Bowers Explores History Via Documentaries

“We just don’t think there’s any question that cinema is the art of our modern culture,” says Brian Langston, a spokesman for the Bowers Museum of Cultural Art in Santa Ana. “We couldn’t think of not being involved in film to augment our programs.”

Though known as a showcase of more traditional paintings, sculpture and crafts, the Bowers has stepped up its commitment in recent years to offering films as part of its admission, Langston explains.

The recent Italian film series--which featured Vittorio De Sica’s “The Bicycle Thief” and Federico Fellini’s “La Strada,” among others--is a good example. An ongoing series of documentaries, which continues tonight with “The ‘20s: From Illusion to Disillusion,” is another.

This 80-minute film uses newsreel and other archival footage to describe the world during the 1920s. Covered are the stock market crash of 1929, the emergence of Charles Lindbergh and Ernest Hemingway, and the rise of Hitler and Mussolini.

On Sept. 29, three short films (each about 15 minutes long) arrive. The first looks at the life of filmmaker D. W. Griffith, who created “The Birth of a Nation” and is generally considered the greatest silent-movie director. The others examine the careers of magician Harry Houdini and showman P. T. Barnum.

“The films (like the one devoted to D. W. Griffith) are valuable, we think, as a way to introduce our patrons to the important people in cinema,” Langston says. “Maybe from there, they’ll go on to learn more and see more” of their work.

The series takes a traveling approach Oct. 6, when it takes a look at Florence, a hub of the Italian Renaissance. “Florence, Portrait of a City,” at 55 minutes, describes the city that was so influential as a cultural center, figuring prominently in the development of Michelangelo and other artists.

On Oct. 13, KOCE Channel 50’s production “Visions of California: The Story of California Scene Painting 1925-1950” will be shown in conjunction with Bowers’ ongoing “California, the Golden Years” exhibition of plein-air paintings.

It’s back to the early days of movies Oct. 27 with “Gangsters, Daredevils and Earthquakes,” a group of four little-known shorts made in the ‘20s with (as the name pretty much implies) outlaws, daredevil stunts and natural disasters as the themes.

W. C. Fields is the subject Nov. 3. The “W. C. Fields Festival,” a 68-minute biography, features snippets from some of his better-known movies, including “My Little Chickadee” and “David Copperfield.”

Another star, albeit a pint-sized one, is featured Nov. 10. “Classic Shirley Temple” presents a series of shorts she made during the early ‘40s, including “Managed Money” and “Merrily Yours.”

The full-length silent film “The Mark of Zorro” will screen Nov. 17. The 1925 movie starring Douglas Fairbanks will be accompanied by Robert Israel on piano.

One of Fairbanks’ contemporaries, Mary Pickford, will be spotlighted Dec. 8. Five shorts, all about 10 minutes long, will screen, including “In Old Madrid” and “Sweet Memories,” both from 1911.

The last offering of the year, on Dec. 15, is a series of newsreels from the ‘20s, documenting several events, including the play of the New York Giants, the speeches of Mussolini and the discovery of Pompeii.

What: “The ‘20s: From Illusion to Disillusion.”

When: Today, Sept. 22, at 7:30 p.m.

Where: The Bowers Museum of Cultural Art, 2002 N. Main St., Santa Ana.

Whereabouts: Take the Santa Ana (5) Freeway to 17th Street and head west to Main Street, then head north.

Wherewithal: $4.50 for adults, $3 for seniors and $1.50 for children 12 and under. Museum admission includes the series.

Where to call: (714) 567-3600.