The Moon Is Blue. 1953. USA. Directed by Otto Preminger. Screenplay by F. Hugh Herbert, based on his play. With David Niven, William Holden, Maggie McNamara, Dawn Addams.
Preminger's controversial-and, ultimately, successful-efforts to chip away at the Hollywood censorship of the preceding two decades now seem rather quaint. At the time, Bosley Crowther's New York Times review referred to "a healthy but cautious interest in sex." Niven came away from the experience with a Golden Globe, a handy push for his career, and a hint at the title for his
future autobiography, The Moon's a Balloon. 99 min. Wednesday, April 14, 4:30; Sunday, April 18, 5:00

Dawn Patrol. 1938. USA. Directed by Edmund Goulding. With Errol Flynn, Basil Rathbone, David Niven, Donald Crisp, Barry Fitzgerald.
This remake of Howard Hawks's early sound masterpiece features Niven in a breakthrough role as
Flynn's World War I flying buddy. Goulding (Grand Hotel, Dark Victory), a good friend of Niven's, had campaigned strenuously on the actor's behalf, and Niven later said, "I owe more to him than to anyone else in the business." 103 min. Wednesday, April 14, 8:00; Monday, April 19, 4:00

The Silken Affair. 1956. Great Britain. Directed by Roy Kellino. With David Niven, Geneviève Page, Ronald Squire, Beatrice Straight, Wilfrid Hyde White.
This clever but slight satire about the effect of American technology on postwar British business practices was reviewed by Variety a week before their review of Around the World in 80 Days-proof that Niven was always a working actor. The film is included here as an example of his underappreciated comedic skills. 96 min. Friday, April 16, 4:00; Thursday, April 22, 7:00

Bonjour Tristesse. 1958. Great Britain. Directed by Otto Preminger. With David Niven, Deborah Kerr, Jean Seberg.
Preminger's adaptation of Françoise Sagan's novel is one of his best films, helped enormously by Niven and a radiant Kerr; the pair would soon be reunited in Separate Tables. Georges Périnal's Riviera photography is ravishing, as is the music of Georges Auric, who did the scores for all of Jean
Cocteau's films. 94 min. Friday, April 16, 8:00; Wednesday, April 21, 4:30

A Matter of Life and Death (Stairway to Heaven). 1946. Great Britain. Written and directed by Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger. Cinematography by Jack Cardiff. With David Niven, Kim Hunter, Marius Goring, Roger Livesey.
In Powell's favorite film, Niven plays a downed RAF pilot hovering (quite literally) between Heaven and Earth-and between black-and-white and Technicolor in the bargain. This was a breakthrough film for Powell, who remarked, "I felt I could do anything and get away with it.... For me from then on, there was no more realism in films, only surrealism." The design centerpiece of the film is Alfred Junge's spectacular stairway to Heaven. In 1983, when Niven lay dying in Switzerland, Powell sent him a cable reading, "Good luck on that stairway, chum." 104 min. Saturday, April 17, 4:00; Sunday, April 18, 5:45

Around the World in 80 Days. 1956. USA. Directed by Michael Anderson. Produced by Michael Todd. Music by Victor Young. With David Niven, Cantinflas, Shirley MacLaine, RoBert Newton, Buster Keaton.
Todd's super-production is easy to criticize now, but in its day, this adaptation of Jules Verne's novel seemed to restore to the movies a grandiosity and confidence that had appeared to be endangered by the advent of television. It can also be said to have led the way for Lawrence of Arabia, Dr. Zhivago, and even recent blockbusters like Titanic and Avatar. As the resolute hero Phileas Fogg, Niven is perfection itself. 167 min. Saturday, April 17, 7:00; Sunday, April 18, 2:30

Before Winter Comes. 1969. Great Britain. Directed by J. Lee Thompson. With David Niven, Topol, Anna Karina, John Hurt, Anthony Quayle. One of the aims of this series was to unearth a largely forgotten film or two in the Museum's collection. While Thompson's movie is not flawless-how
credible is a romance between Topol and the exquisite Karina?-it does deserve to be brought out of mothballs. Niven plays a British major who reluctantly takes command of a displaced-persons camp in post-WWII Austria. The peculiar circumstances bring out a complex, compassionate, and mature performance. 102 min. Monday, April 19, 8:00; Friday, April 23, 4:00

Tickets: $10 adults; $8 seniors, 65 years and over with I.D. $6 full-time students with current I.D. (For admittance to film programs only.) The price of a film ticket may be applied toward the price of a Museum admission ticket when a film ticket stub is presented at the Lobby Information Desk within 30 days of the date on the stub (does not apply during Target Free Friday Nights, 4:00-8:00 p.m.) Admission is free for Museum members and for Museum ticketholders. For more information visit http://www.moma.org/.