Film noir screening focuses on gender roles

The Red Shoes Film Series centers on women during the golden age of Hollywood such as Bette Davis. This month’s screening is the 1945 film-noir Mildred Pearce, starring Joan Crawford as the self- sacrificing single mother determined to do whatever it takes to please her daughter, including working her fingers to the bone to build a hugely successful restaurant chain and many other emotional sacrifices besides. Directed by Michael Curtiz, a Hungarian filmmaker whose most famous work is directing Casablanca. The film starts at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Red Shoes on Government Street. A lively discussion afterward focuses on gender, era and the current status of women in film and society, moderated by Laura Marks, an expert on feminist theory and film.