Reel meets real at Nevada State Museum screening Saturday

Reel life meets real life Saturday when “The Las Vegas Story” — and the Howard Hughes story — share the spotlight at the Nevada State Museum.

Produced by Hughes’ RKO Pictures, 1952’s “The Las Vegas Story” stars Victor Mature, Vincent Price — and Hughes protegee Jane Russell, who made her big-screen debut in the 1946 “The Outlaw,” which Hughes directed (with an assist from an uncredited Howard Hawks).

In his talk “Howard Hughes: The Name Above the Title,” guest scholar Brian Kralwill discuss movies produced and directed by the legendary onetime Las Vegan — and how “The Las Vegas Story” reflects Hughes’ strong anti-Communist stance during the McCarthy era.

A director, playwright and theater educator, Kral is a familiar face to Chautauqua audiences throughout Nevada thanks to presentations featuring everyone from Buffalo Bill to Yugoslavian dictator Tito. Previously at the Nevada State Museum, Kral led a presentation devoted to Edna Purviance, “Nevada’s First Star of the Silver Screen.”

Saturday’s program, which begins at 4 p.m., is presented in conjunction with the museum’s temporary exhibit, “Every Age is an Information Age: 150 Years of Communication in Nevada.”

The Nevada State Museum at 309 S. Valley View Blvd., adjacent to the Springs Preserve, and is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday through Monday. Adult admission is $9.95 and includes entrance to the Springs Preserve. For more information, contact sirvin@nevadaculture.org.