The Shameless Old Lady

Program Theater

The Shameless Old Lady
La Vielle dame indigne
Dir. René Allio, 1964, 94 min
In French with English subtitles

With

La Chinoise**
The Chinese
Dir. Jean-Luc Godard, 1967, 96 min
In French with English subtitles

**La Chinoise will be screened at 8:15pm and is sold separately. Follow this link to purchase your tickets.

Contrary to what one might conclude based on how few plays Godard adapted as films, he was deeply interested in the theater and had numerous unrealized theatrical projects over his career. René Allio, whom Godard interviewed for Cahiers, ventured into filmmaking from theater, and his first feature La Vieille dame indigne (The Shameless Old Lady) is a beautifully observed, gently subversive adaptation of a Brecht short story, featuring Sylvie (real name Louise Pauline Mainguené) as a widow determined to enjoy her remaining years to the full. Godard’s wide-ranging exploration of theater in the 1960s culminated in La Chinoise (1967), a film that exemplifies his desire in this period to combine and blend theatrical and cinematic forms. ‘One should make theater in the cinema’, as he put it, ‘mix things up’.

TICKETS

Member Price: (with L'Alliance Pass*)
4PM Screening: Free
6:15PM Screening: $5

Friends of Cinema Member Price: $5 (with L'Alliance Pass*)

Guest of a Member: $8 (Limit one guest per member)

Non Member Price: $16

Under 28 Price: $8

*The new L'Alliance Pass will be emailed to all current L'Alliance New York Members and Friends of Cinema members who have attended at least one cinema event in 2026. When reserving your ticket, first click "use member code" and enter your L'Alliance Pass number to reveal your free or discounted ticket, add your ticket to the cart and check out. Members will receive the L'Alliance Pass by the end of August. Use the 'Contact event organizer' link below to request your pass or if you have not received your pass in August.

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• All sales are final. No refunds. No exchanges.
• Tickets will be emailed to you. You can print your ticket with QR code and present it to the usher for scanning. You may also present your ticket from your phone. Please unblock images so that you can see the QR code before printing. 
• Minor children must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian at all times.