“There’s no place like home.” – Dorothy, The Wizard of Oz

The idea of what makes a house a home, and explorations of how and where Americans live, have powerfully informed many significant films over the years, in ways both subtly thought-provoking and farcically over-the-top. The National Building Museum is proud to partner with the American Film Institute (AFI) Silver Theatre and Cultural Center to present a film series associated with the Museum’s exhibition House & Home. "Reel Estate: The American Home on Film" presents a wide-ranging series of films focusing on the American home, from nostalgic classics like Gone With the Wind, to post-WWII suburban melodramas like No Down Payment, and to subversive comedies like Hal Ashby’s The Landlord.

The More the Merrier*
March 9, Saturday, 3:30 pm
Introduction by G. Martin Moeller, Jr., senior curator, National Building Museum, and author of the AIA Guide to the Architecture of Washington, DC, on the growth of DC during World War II.

When the bureaucratic buildup of WWII creates a housing shortage in Washington, DC, working girl Jean Arthur advertises for a female roommate. Unable to check into his hotel when he arrives in town, millionaire Charles Coburn charms (and flimflams) his way into Arthur's spacious apartment, where he's flummoxed by her regimented routines and rules and unimpressed by her wet blanket fiancé, Richard Gaines. So Coburn sublets half of his space to Joel McCrea, with matchmaking in mind. Director George Stevens works comic magic with the cramped quarters and stellar performances. Six Oscar nominations, including Arthur's lone nomination for Best Actress. DIR/PROD George Stevens; SCR Richard Flournoy, Lewis R. Foster, Frank Ross, Robert Russell. US, 1943, b&w, 104 min. NOT RATED

Ticket Information:
BUY TICKETS THROUGH AFI.com/Silver. $8.50 AFI and NBM members | $11.50 General Admission | $9 Seniors (65+), Students (with valid ID), and Military | $7 Children (12 and under).  Tickets may also be purchased at the box office (opens 30 minutes before the first show of the day).  Please note that tickets are not available for purchase through the National Building Museum.

The AFI Silver Theatre is located at 8633 Colesville Road in Silver Spring, Maryland, Silver Spring Metro, Red Line. 

Support for House & Home and related education programming is provided by The Home Depot Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, Hanley Wood, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, Andersen Corporate Foundation, The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, MASCO Corporation Foundation, and AARP, among others.