AT THE MAXIMUM OF HIS VILLAINY

The Kansas City Public Library examines the career of Edward G. Robinson in a film series called At the Maximum of His Villainy. Schedule: Woman in the Window (1944) on October 5. This Fritz Lang masterpiece helped define film noir as a genre. Robinson stars as a psychology professor whose attraction to a young woman (Joan Bennett) leads to murder and blackmail, a familiar plot executed with style and precision. Not Rated. (99 min.) Double Indemnity (1944) on October 12. Robinson plays against type as an insurance claims investigator who suspects a salesman (Fred MacMurray) of orchestrating a murder with a big payoff. Also starring Barbara Stanwyck in this sterling example of film noir at its best. Not Rated. (107 min.) The Stranger (1946) on October 19. This drama follows Robinson in the role of a UN War Crimes investigator in pursuit of an infamous Nazi fugitive (Orson Welles) hiding in Connecticut. Not Rated. (95 min.) Key Largo (1948) on October 26. John Huston directs Robinson as Johnny Rocco, a malicious and aging gangster whose men take control of an island hotel. Humphrey Bogart stars as a former GI who is finally goaded into action. With Lauren Bacall and Claire Trevor, who earned an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. Not Rated. (100 min.).

Mondays, 6:30 p.m. Starts: Oct. 5. Continues through Oct. 26, 2009