SPRING 2023 SEASON SCHEDULE

Programs begin at 7:00 PM   (New, earlier showtime!)

NOTE:  Some of our opening short subjects are announced in the listings, but others will be unannounced surprises!

 

3/20   TOPPER (1937).  Cast:  Cary Grant, Constance Bennett, Roland Young, Billie Burke, Eugene Pallette, Alan Mowbray, Arthur Lake, Hedda Hopper. Director: Norman Z. McLeod.  We begin the season with this classic comedy about a partying married couple (Grant and Bennett) who die and return as ghosts, determined to loosen up stuffy, uptight banker Cosmo Topper (Roland Young).  Plenty of laughs and special effects in this humorous favorite….and we’ll be screening an impressive restoration in its original black & white.

PLUS Thelma Todd and Patsy Kelly in their 1934 comedy short MAID IN HOLLYWOOD.

 

3/27   DESIRE (1936).  Cast: Marlene Dietrich, Gary Cooper, John Halliday, Akim Tamiroff, William Frawley, Alan Mowbray, Zeffie Tilbury.  Director: Frank Borzage, produced by Ernst Lubitsch.   A beautiful jewel thief (Dietrich) uses an unsuspecting tourist (Cooper) to hide some stolen pearls…and then must find a way to get them back!  A delightful and highly entertaining mix of comedy, drama and romance.

 

4/3   CONFLICT (1945).  Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Sydney Greenstreet, Alexis Smith, Rose Hobart, Charles Drake, Grant Mitchell.  Director: Curtis Bernhardt.  One of Bogart’s lesser-known (but still well-done) dramas casts him as an unhappily married man who plots to murder his wife (Hobart) so he can marry her younger sister (Smith).  There are some interesting twists and turns in this one!

 

4/10   GIRL CRAZY (1943).  Cast: Mickey Rooney, Judy Garland, June Allyson, Nancy Walker, Guy Kibbee, Gil Stratton, Rags Ragland, Tommy Dorsey and his Orchestra.  Director: Norman Taurog.  A young playboy (Rooney) is sent to a southwestern school and meets a young lady (Garland) who isn’t at all impressed with him.  Lively musical that’s loaded with great Gershwin hits like “I Got Rhythm”, “Embraceable You”, “But Not For Me”, “Bidin’ My Time” and others.  One of Mickey and Judy’s best!

 

4/17  MYSTERY DOUBLE FEATURE

DEAD MAN’S EYES (1944).  Cast: Lon Chaney Jr., Jean Parker, Thomas Gomez, Paul Kelly, Aquanetta.  Director: Reginald LeBorg.  An interesting entry in Universal’s “Inner Sanctum” series.  When a talented artist (Chaney) is suddenly blinded, his future father-in-law wills him his eyes upon the old man’s death.  This becomes a problem when the father-in-law is mysteriously murdered!  A suspect-filled “whodunit” that will really keep you guessing.

CHARLIE CHAN AT THE CIRCUS (1936).  Cast: Warner Oland, Keye Luke, George and Olive Brasno, Francis Ford, Shirley Deane, J. Carroll Naish.  Director: Harry Lachman.  When Charlie (Oland) takes his family (all twelve kids!) to the circus, he stumbles upon a baffling murder that must be solved. A popular entry in Fox’s classic Chan series.

 

4/24    ROAD TO MOROCCO (1942).  Cast: Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Dorothy Lamour, Anthony Quinn, Dona Drake.  Director: David Butler.  The third “Road” movie finds Hope and Crosby getting involved with a beautiful princess (Lamour), a dangerous sheik (Quinn) and all kinds of wild surprises.  This one’s great fun and brought the Paramount series to the next level of zaniness.

 

5/1     THE DESPERADOES (1943).  In Technicolor.  Cast: Randolph Scott, Glenn Ford, Claire Trevor, Evelyn Keyes, Edgar Buchanan, Guinn Williams, Raymond Walburn. Director: Charles Vidor.  Columbia’s first Technicolor feature is this entertaining Western with a top-notch cast.  A reformed outlaw (Ford) joins forces with the local sheriff (Scott) to clean up a crooked town.  There’s plenty of action, excitement and even some laughs in this rip-roaring crowd pleaser.

