National Archives Presents Program and Screening of -On the Bowery-
Press Release · Tuesday, August 25, 2015
Washington, DC
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On Thursday, September 10, at 7 p.m., the National Archives presents a special screening of On the Bowery, a film that has been called a masterpiece of the American blend of documentary/fiction. The program is free and open to the public and will be held in the William G. McGowan Theater of the National Archives Building in Washington, DC. Attendees should use the Special Events entrance on Constitution Avenue at 7th Street, NW.
On the Bowery (1956; 65 minutes) chronicles three days in the drinking life of Ray Salyer, a part-time railroad worker adrift on New York’s skid row. When the film opened in 1956, it exploded onto the screen, burning away years of Hollywood artifice, jump-starting the postwar American independent film scene, and earning an Oscar nomination. Restored by the Cineteca di Bologna, On the Bowery is simultaneously an incredible document of a bygone era and a vivid and devastating portrait of addiction that resonates today just as it did when it was made. The screening will be introduced by Film Preservationist Dennis Doros.
The National Archives Museum is located on the National Mall on Constitution Avenue at 9th Street, NW. Metro accessible on Yellow or Green lines, Archives/Navy Memorial station. Museum hours are 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., daily. Free admission. Additional information on exhibits and programs at the National Archives Museum can be found online.
Related exhibit: Spirited Republic: Alcohol in American History
Lawrence F. O'Brien Gallery, through January 10, 2016
Who was the lady hooch hunter? What is a drunkometer? And why did some Americans campaign against the spirit ration? Find these answers and more in this fascinating collection of alcohol-related posters, films, patent drawings, petitions, photographs, and artifacts. Visit Spirited Republic and learn about American debates about alcohol and its place in society.
Spirited Republic is presented in part by the National Archives Foundation through the generous support of HISTORY® and the Lawrence F. O'Brien Family.
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For press information contact the National Archives Public Affairs staff at 202-357-5300.
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