| Movies with Holiday Spirit
Films in this series will also play at the Aero Theatre!
Join us for movies celebrating the festive holiday spirit of yuletide cheer,
braced with the romance, joy, pathos and giving mood of the season. Many of you will
remember these cinematic chestnuts from your childhood – every one of them has that
wonderful quality of making you feel good inside (even if the rest of the world is
collapsing!). Screening at the Egyptian, classics such as WHITE CHRISTMAS (with Bing
Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney and Vera Ellen), Frank Capra’s
IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE (with James Stewart), Norman Jewison’s
FIDDLER ON THE ROOF, Ernest Lubitsch’s THE SHOP AROUND THE CORNER (with James
Stewart), a brand new 35mm print of THE MAN WHO CAME TO DINNER (with Bette
Davis, Ann Sheridan and Monty Woolley) and HOLIDAY AFFAIR (with Janet
Leigh and Robert Mitchum). Some of the same films will screen at the Aero, plus
Bob Clark’s A CHRISTMAS STORY and Tim Burton’s THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE
CHRISTMAS. And keep an eye out for our free family matinee of SCROOGE at the
Egyptian!
Thursday, December 18 – 7:30 PM
FIDDLER ON THE ROOF, 1971, MGM Repertory, 181
min. Coming at the end of the great era of Hollywood musicals, director Norman
Jewison’s wonderful, elegiac FIDDLER ON THE ROOF added a note of somber realism
to the genre, along with such soul-inspiring numbers as "Tradition," :Sunrise,
Sunset" and "L’chaim (To Life)." Topol stars as the beleaguered
but still optimistic Russian milkman Tevye, trying to hold his Jewish family together in
the face of troubling changes in early 20th century Russia. Production designer Robert
Boyle (THE BIRDS, CAPE FEAR) conjures up a marvelous, earth-toned vision of life in the shtetls.
Based on Joseph Stein’s play, with music and lyrics by Jerry Bock and Sheldon
Harnick. Academy Award winner for Cinematography (Oswald Morris) and Score (John
Williams). [Also screens at the Aero
– 12/20] Trailer
Friday, December 19 – 7:30 PM
THE SHOP AROUND THE CORNER, 1940, Warner
Bros, 99 min. Dir. Ernst Lubitsch. Co-workers (James Stewart and Margaret
Sullavan) in a quaint Budapest shop clash in person but fall in love via anonymous
letters in this charming classic set at Christmas time. Under Lubitsch’s expert
direction, the film becomes both an intimate love story and a heartwarming ensemble
comedy, as multiple subplots following the lives of the lovers’ colleagues, including
cantankerous shopowner Frank Morgan and egotistical ladies man Joseph
Schildkraut, are deftly woven into the narrative. A deeply romantic masterpiece. Trailer
Saturday, December 20 – 2:00 PM
Family Matinee! Holiday Carolers & Juggling, Free Hot
Chocolate!
SCROOGE, 1970, CBS Films (Hollywood Classics), 113 min. Albert
Finney is the gleefully wicked miser Scrooge who spreads the "humbug" at
yuletide in this glorious musical adaptation by Leslie Bricusse of Dickens’ ode to
brotherhood and the terrible power of karma. When elderly Scrooge retires to bed,
resenting his employee Bob Cratchett for getting a holiday on Christmas, he’s
confronted by the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future – all showing him the
lonely consequences of the selfish path he’s taken. Director Ronald Neame was
a Dickens veteran, having produced David Lean’s GREAT EXPECTATIONS and OLIVER TWIST.
Here, he proved himself to be a wonderfully humorous and sympathetic filmmaker in his own
right. Co-starring Alec Guinness, Edith Evans and Kenneth More. Made possible with a grant from the Hollywood Chamber
of Commerce and its Foundation. Free Hot Chocolate, Holiday Carolers &
Juggling start at 1 PM. FREE ADMISSION!
Saturday, December 20 – 7:30 PM
Double Feature:
New 35mm Print! THE MAN WHO CAME TO DINNER, 1942, Warner
Bros., 112 min. Dir. William Keighley. Monty Woolley reprises his Broadway
role as an acid-tongued New York critic and radio commentator who breaks his leg after
slipping on ice in front of an upper-class Ohio family’s home. Forced to remain
immobile while he recuperates, he takes over the household during the holidays, bringing
in his secretary (Bette Davis) who promptly falls for a local newspaperman (Richard
Travis). When Woolley begins to realize he may lose his prized assistant, he calls in
sexy actress friend Ann Sheridan to put the moves on the object of Davis’
affection. With some poisonously funny dialogue and a sterling supporting cast, including Billie
Burke, Jimmy Durante, Reginald Gardiner and Mary Wickes. Woolley’s
character was based on real-life curmudgeonly New Yorker writer and bon vivant,
Alexander Woollcott. "***1/2…delightful adaptation of George S. Kaufman-Moss
Hart play." – Leonard Maltin Trailer
HOLIDAY AFFAIR, 1949, Warner Bros., 89 min. Dir. Don
Hartman. A beautiful shopper (Janet Leigh) from a rival department store
inadvertently gets soft-hearted sales clerk Robert Mitchum fired. When the two end
up on a date right before Christmas, Leigh’s smarmy boyfriend (Wendell Corey)
gets suspicious. But Leigh’s young son is delighted because he doesn’t want
Corey as his stepdad. A charming little holiday chestnut, whose fanbase continues to grow,
this was one of actress Leigh’s favorites among her work. Trailer
Sunday, December 21 – 7:30 PM
WHITE CHRISTMAS, 1954, Paramount, 120 min. This
Christmas classic from director Michael Curtiz (CASABLANCA) features some of the
most rousing production numbers from any Hollywood musical. Paramount’s first film
shot in widescreen Vistavision is a love story, set in a Vermont inn. Two Army buddies Bing
Crosby and Danny Kaye turn post-war song-and-dance team and find romance with Rosemary
Clooney (George’s aunt) and Vera-Ellen, while rescuing their old general (Dean
Jagger) from foreclosure of the inn and financial ruin. With 13 songs highlighted by
the snow-bound train rendition of Irving Berlin's "Snow." "Count Your
Blessings Instead of Sheep" was Oscar-nominated for Best Song. [Also screens at
the Aero – 12/18] Trailer
Thursday, January 1 – 7:30 PM
James Stewart 100th Birthday Celebration!
IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE, 1946,
Paramount, 130 min. Director Frank Capra’s inspiring tale balances both pathos
and joy. The legendary James Stewart is at his finest as the distraught George
Bailey, a man about to commit suicide on Christmas Eve until he runs into the helpful,
elderly Angel Clarence (Henry Travers). Lionel Barrymore is at his
Snidely Whiplash best as avaricious banker Mr. Potter, a man who would foreclose on the
whole town if he had the chance. Featuring Donna Reed as the love of George’s
life, in the role that launched her to stardom, and a young, charming Gloria Grahame.
If you’ve only seen it on TV, now see it on the big screen, the way it was meant to
be seen. [Also screens at the
Aero – 12/21] Trailer |
