Family Matinee: New Print! THE SOUND OF MUSIC, 1965, 20th Century Fox, 172 min. Dir. Robert Wise. The irresistible, triumphant musical tale of a nun (Julie Andrews) who becomes the nanny for the seven children of the widowed Austrian Captain Von Trapp (Christopher Plummer), winning their hearts and eventually their father's as well. As the Nazis take control of their homeland (where "the hills are alive with the sound of music"), the family finds comfort in each other and in song. An Oscar winner for Best Picture and Robert Wise's flawless direction. Featuring "The Sound of Music," "My Favorite Things," and more of your favorite songs! Co-starring Eleanor Parker, Anna Lee, Marni Nixon and Angela Cartwright, with a wonderful script by Ernest Lehman. [35mm] Trailer | Buy Tickets

Saturday, December 18 - 4:00 PM

Family Matinee! "Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol," 1962, NBC, 52 min. Join us for a screening of the first animated Christmas special, which premiered on NBC in 1962. With music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Bob Merrill and the voices of Jim Backus, Jack Cassidy, Jane Kean and Morey Amsterdam, this 52-minute adaptation of Dickens’ classic tale - cleverly presented as a play within a play (with the nearsighted Magoo playing Scrooge on Broadway) - paved the way for a slew of animated holiday specials. [Blu Ray] Following the screening, a panel including animator Darrell Van Citters, author of the book "Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol: The Making of the First Animated Christmas Special" from Oxberry Press, key layout Artist Bob Singer and actors Marie Mathews (Young Scrooge) and Jane Kern (Belle) will examine the making of the program and its place in television history. Clip | Buy Tickets

WHITE CHRISTMAS, 1954, Paramount, 120 min. Director Michael Curtiz’s (CASABLANCA) Christmas classic was Paramount’s first film shot in widescreen Vistavision. Army buddies turned post-war song-and-dance team Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye find romance with Rosemary Clooney and Vera-Ellen while rescuing their former commanding officer (Dean Jagger) from financial ruin. With 13 songs highlighted by the train rendition of Irving Berlin's "Snow" and the Oscar-nominated "Count Your Blessings Instead of Sheep." [35mm] Trailer | Buy Tickets

Thursday, December 23 – 7:30 PM

Double Feature: ELF, 2003, New Line Cinema, 97 min. Dir. Jon Favreau. Will Ferrell is at his hilarious best as Buddy, a human who has been raised among Santa’s elves at the North Pole. All grown up, Buddy causes oversized mayhem in the elves’ petite Christmas workshop, so he heads to New York City in search of his real identity. A father-son bonding experience like no other! With James Caan, Bob Newhart as Papa Elf, Mary Steenburgen and Zooey Deschanel. [35mm] Trailer

BAD SANTA – DIRECTOR’S CUT, 2003, Miramax, 98 min. Terry Zwigoff’s hysterically bold, underground variation of MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET, with Billy Bob Thorton as a foul-mouthed, alcoholic con man posing as a mall Santa, who teams up with his friend Marcus (Tony Cox) to rob the store just before Christmas. Thornton is reminiscent of W.C. Fields (only drunker, and worse to children!) in this rare intelligent adult comedy. Featuring Brett Kelly as "The Kid," and the late, great John Ritter and Bernie Mac. [Blu Ray] Trailer | Buy Tickets

December 16 – January 2 at the Aero Theatre

This holiday season the Cinematheque offers up another platter of delightful screwball confections! We have a full score of mirth-making classics from the days when Hollywood knew the comedic power of mile-a-minute dialogue and riotous sight gags. You’ll find the well known (HIS GIRL FRIDAY, THE BANK DICK, A DAY AT THE RACES, A NIGHT AT THE OPERA, TROUBLE IN PARADISE) as well as the less screened classics (THE MAD MISS MANTON, IT’S A WONDERFUL WORLD, POPPY, RUGGLES OF RED GAP, REMEMBER LAST NIGHT?) featuring a mob of phenomenally talented performers such as Cary Grant, Rosalind Russell, Barbara Stanwyck, W. C. Fields, Jimmy Stewart, Claudette Colbert, the Marx Brothers and more! Buy Tickets

Sunday, December 26 – 7:30 PM

Double Feature: THE BANK DICK, 1940, Universal, 72 min. Dir. Eddie Cline. W.C. Fields’ most enduringly popular feature casts him as Egbert Sousé, a layabout who inadvertently catches a bank robber and is "rewarded" with a job as the bank’s security guard. A matchless cast, including Una Merkel, Jessie Ralph, Grady Sutton, Franklin Pangborn, Jack Norton and the one and only Shemp Howard helps make this an authentic American classic. Written by "Mahatma Kane Jeeves" (as in, "My hat, my cane, Jeeves"). [35mm] Trailer