PLUS the Three Stooges in their 1943 comedy short PHONY EXPRESS.

 

5/8     COMEDY DOUBLE FEATURE

A VERY HONORABLE GUY (1934).  Cast: Joe E. Brown, Alice White, Alan Dinehart, Robert Barrat, Hobart Cavanaugh, Irene Franklin. Director: Lloyd Bacon.  This Damon Runyon story finds Joe as an inept gambler who enters into a bizarre agreement to pay off his large gambling debt.  When his luck changes for the better he tries to get out of the agreement but finds it’s not so easy.  A fast-moving Brown feature that really captures the spirit of Runyon settings and characters.

THE PUBLIC MENACE (1935).  Cast:  Jean Arthur, George Murphy, Douglass Dumbrille, George McKay, Robert Middlemass.  Director: Erle C. Kenton.  A manicurist (Arthur) loses her U.S. citizenship on a technicality and convinces a newspaper reporter (Murphy) to marry her so she isn’t deported.  A rare Columbia feature that combines comedy, drama, romance and even a crime story with gangsters…It’s a wild and fun mix!

 

5/15  SON OF FURY (THE STORY OF BENJAMIN BLAKE)  (1942).  Cast: Tyrone Power, Gene Tierney, George Sanders, Frances Farmer, Roddy McDowall, John Carradine, Elsa Lanchester, Harry Davenport, Dudley Digges.  Director: John Cromwell.  Based on the famous historical novel, this fine adventure drama features an engrossing story with excellent performances from an outstanding cast.  A highly recommended classic.

 

5/22  SALLY, IRENE AND MARY (1938).  Cast: Alice Faye, Tony Martin, Joan Davis, Fred Allen, Jimmy Durante, Marjorie Weaver, Gregory Ratoff, Louise Hovick (Gypsy Rose Lee), the Brian Sisters.  Director: William A. Seiter.  Three young ladies who are trying to make it big in show business (Faye, Davis and Weaver) struggle until one of them inherits a broken-down ferry boat which their manager (Allen) plans on turning into a floating night club.  There’s plenty of comedy and music in this star-filled treat from 20^th Century-Fox.

PLUS the comedy short OUR GANG FOLLIES OF 1936.

 

5/29   NO SHOW  (Memorial Day)

 

6/5     REAR WINDOW (1954).  In Technicolor.  Cast: James Stewart, Grace Kelly, Raymond Burr, Thelma Ritter, Wendell Corey.  Director: Alfred Hitchcock. You already know the plot of this Hitchcock classic:  A magazine photographer (Stewart) breaks his leg and is confined to his apartment where he begins spying on his neighbors who live across the courtyard.  The difference with our screening is that we’re presenting the recent Technicolor restoration that renews the movie’s visual brilliance (no more faded color!) and brings back the experience of seeing REAR WINDOW when it was first released in theaters…Don’t miss it!

 

6/12  CASTLE ON THE HUDSON  (1940). Cast: John Garfield, Ann Sheridan, Pat O’Brien, Burgess Meredith, Jerome Cowan, Guinn Williams, John Litel.  Director: Anatole Litvak.  One of Garfield’s early starring films casts him in a familiar role (a tough hood who is arrested and has to deal with prison life) but also shows his powerful screen presence and exceptional talent as an actor. A strong supporting cast joins him in making this the kind of hard-hitting drama that Warner Brothers was famous for.

PLUS MGM’s 1938 “Crime Does Not Pay” short COME ACROSS.

 

6/19  ZIEGFELD FOLLIES (1946).  In Technicolor. Cast: William Powell, Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, Red Skelton, Fanny Brice, Lena Horne, Victor Moore, Esther Williams, Judy Garland, Keenan Wynn, Lucille Ball, Virginia O’Brien, Kathryn Grayson and many others.  Various segment directors.  Our season finale is this big MGM all-star variety revue of musical numbers and comedy sketches, made even grander by a stunning new studio restoration with rich eye-popping Technicolor. It’s a wonderful way to end our Spring season in style!

 

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.