Casablanca. Citizen Kane. Bringing Up Baby. Rear Window.
On a Tuesday night you can usually find me taking in the Cranford Public Library's classic film screening. For over six years, this program has showcased the best of classic Hollywood cinema. At the incredibly reasonable price of "free," it is a deal that can't be beat. (Especially since the Cranford Theatre - ahem, Digiplex Cranford - just raised its tickets prices. But I will save that tirade for another day.)
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The classic film screening is particularly special for me. In February 2005, when I was just a painfully shy and awkward 16-year-old who really liked Katharine Hepburn, I helped start the now-weekly program. Week after week, I would channel my inner Robert Osborne and introduce the films.
Stagecoach. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. Psycho. Brief Encounter.
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It didn’t matter if the movie was a 30s screwball comedy or Hitchcock thriller or a John Wayne Western, I attempted to give my best, often botched introductions to a group of mostly deaf senior citizens. Receiving well-meaning criticism (“Hey, why don’t you speak a little louder for the seniors!”) from this audience became part of my somewhat comical training in the art of public speaking.
Most of all, it is at this screening that I received the best classic film education outside of a day-long Turner Classic Movies marathon. Seeing and engaging with the best studio-era movies on a weekly basis gave me some of the necessary skills to at least fake competence when I write about the cinema now.
I find myself drawn to the essential Hollywood classics more and more, especially now that my access to great film is significantly limited in my post-college life.
The Philadelphia Story. Singin’ in the Rain. All About Eve. Swing Time
I still give the occasional introduction at the classic film screening. In fact that is what I will be doing tonight, if The Lady from Shanghai, a mystery film starring Orson Welles and Rita Hayworth, peaks your interest. And trust me, it should. It really, really should.
If you find yourself not doing anything at 7 p.m. tonight or any Tuesday night this summer, come out and watch some amazing movies.
The month’s classic film schedule:
6/7 - The Lady From Shanghai (1947)
6/14 - The Thirteenth Guest (1932)
6/21 - Holiday (1938)
6/28 - Dark Victory (1939)
Joanna Arcieri writes regularly about film at her blog, For Cinephiles by a Cinefille.
