FALL 2022 SEASON SCHEDULE   

Programs begin at 7:30 PM 

 

9/12   RUGGLES OF RED GAP (1935).  Cast:  Charles Laughton, Zasu Pitts, Charlie Ruggles, Mary Boland, Roland Young, Maude Eburne, Leila Hyams, Lucien Littlefield.  Director: Leo McCarey.  Our season opener tells the story of Ruggles, a very proper English butler (Laughton) who suddenly finds himself working for a wealthy American couple and must join them in the unfamiliar wild west.  An outstanding cast and top-notch performances are spotlighted in this hilarious and heartwarming comedy classic.  Oscar-nominated for Best Picture.

 

9/19   THE LAST GANGSTER (1937).  Cast: Edward G. Robinson, James Stewart, Lionel Stander, Rosa Stradner, John Carradine, Edward Brophy. Director: Edward Ludwig. Robinson’s in top form as a tough mob boss who is sent to prison for a long stretch.  When he’s released ten years later he finds that his world has changed and is now a very different place.  A well-done and most unusual gangster drama.   

 

9/26   THE COURT JESTER (1956).  In Technicolor.  Cast: Danny Kaye, Basil Rathbone, Glynis Johns, Angela Lansbury, Cecil Parker, Mildred Natwick.  Directors: Norman Panama, Melvin Frank.  A wild musical-comedy about a timid Court Jester (Kaye) who finds himself in the middle of intrigue, jousting matches, fencing duels and other dangerous medieval activities. A beautiful Technicolor restoration of one of Danny Kaye’s most popular films….A fun treat! 

 

10/3   MYSTERY DOUBLE FEATURE

             THE FALCON’S BROTHER (1942).  Cast: George Sanders, Tom Conway, Don Barclay, Jane Randolph, Amanda Varela, Edward Gargan. Director: Stanley Logan. Gaylord Lawrence, also known as the Falcon (George Sanders) brings in his brother Tom (real-life brother Tom Conway) to help prevent an assassination attempt by enemy agents.  The interesting and fast-moving entry that passed the “Falcon” role and series from Sanders to Conway.   

              HOLLYWOOD STORY  (1951).  Cast: Richard Conte, Julie Adams, Jim Backus, Fred Clark, Henry Hull, Richard Egan, Paul Cavanagh.  Director: William Castle.  A producer (Conte) buys a deserted movie studio and decides to film a documentary on the unsolved case of a famous silent film director who was mysteriously murdered years ago…but there are people who don’t want the film being made or the case reopened.  An excellent mystery with plenty of surprises.

 

10/10    WESTWARD THE WOMEN (1951).  Cast: Robert Taylor, Denise Darcel, John McIntire, Beverly Dennis, Julie Bishop, Hope Emerson.  Director: William Wellman. Fascinating story of a wagon train led by Taylor and carrying women headed for California to meet their mail-order husbands.  There are plenty of action-filled obstacles along the way in this lively, well-made western filled with interesting characters.

 

10/17    THE JUNGLE PRINCESS (1936).  Cast: Dorothy Lamour, Ray Milland, Lynne Overman, Akim Tamiroff, Molly Lamont, Mala.  Director: William Thiele.  An explorer in the Malaysian jungle (Milland) discovers a beautiful sarong-clad native girl (Lamour) living among wild animals.  The classic (and fun) film that made major stars of Lamour and Milland and introduced the hit song “Moonlight and Shadows”. 

               PLUS the musical-comedy Vitaphone short PAREE, PAREE (1934).  Bob Hope and Dorothy Stone star in this capsule version of the Broadway musical “Fifty Million Frenchmen”.  Hope sings two Cole Porter hits: “You Do Something to Me” and “You’ve Got That Thing”.  An interesting look at young Hope at the start of his movie career.    

 

10/24     “COMEDY TEAMS IN SOCIETY” NIGHT

                IN SOCIETY (1944).  Cast: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Marion Hutton, Kirby Grant, Arthur Treacher, Thomas Gomez, Thurston Hall.  Director: Jean Yarbrough.  Bud and Lou are inept plumbers who are mistakenly invited to a wealthy couple’s weekend party at their estate.  Great A&C routines and catchy songs in this fun feature.

                 PLUS two comedy shorts with classic comedians mingling with high society:  HOI POLLOI (1935) with the Three Stooges and ANOTHER FINE MESS (1930) with Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. 

 

10/31   HALLOWEEN DOUBLE FEATURE

            THE DEVIL COMMANDS  (1941).  Cast: Boris Karloff, Amanda Duff, Richard Fiske, Anne Revere, Kenneth MacDonald.  Director: Edward Dmytryk.  A lively chiller with Karloff as a scientist strangely obsessed with communicating with his deceased wife. 

            THE WOLF MAN  (1941).  Cast: Lon Chaney, Jr., Claude Rains, Ralph Bellamy, Warren William, Evelyn Ankers, Bela Lugosi, Maria Ouspenskaya, Patric Knowles.  Director: George Waggner.  Our screening offers a stunning restoration of this Universal horror classic, complete with a top-notch cast, outstanding musical score and terrific special effects.     

 

11/7    THEY WERE EXPENDABLE  (1945).  Cast: Robert Montgomery, John Wayne, Donna Reed, Ward Bond, Jack Holt, Marshall Thompson, Cameron Mitchell.  Director: John Ford.  Our Veterans Day program proudly presents Ford’s excellent drama, based on a true story of America’s PT boat squadron in the Philippines during WWII.  A moving film with interestingly developed characters.

 

 11/14   MOON OVER MIAMI  (1941).  In Technicolor.  Cast: Betty Grable, Don Ameche, Robert Cummings, Carole Landis, Charlotte Greenwood, Jack Haley.  20^th Century-Fox’s familiar (but still fun) story of three single women on vacation and hunting for wealthy husbands, this time as a lively Technicolor musical-comedy.  A great cast, good musical numbers and beautiful location footage of Florida.  One of Betty Grable’s most popular musicals. 

 

11/21    POSSESSED  (1947).  Cast: Joan Crawford, Van Heflin, Raymond Massey, Geraldine Brooks, Stanley Ridges.  Director: Curtis Bernhardt.  An emotionally unstable woman (Crawford) becomes obsessed with her former lover (Heflin) in this suspenseful story.  One of Joan Crawford’s best and most intense performances.

 

11/28    THE MIRACLE OF MORGAN’S CREEK  (1944).  Cast:  Betty Hutton, Eddie Bracken, William Demarest, Diana Lynn, Porter Hall and special guest stars Brian Donlevy and Akim Tamiroff (as McGinty and the Boss).  Director: Preston Sturges.  Sturges’ wild comedy classic about a young girl (Hutton) who attends a party, marries a soldier who she’s just met before he ships out with his troop, finds out she’s having his baby….and can’t remember the guy’s name!  Only Preston Sturges could make a movie like this and it’s a hilarious ride.  

 

12/5    COME TO THE STABLE  (1949).  Cast: Loretta Young, Celeste Holm, Hugh Marlowe, Elsa Lanchester, Dooley Wilson, Regis Toomey, Thomas Gomez, Mike Mazurki.  Director: Henry Koster.  Our season finale is this warm comedy-drama about two nuns (Young and Holm) who settle in New England and seek funding from the local residents to build a children’s hospital.  A wonderful film that’s both funny and moving, perfect for the holiday season.   

Please join us for dinner before the show, now with Cheesecake Factory desserts!  It is suggested you arrive for dinner no later than 6:15 PM so you can complete your meal prior to show time at 7:30 PM.