POPPY, 1936, Universal, 73 min. Dir. A. Edward Sutherland. Snake-oil salesman Eustace McGargle (the riotous W.C. Fields) is a con artist who must always stay two steps ahead of the local sheriff, which is particularly difficult given Eustace's undying devotion to his daughter, Poppy (Rochelle Hudson). [35mm] Clip | Buy Tickets

Wednesday, December 29 – 7:30 PM

Double Feature: IT’S A WONDERFUL WORLD, 1939, MGM Repertory, 84 min. Dir. W.S. Van Dyke. The unbeatably likable Jimmy Stewart stars in this crime comedy as Guy Johnson, a detective with a heart of gold who gets caught hiding a wrongly accused friend. When both Guy and his friend are hauled into the police station, tried in court and sentenced to prison time, Guy unearths a new clue that may rescue them both and point the feds in the direction of the real criminal. With Claudette Colbert as Guy's delightful love interest. [35mm] Trailer | Buy Tickets

THE MAD MISS MANTON, 1938, Warner Bros., 80 min, Dir. Leigh Jason. Beautiful, charismatic Melsa Manton (a radiant Barbara Stanwyck) discovers a dead body, but when the corpse mysteriously disappears, the police and press accuse the charming socialite of being an irresponsible prankster. It is up to Melsa to prove them wrong, and to be fabulous once more. With Henry Fonda and Sam Levene. [35mm] Buy Tickets

Thursday, December 30 – 7:30 PM

75th Anniversary Double Feature: RUGGLES OF RED GAP, 1935, Universal, 92 min. Dir. Leo McCarey. This McCarey classic stars Charles Laughton as a veddy proper English valet who’s won in a poker game by a man from the Wild West (Charlie Ruggles), setting off a culture clash. With Mary Boland, ZaSu Pitts, Roland Young, Leila Hyams and many others. Remember: Always bring the pot to the kettle! [35mm] Clip

REMEMBER LAST NIGHT?, 1935, Universal, 81 min. Director James Whale (FRANKENSTEIN, BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN) goes screwball with this charming mystery comedy. After a night of debauchery at a friend’s party, a couple (Tony Young and Constance Cummings) awakens the following morning to discover a murdered body. A police investigation ensues, but all of the witnesses were so drunk during the party that no one can remember a lick about the crime! [35mm] Buy Tickets

Saturday, January 1 – 5:00 PM

Double Feature: A DAY AT THE RACES, 1937, Warner Bros., 111 min. Dir. Sam Wood. The Marx Brothers’ second (and most expensive) MGM film serves up Groucho as Dr. Hugo Z. Hackenbush, who arouses all sorts of suspicion when he’s hired as the new head of a posh sanitarium - and with good reason: He’s actually a veterinarian! Includes the celebrated "tootsie-fruitsie" and examination routines, as well as a tremendous cast including Maureen O’Sullivan, Allan Jones, Douglass Dumbrille, Sig Ruman, Esther Muir and, of course, Margaret Dumont. [35mm] Trailer

75th Anniversary! A NIGHT AT THE OPERA, 1935, Warner Bros., 92 min. Dir. Sam Wood. The Marx Brothers' first film for MGM, first without Zeppo, and their biggest box office hit finds them in the mix with a couple of beleaguered opera singer pals who are having career trouble. Enjoy the stateroom scene, the contract routine and tons of great one-liners, and remember: "There ain't no sanity clause!" Numerous writers (many uncredited) include George S. Kaufman and even Buster Keaton. With Kitty Carlisle, Allan Jones, Sig Ruman and Margaret Dumont. [35mm] Andy Marx, grandson of Groucho, will introduce the screening. Trailer | Buy Tickets

Sunday, January 2 – 7:30 PM

Double Feature: 70th Anniversary! HIS GIRL FRIDAY, 1940, Sony Repertory, 92 min. Dir. Howard Hawks. For decades considered the fastest comedy ever made, this frenzied remake of Hecht and MacArthur’s THE FRONT PAGE switches ace newsman Hildy Johnson to a woman (Rosalind Russell at her peak), while Cary Grant does a complete 180 from BRINGING UP BABY as cynical editor Walter Burns. If you were teaching film comedy, this would be Lesson #1. The unparalleled cast includes Ralph Bellamy, Gene Lockhart, Porter Hall, Ernest Truex, Roscoe Karns, Cliff Edwards, John Qualen, Billy Gilbert and tons more. Featuring some of the most rapid-fire dialogue ever, by screenwriters Charles Lederer, Ben Hecht and Charles McArthur. [35mm] Trailer