President
The Syracuse Cinephile Society
SPRING 2025 SEASON SCHEDULE
Programs begin at 7:00 PM
NOTE: Some of our opening short subjects are announced in the listings, but others will be unannounced surprises!
3/24 LIBELED LADY (1936). Cast: William Powell, Myrna Loy, Jean Harlow, Spencer Tracy, Walter Connolly, Charley Grapewin, Cora Witherspoon. Director: Jack Conway. Our season begins with this classic comedy from MGM. A newspaper editor (Tracy) hatches a scheme to get a libel suit against his paper dropped…and he uses his fiancée (Harlow) and an ex-employee (Powell) to help him do it. Fast-moving laughs with terrific performances from all involved.
3/31 SPAWN OF THE NORTH (1938). Cast: George Raft, Henry Fonda, Dorothy Lamour, John Barrymore, Akim Tamiroff, Louise Platt, Lynne Overman. Director: Henry Hathaway. An exciting action-adventure tale of two fishermen (Raft and Fonda) in Alaska and the trouble they have with a tough band of fish pirates. This Paramount hit won an Academy Award for its excellent special effects.
4/7 THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING MAN (1957). Cast: Grant Williams, Randy Stuart, April Kent, Paul Langton, William Schallert, Raymond Bailey, Billy Curtis. Director: Jack Arnold. This outstanding sci-fi classic features great special effects in the well-written story of a man (Williams) who mysteriously grows smaller and smaller as he encounters normal household objects and animals that are suddenly gigantic threats to him!
4/14 MAN ON THE FLYING TRAPEZE (1935). Cast: W.C. Fields, Kathleen Howard, Mary Brian, Grady Sutton, Vera Lewis, Lucien Littlefield, Walter Brennan, Carlotta Monti. Directors: Clyde Bruckman, W.C. Fields. Despite its title, this great comedy has nothing to do with the circus, but it has Fields starring as a henpecked husband who must deal with unusual problems both at home and at work. Fields co-directed and co-wrote this Paramount favorite which is considered to be one of his best films.
PLUS Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy in a beautiful restoration of their 1932 Academy Award-winning comedy short THE MUSIC BOX.
4/21 MYSTERY DOUBLE FEATURE:
CHARLIE CHAN IN RIO (1941). Cast: Sidney Toler, Victor Jory, Mary Beth Hughes, Cobina Wright Jr., Victor Sen Yung, Kay Linaker, Harold Huber. Director: Harry Lachman. There’s been a double homicide in Brazil and Charlie joins the local police to solve the crimes. A fun mystery with an interesting group of suspects.
MURDER ON THE BLACKBOARD (1934). Cast: Edna May Oliver, James Gleason, Bruce Cabot, Edgar Kennedy, Gertrude Michael, Regis Toomey, Tully Marshall. Director: George Archainbaud. Schoolteacher and amateur detective Hildegarde Withers (Oliver) works with Inspector Oscar Piper (Gleason) in trying to solve the murder of a young female teacher in this skillful combination of mystery and humor.
4/28 ARTISTS AND MODELS (1955). In TECHNICOLOR. Cast: Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Shirley MacLaine, Dorothy Malone, Eva Gabor, Anita Ekberg, Eddie Mayehoff, Kathleen Freeman, George “Foghorn” Winslow. Director: Frank Tashlin. Colorful and very entertaining comedy about a struggling artist (Martin) who gets story ideas from the wild dreams of his roommate (Lewis) and ends up selling them to a publisher of superhero comic books. The whole thing seems harmless until some enemy foreign agents get involved! Great comedy, musical numbers and all-around fun with Dean and Jerry at the top of their game.
