The Real Mystery of the Maltese Falcon
February 6 at 5 p.m.
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Enjoy Lunch at the Lodge!
In partnership with the Institute, The Lodge on Gorham's Bluff is pleased to offer its popular Sunday Lunch each Sunday from 12 noon until 2:00 p.m., with seatings every 30 minutes. Enjoy a traditional Sunday afternoon meal while supporting Institute activities, whether there's an event that weekend or not. A portion of all Sunday Lunch proceeds goes to fund ArtsAccess, the Institute's arts-education outreach program designed to enrich and expand cultural opportunities in the tri-county area, especially for kids.
RESERVATIONS REQUIRED: So that we may serve you better, please make lunch reservations directly with The Lodge on Gorham's Bluff by calling (256) 451-VIEW (8439). Reservations require a credit card confirmation and are non-refundable when cancelled less than 72 hours prior to the lunch date and time. The Sunday Lunch Benefit is $24.95 per person plus tax.
The Real Mystery of the Maltese Falcon
An Evening with Samford University’s Dr. Chris Metress
Saturday, February 6 at 5 p.m.Note the new date!
Gorham’s Bluff Meeting House
It could be said that in The Maltese Falcon—both the classic 1941 film and the Dashiell Hammett detective novel it’s based on—the real mystery is Sam Spade. Played in the film by the inimitable Humphrey Bogart, Spade is a private eye in San Francisco who finds himself mixed up with three unscrupulous adventurers who compete to obtain a fabulous jewel-encrusted statuette of a falcon. But what are Spade’s real motives? Is he a hero? And, as the plot’s tangled web unweaves, are we to admire him in the end?
The Institute is excited to welcome back Dr. Chris Metress, Samford University literature and film studies professor, to reprise a program similar to the one he hosted in Gorham’s Bluff last year. We see Dr. Metress’s visits as our mini-version of a Renaissance Weekend, creating a space for any and all lifelong learners to gather and deeply consider a topic of broad cultural relevance. As with last year’s program on To Kill a Mockingbird, we’ll first view the film version, projected on a theater quality screen. Then, after a gourmet meal catered by the Lodge on Gorham’s Bluff, Dr. Metress will lead us in a thought-provoking discussion of the film, the book, and genre of “film noir” in general. Here’s Dr. Metress in his own words:
“In the novel, Hammett resists letting the reader make a clear decision about Spade—he gives us hints here and there about possible motives and reasons, but he won’t let us rest easy with those possibilities. One of Hammett’s most significant contributions to the detective genre is the mysterious and unknowable detective hero is as much a mystery as anything else in the novel. Thinking about the novel in conjunction with the film will allow us to see how John Huston (the film’s director) interprets Hammett’s novel and position’s Spade as a hero/anti-hero.”
Cost: $35 (dinner and movie snacks included)
Check back in late January for more news on Institute events in 2010!