Women on the verge as ‘The Group’ turns 50

Rarely revived and not often remembered, 1966’s “The Group” was a big deal in its day, a prestige Hollywood picture directed by Sidney Lumet and featuring something that was as unusual then as it is now: a film that centered on the lives of women.

Taken from a bestselling novel by Mary McCarthy and inspired by the lives of friends she made at Vassar, “The Group” starred, among others, Candice Bergen, Joan Hackett, Elizabeth Hartman and Shirley Knight.

In honor of the film’s 50th anniversary, it will screen on Wednesday, Aug. 3 at 7 p.m. at the Laemmle Royal in West Los Angeles. Two of the film’s stars, Shirley Knight and Hal Holbrook, will appear in person for a post-screening Q&A moderated by critic Stephen Farber.