'White Heat' Takes on NYC in 3/7 Screening

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' "Monday Nights with Oscar®" series will celebrate film noir with a screening of "White Heat" (1949) on Monday, March 7, at 7 p.m. at the Academy Theater at Lighthouse International in New York City. Academy Writers Branch member Richard LaGravenese ("The Fisher King," "Water for Elephants") will introduce the screening.

Directed by Raoul Walsh, "White Heat" marked the return of James Cagney to the gangster genre that made him a star. Cagney portrays Cody Jarrett, a mother-obsessed escaped convict and leader of a ruthless gang of thieves. While plotting the biggest heist of his life, Jarrett unwittingly befriends an undercover cop (Edmond O'Brien) and sets the stage for his own downfall. Virginia Moll rounds out the cast as the gangster's wife.

The screenplay by Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts features such memorable lines as "Made it, Ma! Top of the world!" and was based on a story by Virginia Kellogg, who garnered an Academy Award® nomination for Motion Picture Story. The print to be screened is from the Academy Film Archive.

Tickets for "White Heat" are $5 for the general public and $3 for Academy members and students with a valid ID. Tickets may be purchased online at www.oscars.org or by mail (a printable order form is available in the Events & Exhibitions section of the website). Tickets may also be purchased at the box office prior to the event (subject to availability). All seating is unreserved.

The Academy Theater is located at 111 East 59th Street (between Park and Lexington Avenues) in New York City. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. All seating is unreserved. For more information, visit www.oscars.org or call (212) 821-9251.