5/5 WINCHESTER ‘73 (1950). Cast: James Stewart, Shelley Winters, Dan Duryea, Stephen McNally, Charles Drake, Millard Mitchell, John McIntire, Will Geer, Jay C. Flippen, Rock Hudson, Tony Curtis. Director: Anthony Mann. Lin McAdam (Stewart) wins a prized Winchester rifle in a shooting competition. When the rifle is stolen McAdam goes on a relentless search for the rifle and the man who stole it. One of the finest Westerns of the 1950s that Stewart credited with reviving his film career and reinventing his persona. The exciting story and the excellent performances of Stewart and a top-notch cast make this a classic not to be missed.
5/12 A SLIGHT CASE OF MURDER (1938). Cast: Edward G. Robinson, Ruth Donnelly, Allen Jenkins, Jane Bryan, Edward Brophy, Willard Parker, Bobby Jordan, Margaret Hamilton, John Litel, George E. Stone. Director: Lloyd Bacon. Damon Runyon’s great gangster spoof with Robinson as a former bootlegger who goes straight and has a tough time of it. This Warner Brothers comedy is loaded with colorful and hilarious Runyon characters.
5/19 DANCING LADY (1933). Cast: Joan Crawford, Clark Gable, Franchot Tone, May Robson, Fred Astaire, Nelson Eddy, Robert Benchley, Ted Healy, the Three Stooges. Director: Robert Z. Leonard. A burlesque dancer (Crawford) decides to better herself by auditioning for the big Broadway musical of a tough director (Gable). She also gains the attention of a wealthy and sophisticated gentleman (Tone). This glossy show-biz hit from MGM has it all: Drama, comedy, romance and music, all delivered by a great cast.
5/26 NO SHOW (Memorial Day).
6/2 THE GHOST AND MRS. MUIR (1947). Cast: Gene Tierney, Rex Harrison, George Sanders, Edna Best, Vanessa Brown, Natalie Wood, Robert Coote. Director: Joseph L. Mankiewicz. A beautiful widow (Tierney) moves into an English cottage and meets its former resident: The ghost of a no-nonsense sea captain (Harrison). This charming romantic comedy-drama has been requested by many of our audience members and we’re pleased to be presenting this beloved favorite from 20th Century-Fox.
PLUS George O’Hanlon in the 1950 “Joe McDoakes” comedy short SO YOU WANT TO MOVE.
6/9 THE DAWN PATROL (1938). Cast: Errol Flynn, David Niven, Basil Rathbone, Donald Crisp, Melville Cooper, Barry Fitzgerald, Morton Lowry. Director: Edmund Goulding. The exciting action-adventure story of British WWI flying aces and the friendships and hardships they experience. Excellent performances from a superb cast highlight this Warner Brothers classic.
6/16 UNION STATION (1950). Cast: William Holden, Nancy Olson, Barry Fitzgerald, Jan Sterling, Allene Roberts, Lyle Bettger. Director: Rudoph Mat’e. This tough and gritty film noir-ish crime drama has a police detective (Holden) trying to track down the kidnapper of a blind heiress. There’s plenty of suspense and action to really keep things moving, much of it taking place in a busy and crowded train station!
PLUS MGM’s 1940 “Crime Does Not Pay” short BUYER BEWARE.
6/23 THE GANG’S ALL HERE (1943). In TECHNICOLOR. Cast: Alice Faye, Carmen Miranda, Phil Baker, Edward Everett Horton, Charlotte Greenwood, Eugene Pallette, James Ellison, Tony DeMarco, Sheila Ryan, Benny Goodman and his Orchestra. Director: Busby Berkeley. Our season finale is this wartime musical-comedy with eye-popping color and big (and sometimes bizarre) Berkeley-directed musical numbers. 20th Century-Fox really outdid itself with this one…It’s a wild and fun way to close out the season!
Please join us for dinner before the show.
It is suggested you arrive for dinner no later than 6:00 PM so you can complete your meal prior to showtime at 7:00 PM.
The Monday Night Series is brought to you by the Syracuse Cinephile Society
Located at the Spaghetti Warehouse Restaurant
689 North Clinton St., Syracuse, NY 13204
Programs begin at 7:00 PM
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