For a 'Good Evening,' Try Hitchcock

Alfred Hitchcock is credited with saying, "A good film is when the price of the dinner, the theatre admission and the babysitter were worth it."

Well, starting tonight the Millburn Free Public Library is going to help make that price really worth it with a free seven-week film discussion series devoted Hitchcock.

The series kicks off with the 1943 thriller “Shadow of a Doubt,” which when released met critical acclaim and was nominated for an Academy Award for screen writing.

Hitchcock did more than perhaps any director to shape modern cinema with his distinctive and recognizable directorial Film Noir style.

The introduction of each film and a discussion afterward will be led by Professor Gabriel Miller, a Maplewood resident and a professor of English at Rutgers University in Newark where he teaches drama and film. He is the author of numerous articles and books on fiction, film, and drama including books on film directors Martin Ritt and Fred Zinnemann, playwright Clifford Odets and the novelist John Irving. He is currently completing a book on the life and career of director William Wyler.

In 1991, “Shadow of a Doubt” was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress because it is "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

While the film is set mostly in California, the opening scenes are in Newark (see attached YouTube video.)

The rest of films and the dates when they will be shown are:

NOTORIOUS, Oct. 28

STRANGERS ON A TRAIN, Nov. 4

REAR WINDOW, Nov. 11

VERTIGO, Nov.18

PSYCHO, Dec. 2

NORTH BY NORTHWEST, Dec. 9

The librarians say they are trying a new approach with this series and will open only for the pre-registered film audience at 7 p.m. with the film and discussion beginning at 7:30 p.m. Only registrants will be allowed in the building and no other library services will be available.

Register online at mfplib.org. For more information call 973-376-1006 ext. 126.