Beat Film Series Comes to the HRC

Starting tonight, the Harry Ransom Center, The Austin Film Society, The Austin Chronicle and, err, Austinist (so many "Austins"!), will be presenting a weekly series of rare and rarely screened films from the era of Ginsberg, Kerouac and Burroughs. All told, there'll be 16 films jammed into four nights at the Alamo Downtown, where you unfortunately won't be able to smoke, but will definitely be able to wear a beret and not work.

On this inaugural night, you'll be treated to five hep flicks from the fifties, including Frank Paine's 1956 short Motion Picture, Robert Frank and Alfred Leslie's 1959 stage-play-turned-film Pull My Daisy, Ed Bland's 1958 jazz freakout Cry of Jazz (featuring Sun Ra!), Shirley Clarke's experimental 1958 short Bridges-Go-Round, and Stan Brakhage's 1958 fever dream Anticipation of the Night.

And, of course, this is all part of the Ransom Center's "On the Road with the Beats" exhibition, featuring items from the travels of Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, William S. Burroughs and co., as well as several badass lectures and readings. The exhibition runs through Aug. 3, and you can read more about it here.

Oh hey--don't forget to buy tickets for the screening tonight. Roughly the cost of a single bongo tuning.