<<< July 2008 >>>

YANKEE DOODLE DANDY, (1942) Join us for this special screening of the James Cagney (SAG Founder & President) musical magnum opus YANKEE DOODLE DANDY about legendary composer George M. Cohan. Presented in collaboration with The Screen Actors Guild. More about this film. Discussion with YANKEE DOODLE DANDY co-star Joan Leslie to precede the screening. The film will start at 8 PM.

KING OF KINGS, 1961, Warner Bros., 168 min. Director Nicholas Ray and epic producer Samuel Bronston seemed an odd couple, but the pair made this reverent, straightforward portrait of the life of Christ work on its own terms. Filled with moving performances by Jeffrey Hunter as Jesus, a potent, often mysterious messiah, and Robert Ryan as John the Baptist, with support from Siobhan McKenna, Rip Torn, Royal Dano, Harry Guardino, Viveca Lindfors and others. Meticulous and spectacular production design adds to the realism, while Orson Welles’ narration adds storybook charm. Originally played at the Egyptian Theatre. Ray Bradbury will introduce the screening. He wrote the narration read by Orson Welles. 1961 Prices! Tickets are only $3 each!

Monday, July 14 – 7:30 PM

Oscar Winning Actress Celeste Holm (A GENTLEMAN'S AGREEMENT) In-Person Tribute – Double Feature:

THE TENDER TRAP, 1955, Warner Bros., 111 min. Dir. Charles Walters. Debbie Reynolds stars as the ambitious Julie, who happens upon womanizing theatrical agent and Manhattan socialite Charlie Reader (Frank Sinatra). Celeste Holm is delightful as Reynolds’ prime competition.

Newly Restored Print! ALL ABOUT EVE, 1950, 20^th Century Fox, 138 min. Director Joseph L. Mankiewicz's multi-Oscar-winning masterpiece. Celeste Holm was nominated for an Oscar for her role in this backstage, backstabbing fest about a timid fan who ingratiates herself into Broadway mega-star Bette Davis’ inner circle. Anne Baxter wastes no time stealing Davis’ spotlight and man (Gary Merrill). But Davis takes nothing lying down. A superb supporting cast (Celeste Holm, George Sanders, Marilyn Monroe,Thelma Ritter) brings New York's theater set to life.  "Fasten your seatbelts...it’s going to be a bumpy night." Special guests Appearing Include:

George Chakiris, Margaret O'Brien, Johnny Whitaker (In TOM SAWYER with Celeste Holm), Lesley Anne Warren (in TV Movie "Cinderella" with Celeste Holm), Shirley Jones, Marty Ingels. Discussion in between films with actress Celeste Holm.

Wednesday, July 23 – 7:30 PM

Stephen Frears & Michael Sheen Double-Bill:

THE DEAL, 2003, Granada, 90 min. The team behind THE QUEEN -- including director Stephen Frears, writer Peter Morgan and actor Michael Sheen -- etch a portrait of Tony Blair's rise up the slippery pole to becoming the Prime Minister we saw in "The Queen". The heart of this based-on-real-events film is the tough bargain that Blair forces on rival (and eventual successor) Gordon Brown (David Morrissey) over who will be party leader first. It makes Clinton vs. Obama seem like the TeleTubbies. More Info.

THE QUEEN, 2006, Miramax, 97 min. Blending the rewards of a detailed film biography with an insightful meditation on character, director Stephen Frears (DANGEROUS LIAISONS; DIRTY PRETTY THINGS) puts the British monarchy under the microscope. Set in 1997, it details the bond of trust that slowly develops between the 71-year-old Queen Elizabeth – humanized by the Oscar-winning performance of Helen Mirren in the title role – and Prime Minister, Tony Blair (Michael Sheen) following the death of Princess Diana. With James Cromwell. "…Helen Mirren…has turned THE QUEEN into something you never imagined it could be: a crackling dramatic story that's intelligent, thoughtful and moving." – Kenneth Turan, The Los Angeles Times "Like all great performances…Mirren maintains an edge of mystery…that has all the ambiguities of real life and real people." – Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle Screenwriter Peter Morgan will appear for discussion between films.

Sunday, July 27 – 5:30 PM

Art Directors Society Tribute to Albert Brenner:

Join us for this tribute to art director Albert Brenner, nominated for five Oscars (including THE TURNING POINT, CALIFORNIA SUITE and 2010) and winner of the 2003 Art Directors Guild Lifetime Achievement Award. He got his start in the burgeoning 1950s television industry, working on series like "The Phil Silvers Show". He has an outstanding list of credits from groundbreaking films like Shirley Clarke’s THE CONNECTION and Sydney Lumet’s THE PAWNBROKER, to the original FAIL-SAFE, POINT BLANK, BULLITT, SUMMER of ’42, THE OTHER, SCARECROW, THE MISSOURI BREAKS, PRETTY WOMAN, BACKDRAFT and, most recently, GEORGIA RULE.

Double Feature:

BULLITT, 1968, Warner Bros., 113 min. Dir. Peter Yates. An unbelievably tense, pared-to-the-bone thriller, BULLITT helped to pave the way for not only cinema verité-style policiers like THE FRENCH CONNECTION, but every cinematic car chase since then. Steve McQueen is über-cool Detective Frank Bullitt of the San Francisco P.D., a lone-wolf homicide cop who goes up against mob hit men as well as ambitious bureaucrat Robert Vaughn, when he fights to safeguard a witness. With Jacqueline Bisset, Simon Oakland, Don Gordon.

POINT BLANK, 1967, Warner Bros., 92 min. Director John Boorman’s second feature film really put him on the New Hollywood map and changed the look of action movies for years to come. This hardboiled neo-noir (adapted from The Hunter, the first of a series of novels by Richard Stark) retains the gritty frissons of the best pulp thrillers but is also a brain-twisting deconstruction of narrative. Brilliant from beginning to end, with Lee Marvin as a master thief seemingly back from the dead, out to get payback on the best friend who betrayed him (John Vernon) as well as the shadowy mob money men behind the scenes. With Angie Dickinson, Carroll O’Connor, Keenan Wynn.

Digitally Restored! FORBIDDEN ZONE, 1982, 74 min. Dir. Richard Elfman. A mysterious door leads to the Sixth Dimension -- get ready for a wild ride - in the greatest cult classic of all time. Beautiful young "Frenchy" (Marie-Pascale Elfman) slides through cosmic intestines into a subterranean world ruled by horny midget King Fausto (Herve Villechaize) and his jealous Queen Doris (Susan Tyrrell). "Chicken-boy" (Matthew Bright, director of FREEWAY) comes to the rescue, only to have his head cut off by the soul-singing Devil himself -- played by Danny Elfman and the original Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo. Frog butlers, topless princesses, and rioting school kids sing and dance in unforgettable musical numbers by Danny Elfman, Cab Calloway, Josephine Baker and others. An experience guaranteed you will never forget! Now in mind-boggling color! Newly remixed Dolby Digital 6 track stereo. Official website. Discussion following with director Richard Elfman and Susan Tyrrell (Queen Doris, Ruthy-Squeezit's mom); Gene Cunningham (Ugh-Fudge Bwana, plays Pa Hercules); John Muto (Animation); Matthew Bright (Toshiro Baloney, plays Rene and Squeezit Henderson and various members of The Mystic Knights of The Oingo Boingo.