Clark Art Presents Series of Alfred Hitchcock Films

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WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. —This March and April, the Clark Art Institute screens a series of films directed by Alfred Hitchcock, widely regarded as the master of suspense and one of cinema's most influential filmmakers.

A presentation and talkback with film scholar Will Schmenner, head of public programs, follows each screening.

 All film screenings are free and take place in the Manton Research Center auditorium on select Thursdays at 6 pm. Accessible seats available; for information, call 413 458 0570. For more details, visit events.clarkart.edu.

March 19

Rear Window (1954)

For this classic thriller, Hitchcock took a hard-boiled detective story by Cornell Woolrich and mixed it with a love story by screenwriter John Michael Hayes. The story concerns world-class photographer L.B. Jefferies (James Stewart), who has broken his leg. Confined to his wheelchair and bored out of his mind, Jeffries takes to spying on his neighbors. He begins to suspect, without any proof, that Mr. Thorwald (Raymond Burr) may have murdered his wife. Jefferies's point of view, limited to his camera lens and window, echoes the framing of the film itself, drawing the audience into his growing obsession. (Run time: 1 hour, 50 minutes)

March 26

North by Northwest (1959)
This story is a classic Hitchcock variation on the theme of the innocent man wrongly accused. Cary Grant transitions from standard issue advertising executive to accidental spy with the ease that only he possesses. Eva Marie Saint brings a seductive intelligence to their cat-and-mouse romance. Featuring perhaps the most iconic of Hitchcock's chase sequences—man versus crop-dusting biplane—this is not to be missed. (Run time: 2 hours, 16 minutes)

April 2

Vertigo (1958)

Scottie Ferguson (Jimmy Stewart), recently retired from the San Francisco police force, is approached by a college acquaintance to spy on his wife, Madeleine Elster (Kim Novack). His college friend is worried for his wife's mental health. Scottie finds himself hypnotically drawn to Madeleine; he, too, feels afflicted, suffering from vertigo caused by the trauma that forced him to retire. With Bernard Hermann's acclaimed score and imagery that invokes a dizzying vortex, Vertigo is Hitchcock's dark masterpiece. (Run time: 2 hours, 9 minutes)


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Williams College Lone Suitor for Development of Water Street Lot

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff

Williams College hopes to replace the current Facilities Services building on Latham Street and use that space for a new  athletics complex. 
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — If the town accepts an offer from Williams College, a 1.27-acre lot that long has been eyed as a possible venue for housing and economic development instead will find a use similar to its history.
 
The college was the lone respondent to the town's request for proposals to purchase and develop 59 Water St., a dirt lot known around town as the "old town garage site." This was first reported Wednesday by Greylock News. 
 
If successful, the college plans to use the former town garage property for the school's Facilities Services building. Or it could be turned back into a parking lot.
 
Williams' offer includes a $500,000 upfront payment and a 10-year agreement to make $50,000 annual donations to the Mount Greylock Regional School District according to the proposal unsealed on Wednesday afternoon.
 
If it closes the deal, the college said it will explore development of a three- to four-story Facilities Services building with "a structured parking facility providing approximately 170 spaces."
 
"[I]f site constraints impact our ability to develop both structured parking and the Facilities Services building, our backup proposal is to develop the parking structure with approximately 170 spaces, also with capacity to support institutional and public needs," the college's proposal reads.
 
The college's current Facilities property at 60 Latham St. has an assessed value — for the .42-acre lot only — of $113,000 and an annual property tax bill of $1,606, according to the town's website.
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