TAB HUNTER IN PERSON

In addition to the May 1 visit of Isabella Rossellini, considerable star wattage will be generated on Saturday, May 13, when actor and American screen icon Tab Hunter joins us to present a newly restored 35mm print of director Phil Karlson’s overlooked psychological Western, Gunman’s Walk (1958).

Gunman’s Walk is a personal favorite of Hunter’s films, and, post-screening, he will discuss his career, answer audience questions, and sign copies of his tell-all autobiography. The book, Tab Hunter Confidential, reveals Hunter’s secret life as a gay man within the Hollywood star system. Hunter’s considerable charm, blond hair, and athletic good looks made him one of the most popular leading men of the late 1950s and early 1960s.

His motion picture career spans more than five decades and covers such gems as Damn Yankees (1958) and John Waters’s Polyester (1981). His co-stars include Natalie Wood, Robert Mitchum, John Wayne, Sophia Loren, and Gary Cooper, and he was directed by such legendary figures as Raoul Walsh, Stanley Donen, William Wellman, and Sidney Lumet. He is also a veteran of stage and television. In Gunman’s Walk, Hunter offers his most riveting performance as the violent and hotheaded Ed Hackett, the son of gunslinger-turned-land-baron Lee Hackett (Van Heflin). The elder Hackett encourages Ed’s disturbing behavior, while virtually ignoring his law-abiding younger son Davy (Hunter’s fellow teen idol James Darren). Inevitably, Ed goes one step too far, forcing Lee to make a devastating decision. Veteran director Karlson’s inventive use of CinemaScope is just one reason to discover this powerful drama on the Dryden’s big screen.

Tickets are $10, $8 members and students. Advance tickets are available at the Dryden box office, the Museum’s admissions desk, by Credit Card Online, or by calling (585) 271-3361 ext. 218. No Take-10 tickets or passes will be accepted for this event.

Programs/Events: http://www.eastmanhouse.org/inc/programs_events/film.php

Credit Card Online: http://shop-eastmanhouse.org/index.html#tickets

Buy Tab's Book: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1565124669/ref=ase_tabhuntercom-20/104-8778789-4247124?s=books&v=glance&n=283155&tagActionCode=tabhuntercom-20