A peerless comedienne during her short career, Lombard (1908-1942) is the subject of this Thursday night tribute. You could call her the pinup queen of the screwball era—swell looking, and smart with her mouth. In William Wellman’s 1937 Nothing Sacred, Lombard plays a Vermont maiden who poses as a victim of radium poisoning in order to score an all-expenses trip to New York. Fredric March is the reporter who smells something rotten (but falls for Lombard in the process, natch.) A delirious send-up of bandwagon piety, the film was scripted by that snappiest of Hollywood crank cases, Ben Hecht, and he never got a better, more committed distaff embodiment of his flair for highlighting hooey than Lombard, who throws herself into the role with daffy, tongue-tripping abandon. (NR) HAZEL DAWN-DUMPERT

Thursdays, 7:30 p.m. Starts: July 16. Continues through Aug. 13, 2009