Sacramento Museum Hosts Light and Noir Traveling Movie Exhibit

From May 16 to Oct. 15, 2017, the California Museum, located in Sacramento, California, will host the traveling exhibit “Light and Noir: Exiles and Émigrés in Hollywood, 1933-1950”, which highlights the history of émigrés who fled Europe and Hitler and found work in the American film industry.

Casablanca (1942) is one of sixteen movies discussed in the exhibit, including posters, costume and concept drawings, scripts, musical scores, lobby cards, and props from the “Rick’s Café” set.

While the plot of Casablanca deals with Europeans escaping from Hitler for the freedom of the United States, many of the actors in the cast were also European refugees who had come to America under similar circumstances – including Peter Lorre, whose black market character Ugarte sells exit visas to the desperate.

The traveling exhibit is organized by the Skirball Cultural Center, in association with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Admission to the California Museum is $9 for adults 18 and over; $7.50 for students with identification and seniors age 65 and over; and $6.50 for youth between ages 6 and 17. Children 5 years and under are admitted free. Members of the Museum, North American Reciprocal Museum (NARM), and Time Traveler are also admitted free.

Museum members are also invited to kick off the exhibit with the “Light and Noir Premiere Party”, to be held on Wednesday, May 10, 2017, from 5:30 to 8 pm. Inspired by an evening at Rick’s Café Americain, festivities include live jazz, roulette and craps games, and complimentary refreshments. Attendees are encouraged to wear period attire from the 1930s and 1940s.

Interested in the party but not a California Museum member? Not a problem! Join by 5 pm on Friday, May 5, 2017, and receive an exclusive invitation to the event. More information about the premiere party is available on the museum’s website.

The California Museum is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 am to 5 pm, and Sunday from noon to 5 pm. The museum is closed on Monday. The museum is also closed on a number of federal holidays, including Independence Day, July 4.

More information about tickets and business hours is available on the museum’s website.

The California Museum is located at 1020 O Street, at the corner of 10th Street and O Street, in downtown Sacramento, California.

Parking is available in the public parking garage located at 1520 10th Street, directly across the street from the California Museum. The museum is also well-served by public transportation. Directions to the museum, as well as information about parking and public transportation, are available on the museum’s website.

For more information, please contact the California Museum at 916- 653-7524.