2001-2002 Movie Time at the Tivoli Film Series

Weinberg Center for the Performing Arts

Metropolis ~ 1927
Director: Fritz Lang
Starring: Brigitte Helm, Rudolf Klein-Rogge

There are few movies that are as universally acclaimed for their importance to film history as Fritz Lang's dystopian masterpiece "Metropolis." Generally seen as the height of the German Expressionism movement it is also heralded as the greatest science-fiction movie ever made…but it is so much more than that.

Lang intended the film, which was written by his wife, to be a warning of the dangers of the rise technology and the subsequent devaluation of human life. His use of Biblical parable and Socialist philosophy make for a wicked, if at times a bit blatant, satire. It also makes for a very complex story that is made even more complex due to the sad reality that the film no longer exists in the version Lang completed. Seventy-five years of distributors clipping and shortening the film has left the story with some gaping holes.

Despite this, the point of the story is clear, if not from the narrative flow then from the visually stunning direction. There are very few scenes in this film that have not been paid homage to in other films. Lang's disturbingly beautiful visions of human nature and the future have been echoed in such films as "Frankenstein", "Batman", "Dr. Strangelove", "Blade Runner" and many, many others. Every mad scientist in Hollywood and every movie robot, from Gort to Mr. Data, owes a tip of the hat to the vision of Fritz Lang.

Lang's talent was so well regarded that Hollywood studios courted him for years. He resisted opting instead to devote his talent to making German cinema all it could be. When the Nazi's came to power, however, Goebbels offered Lang the opportunity to head the German film industry under their rule. Lang asked for some time to think about it, and headed to America as soon as possible.

WORTH NOTING: The film took 18 months to shoot (an unheard of amount of time in 1927) and had a cast of extras that numbered over 25,000!

HALLOWEEN DOUBLE FEATURE

Frankenstein ~ 1931 ~ Directed by James Whale; Starring: Colin Clive, Boris Karloff

Young Frankenstein ~ 1974 ~ Directed by Mel Brooks; Starring: Gene Wilder, Peter Boyle, Marty Feldman and Terri Garr.

"Fear" and "fun" are the keywords for this night of Hollywood Halloween horror and hijinks. It is all treats and no tricks with these two great interpretations of the most famous monster of all.

Starting the evening is the most famous of all the movie versions of this story. James Whale's classic "Frankenstein" made 1931. This is still the standard by which monster movies are measured. While some of the special effects are dated (the film is sixty years old after all) the story and direction still make for some incredibly powerful moments.

Much of this comes from Boris Karloff's remarkable portrayal of the monster. Played with equal parts menace and pathos, the audience comes to sympathize with the monster despite some of the horrible things that he does. Surprisingly, Karloff does not take this role into the realm of camp or melodrama as was done in the later sequels. Instead, the monster is played "straight" and this allows the viewer to take the character and story seriously. To make this even more powerful, Karloff manages this performance without speaking a word.

Colin Clive as Dr. Frankenstein is as overstated in his role as Karloff is understated. His classic "IT'S ALIVE!" scene is the quintessential portrayal of the Hollywood Mad Scientist and his manic performance during the scene is one that you will surely carry with you forever…if you don't carry it already!

Finally, James Whale's direction of the film cannot be underestimated. Unlike many of his later horror films, Frankenstein has no black humor or tongue-in-cheek moments. This story is told seriously, dramatically and without a musical score in an effort to scare the audience. The "realism" these techniques bring to the film help him succeed in those efforts.

WORTH NOTING: Bela Lugosi turned down the role of the monster because the character didn't speak (although he did play the monster in 1943's "Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman" on the condition that he could design his own make-up).

Our Halloween Double Feature turns from the serious to the ridiculous in what is perhaps director Mel Brooks' finest movie: his 1974 comedy classic, "Young Frankenstein." Much as he skewered Westerns in "Blazing Saddles," Brooks delivers a dead on parody of monster movies in general, and the Frankenstein movies in particular, in this side-splitting film.

