Date and Time
- Tuesday, Nov 4, 2025
Details
Special Features: 100th Anniversary | Introduction by film historian Farran Smith Nehme | Live musical accompaniment by Makia Matsumura
Greta Garbo’s favorite director, Clarence Brown, was not only a master of popular entertainment (THE RAINS CAME, NATIONAL VELVET) but also of nuanced, socially conscious dramas (INTRUDER IN THE DUST). SMOULDERING FIRES showcases his sensitivity and visual elegance in a story that feels strikingly modern. Stage legend Pauline Frederick delivers a powerful and layered performance as a wealthy, driven businesswoman whose life has been shaped by success — and loneliness. When she falls for a much younger man (Malcolm McGregor) working at her factory, the romance seems hopeful, until he meets her vivacious younger sister (Laura La Plante). With themes as relevant today as ever, echoing recent films like BABYGIRL (2024), SMOULDERING FIRES flips the May-December formula with the older woman not the confident pursuer but trapped by how aging is perceived differently for women than men. Far from depicting a simple love triangle, the film probes questions of gender, power, loyalty and age. The plot was later reworked as FEMALE (1933) with Ruth Chatterton (also screening in this festival). The film is newly restored by the Packard Humanities Institute.
