Event Summary:

American Cinema Editors and The Metrograph shine a light on the legendary Hal Ashby’s first career in Hollywood – as an Oscar-winning film editor. We’ll be screening The Cincinnati Kid, one of Ashby’s many collaborations with director Norman Jewison. After the screening Wyatt Smith, ACE and Nick Dawson, author of Being Hal Ashby, will discuss the innovative art of Hal Ashby’s editing and how it prepared him to become the director he ultimately became. A sharply drawn character study set against the backdrop of Depression Era New Orleans, The Cincinnati Kid stars Steve McQueen as an up-and-coming five-card stud specialist looking to prove his mettle by taking on established poker maestro “The Man” (Edward G. Robinson). Ashby’s deft editing helps to make the card table scenes masterpieces of tension, and the central dueling duo are surrounded by a superb supporting cast that boasts Tuesday Weld, Rip Torn, Joan Blondell, and Karl Malden in its number.