From Page To Screen: The Day of the Locust (1975)

Screening as part of the 2025 From Page To Screen film festival

Introduced by festival curator Andrew Chater

John Schlesinger’s adaptation of Nathanael West’s 1939 novel is a hallucinatory critique of the wide-eyed dreamers caught in the uncompromising gears of the Hollywood dream factory.

Tod Hackett (William Atherton) is an aspiring artist recently arriving in the world of dazzling 1930s Tinseltown who finds himself entangled in the lives of oddballs like wannabe starlet Faye (Karen Black) and tragic loner Homer Simpson (Donald Sutherland). With stunning, sun-bleached cinematography by Conrad Hall and haunting performances from an iconic cast, Schlesinger’s visionary adaptation is both grotesque and mesmerising, culminating in an utterly unhinged apocalyptic climax that is hard to watch but impossible to look away from. 

Dir. John Schlesinger, USA 1975, 144 mins. With Donald Sutherland, Karen Black, William Atherton, Burgess Meredith, Geraldine Page.

Certificate 18

For more information please visit  www.bridport-arts.com

Bridport Arts Centre

Wednesday 23 April at 2pm

Tickets: £6.50 (Under 25’s £6.00)

Festival Offer

All 11am and 2pm films for £34.50 (50% Discount)

Tickets available from Bridport Tourist Information Centre, Bridport Town Hall, South Street DT6 3LF. Tel: 01308 424901 or online HERE