The Sound of Bells and more

The Sound of Bells

1952. USA. Written and directed by Robert Altman. Produced by the Calvin Company. With Keith Painton. Two Christmas eves bookend this primer on car dealing and parable on kindness. 22 min.

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1968. USA. Directed by Robert Altman. Screenplay by Loring Mandel, based on the novel The Pilgrim Project, by Hank Searls. With James Caan, Robert Duvall, Joanna Moore, Barbara Baxley, Charles Aidman. Altman’s first Hollywood feature follows two astronauts vying to be the first American sent the moon, and charts the ripples in their family lives in the days leading up the mission, expedited due to Soviet advancements. Anticipating the first moon landing by a year, the crew conferred with NASA experts to replicate the Apollo capsule in the Warner Bros. sound stages—with estimable results for the time—and James Caan’s character takes his first steps on “the Moon” in the Mojave Desert. 101 min.