Co-written by Gene Wilder, this film takes all the most memorable scenes from many of the Frankenstein movies and turns them on their heads. The chilling scene with the little girl in the original "Frankenstein" movie turns into one of the funniest sight gags in "Young Frankenstein." Brooks' parody of the hermit scene from "Bride of Frankenstein," played flawlessly in this movie by Gene Hackman, is probably one of the most hilarious comedy pieces ever caught on film.

Couple this brilliant writing and direction with the scene-stealing cast that was assembled for this movie and you can't help but have a classic. Marty Feldman's performance as Igor (pronounced "EYE-gor") is probably his best known and certainly the highlight of the film. However, Madeline Kahn, Cloris Leachman and Terri Garr succeed in grabbing every scene in which they appear (and if you can ever hear "Ah, Sweet Mystery of Life" again without cracking a smile you are a better person than I am). Peter Boyle's monster has much of the same sympathy-inducing qualities of Karloff's monster but with the added benefit of a great deadpan face and razor-sharp comic timing.

Throw some crazy villagers, a mush-mouthed burgomaster, a violin, a spinning bookcase, a game of charades, and some Ovaltine perhaps and film the whole thing in glorious black and white and you have one of the finest send-ups of a movie genre you could ever want.

WORTH NOTING: The castle sets, the lab equipment, and all the props were the very same ones used in the original "Frankenstein" film.

From Here to Eternity ~ 1953
Director: Fred Zinnemann
Starring: Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, Frank Sinatra, Deborah Kerr, Donna Reed

This all-star film tells the story of Army life in the Pacific on the eve of the bombing of Pearl Harbor. When it comes, the very memorable attack scene (which was shot on location) has some of the greatest action sequences ever filmed along with actual footage of the attack. Fact and fiction combine in a powerful, almost overwhelming, sequence that will keep you spellbound.

The cast is large and story is intertwined: Montgomery Clift plays a new soldier to the base who, after refusing to box for the unit's team, is harassed and bullied relentlessly. Frank Sinatra, in his "comeback" role, is his best friend Maggio. Burt Lancaster is his sergeant who is having an affair with his commanding officer's wife played by Deborah Kerr. Add to this steamy mix Donna Reed as a "hostess" in a gentleman's club and Ernest Borgnine as a sadistic Sergeant of the Guard of the stockade and you have a multi-layered story that is as compelling as it is complex.

Much of the power of the film is the juxtaposition of the importance the characters put on certain aspects of their lives, such as the boxing team, and the pending attack looming large on the horizon that the audience sees but the characters do not. This adds a sense of tragedy to all the actions of the characters, as you the viewer know the hell that is in store for them.

The film got a whopping THIRTEEN Oscar nominations (Clift and Lancaster were BOTH nominated for best actor) and won eight of them, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor (Sinatra) and Best Supporting Actress (Kerr).

WORTH NOTING: Eli Wallach originally accepted the role of Maggio, Sinatra's role, but later turned it down. Rumor had it that Sinatra's…connections…assisted in getting him the part.

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang ~ 1968
Director: Ken Hughes
Starring: Dick van Dyke, Lionel Jeffries

Join us here at the Weinberg for the first of two Sunday Afternoon Family Movie Matinees.

Fly back to those magic days of childhood and join Dick van Dyke as an inventor who can make clever machines but can't seem to make ends meet. As any of us would do in that situation, he invents a flying car that drives itself.

Meanwhile, in the land of Vulgaria, children have been outlawed under a new law issued by the country's new ruler, Baron Bomburst. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and company head to Vulgaria to save the children, however, once the Baron sees the flying car he won't rest until he has it!

Take this opportunity to introduce Chitty Chitty Bang Bang to a whole new generation of kids that can appreciate, and we mean REALLY appreciate, a car that not only flies but floats! Or relive the magic yourself!

Songs! Dancing! Flying cars! Dastardly foreign agents! And Benny Hill as the Toymaker! This movie has everything so make sure to bring the whole family!

