After her successful career in the silent and golden era of Hollywood, Polish stage and film star Pola Negri moved to San Antonio in 1957 where she lived the rest of her life.

When she died in 1987 at the age of 90, she left most of her estate to St. Mary’s University.

Best known for her roles as femme fatale, Negri played the character in the 1927 silent war drama. Imperial Hotel. In the film, she plays Anna Sedlak, a Russian maid who hides a trapped Austrian lieutenant (James Hall) in her hotel during WWI.

Before the screening of Imperial Hotel, Bernadette Hamilton-Brady, Associate Professor of Drama at St. Mary’s, will hold a conversation about Negri’s life and the impact of her career on Hollywood.

Hamilton-Brady began researching Negri in the late 90s, and in 2003 the teacher wrote and starred in a solo production called its polita.

A portrait of Negri from 1924 is currently on display at the San Antonio Museum of Art. The piece was painted by artist Tadé Styka and is part of the museum’s permanent collection.

This exhibition, “40 years, 40 stories” will run until January 2.

The screening will take place outdoors in the museum’s west courtyard, weather permitting.

Free, Friday, Oct. 22 at 7 p.m., San Antonio Museum of Art, 200 W. Jones Ave., (210) 978-8100, samuseum.org.

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