Two "I was wrongly imprisoned" films are our headliners tonight at Film Forum:

First, at 5:25pm, Warner Baxter, last seen as the maniacal director in 42nd Street, is The Prisoner of Shark Island, the "true" story of Dr. Mudd, who claimed that he had no idea that the broken leg he set belonged to none other than fugitive-from-justice John Wilkes Booth. Unconvinced, the tribunal sentences Dr. Mudd to life in prison, but he and his devoted wife (Gloria Stuart from Titanic) keep maintaining his innocence, even as he gets set to rot in some hell-hole of a prison. Directed by John Ford!

Then, at 7:15pm, sans Broadway score, Fredric March stars as Jean Valjean with Charles Laughton as his arch nemesis Javert in Les Miserables. Escaped con Valjean lives an exemplary life under an alias, but that Inspector Javert has vowed to hunt him down, no matter what. Sir Cedric Hardwicke (Seti in The 10 Commandments) sets the tone for forgiveness in a suppporting role, but will the lawman ever see it that way?

Please note that we're meeting at 5pm for a 5:25pm show--I know, horribly early, but that's the way Film Forum programmed it. We do what we can! If you can only make the second feature, let me know in your rsvp. And of course, no reason why you can't join us for Les Miserables and then stay on yourself to see the next show of Prisoner of Shark Island--my early call the next morning counts me out of that, sadly.

Admission: $11 + $1 meetup maintenance fee

Optional quick bite afterwards at one of the nearby restaurants for those interested!