WORTH NOTING: The movie is based on the children's book written by Ian Fleming…the creator of James Bond!

3rd Annual Family Cartoon Festival

One of the Weinberg's most popular events returns again this year! The Annual Family Cartoon Festival continues its established tradition of bringing you the finest of the famous and not-so-famous animated shorts.

Your favorite Disney characters return this year to prove why they reigned supreme at the box office in the early days of animation. The selections this year again show Donald Duck as the early star in the Disney stable of characters. Most anything could happen in a Donald cartoon…. and usually does! Your other Disney pals return as well in their own madcap adventures!

The Warner Brothers Studios collection of cartoon characters all make their yearly appearance again. Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and all their friends return to show you how they took animation to new heights during the 1940s with some of the finest, and best loved, cartoons ever produced. So many of the Warner Brothers cartoons have been clipped and edited over the years when shown on TV that few people can remember ever having seen them complete. Here is the opportunity to see these 'toons unedited and on the big screen as they were created to be seen.

Again this year we will feature some of the lesser-known cartoon characters from some of the smaller animation studios. Some of these characters are nearly unknown today, others were stars in their own right for a very short time but, once the animation studio changed, lapsed in popularity. Popeye the Sailor is a fine example. His cartoons from the Fleisher Studios were top-notch, some of the finest animation ever produced, and immensely popular. Later Popeye 'toons from other studios were less well received.

And, of course, The Family Cartoon Festival would never be complete without those granddaddies of the animation family, the silents. Animated shorts were some of the earliest examples of motion pictures. We celebrate these classic shorts, some of which are EIGHTY years old, each year at this festival with a spot of honor and musical accompaniment on the Mighty Wurlitzer!

So come on out for an evening of animated fun and see why EVERYBODY loves cartoons!

Annie Hall ~ 1977
Director: Woody Allen
Starring: Woody Allen, Diane Keaton

Follow Woody Allen through love and life in what is generally considered to be his finest and most enjoyable film. This movie establishes the high-water mark for a visionary director whose private life has eclipsed his films in recent years. We see Allen's talent clearly in this movie and we understand why he is regarded as one of the greatest American directors.

Perhaps a reason for the accolades this movie has gathered is Allen's familiarity with the subject matter: himself. The character in this film, Alvy Singer, is as close to himself as Woody Allen has yet portrayed. He draws on his own life and his own beginnings as a stand-up comedian to bring to life a character that seems even more authentic because of the details.

The cast, as is usual in a Woody Allen movie, is excellent. Diane Keaton plays the title character with energy as she goes through her Pygmalion-like transformation. Her clothes (all Keaton's own) even started the "Annie Hall Look," a brief fashion trend in the later 1970s. Tony Roberts is as perfect as ever as Allen's best friend, however, he has played this same role for Allen in so many films it is hard to imagine him as anything else.

Some other cast members that might take you by surprise show what a good eye Woody Allen has when it comes to spotting talent. This is Sigourney Weaver's screen debut, however her part is a non-speaking one in the final scene. Jeff Goldblum also shows up with one of the funniest one-liners ever. Shelly Duval makes an early appearance in a fairly high-profile role. Add Carol Kane, Christopher Walken, Paul Simon and Marshall McLuhan and you've got quite a mix of personalities.

But personalities are what Woody Allen movies are all about and this movie highlights the director's mastery of them and his craft better than any other. As if to gild the lily, this movie won Oscars for Best Actress, Best Screenplay, Best Director, and Best Picture!

WORTH NOTING: The movie was originally intended to be a murder mystery, however Allen thought the romantic sub-plot ended up being the better story and edited the movie into the romantic comedy it became. Also worth noting: the "winner of the Truman Capote lookalike contest" is, indeed, Truman Capote.

Sabrina ~ 1954
Director: Billy Wilder
Starring: Humphrey Bogart, Audrey Hepburn, William Holden

The 1995 remake of this film might be more familiar to audiences today but the original version is much classier. What makes it classier? Three things: Bogart, Hepburn, and Holden. Just watching these three on the screen is enough to make you forget there was a remake. The incomparable direction of Billy Wilder is the icing on the cake as he infuses these characters and this movie with enough charm to make you forgive the complex (sometimes unnecessarily so) story.

