Games

Dir. Curtis Harrington. 1967, 100 mins. 35mm. With Simone Signoret, James Caan, Katharine Ross, Don Stroud. After the critical success of his 1961 indie classic Night Tide, Curtis Harrington, a key figure of the west coast avant-garde, churned out two Corman quickies before completing his (short-lived) transition to Hollywood with this psychedelic occult thriller for Universal. In a kinky setup vaguely reminiscent of the following year’s better remembered Rosemary’s Baby, with which the film also shares the great cinematographer William Fraker and an artificially conjured Manhattan setting, Caan and Ross are a callow young couple whose facade of security and privilege begins to crack when a mysterious older woman (a wonderfully weird Signoret) comes knocking at their door. Delightfully macabre and deliciously colored, Games is one of Harrington’s most successful films and a hidden highlight of Caan’s early career.

Tickets: $15 / $11 senior and students / $9 youth (ages 3–17) / discounted for MoMI members ($7–$11). Order tickets. Please pick up tickets at the Museum’s admissions desk upon arrival. All seating is general admission. Review safety protocols before your visit.