LACMA goes mid-century modern

Starting June 1, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art will show four movies from the 1950s that represent the modern lifestyle as it was conceptualized then. The screenings are combined with the California Design, 1930-1965: "Living in a Modern Way" exhibition that is also going on at the museum and will be ending this weekend.

All four movies are essential choices and to see them on the big screen will be a visual treat. The first one to screen June 1 is the 1957 Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn romantic comedy Desk Set, their penultimate screen pairing. Also screening tomorrow is the 1954 road trip comedy The Long, Long Trailer, directed by Vincent Minnelli and starring Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz as honeymooners who buy a huge modern trailer and drive it across the country. It's a real cinematic gem. Showing on Saturday is Jacques Tati's fabulously insightful and hilarious 1958 comedy My Uncle in its English language version. There are plenty of delightful sight gags in Tati's clash of futuristic pretension and good sense. Also showing on Saturday is one of the most iconic of '50s movies, Rebel Without a Cause, starring James Dean and directed by Nicholas Ray.