Hepburn plays the title character, the chauffeur's awkward teenage daughter who secretly pines for the younger of the Larrabee brothers, played by Holden. He, the playboy of the family, doesn't even know she exists…until she returns from Paris two years later transformed into a beautiful young lady. This Cinderella-type metamorphosis endangers William Holden's engagement to the daughter of a sugar magnate…an engagement arranged by the older Larrabee brother Linus, played by Bogart.

In order to divert her attentions, Linus pretends to be in love with Sabrina. One does not have to be a student of romantic comedies to figure out the result of this deception.

What separates this romantic comedy from most is the added dimension of the family aspect of the love triangle and the potential disastrous outcome of such a conflict. The relationship of the brothers becomes as important as any male-female relationship in the film. Much of this is due to Wilder's interpretation of the original play and his great direction.

Valentine's Day is made even more special when you add a wonderful classic romance to the evening so join us here at the Weinberg for your romantic evening.

WORTH NOTING: Hollywood was not kind to women in the 1950s. Bogart was paid $300,000 for this film, Holden was paid $150,000 and their co-star Hepburn was paid only $15,000.

Charlie Chaplin Double Feature

The Tramp ~ 1915
Modern Times ~ 1936

Director: Charlie Chaplin (both)
Starring: Charlie Chaplin (both)

Charlie Chaplin is probably the most recognizable actor in the world and the first of these two films is the reason. 1915's "The Tramp" is the first film appearance of The Little Tramp, a character Chaplin developed on the stage and would continue to use in his films for the next twenty years.

Chaplin created the Tramp as an everyman. He was not intended to be lucky or rich or smart or good-looking but a regular person just like everyone else. With one notable exception: he liked people. Most of the Tramp's films involve him going out of his way to help someone who is in a jam. They usually show kindness in response, but sometimes they do not and the Tramp heads off into the sunset, lonely but self-assured.

Chaplin's point here was two-fold. He wanted to show that we all needed a certain amount of recognition from our fellow humans and he wanted to show how little it took to provide that. The Tramp constantly provided that recognition for others and appreciated it when it was offered to him.

Even at this early stage in his career, Chaplin was already a master of the short film. "The Tramp" is a simple story (the Tramp helps a farm girl) but the comic timing in the story telling is brilliant. It is little wonder that this film helped launch a film career that had Chaplin become the first screen millionaire three years later….at the age of only 29!

The 1936 film "Modern Times" marks the last screen appearance of the Little Tramp character. In this story of technology out of control and the dehumanization of the factory worker in the name of capitalism, Chaplin's politics are very apparent.

The Tramp is a factory worker who spends his days at a conveyor belt tightening bolts. Various mishaps occur with the large and complex machinery (including getting SWALLOWED by it) that leads one to believe that perhaps it is the machines that are the masters, not the men. After being fired he is jailed for inciting a riot, and, enjoying the stay in jail manages to get arrested several more times. In the meantime he befriends Paulette Goddard whom he ends up with at the end of the movie. However, social satire aside, the comedy that occurs up to the last scene is some of the greatest ever filmed.

Chaplin's social criticism throughout the film made the Tramp even more allegorical than he already was, but Chaplin had other motives as well. The film was made in 1936, a time when nearly everyone was making "talkies." "Modern Times" was not quite a talkie…but neither was it a silent.

Chaplin uses sound effects in the score he wrote for the film but he also put voices and songs in the soundtrack but they only emanate from technological instruments like radios, phonographs and the videophone in the factory. This serves to drive his "dehumanization" point home with subtle jabs at the film industry and its growing reliance on new technology. A nice point and cleverly executed.

It was Chaplin's last silent film (or it was his first sound movie, depending on how you looked at it). So sit back and relax and enjoy two seminal films from one of the first geniuses of the motion picture era.

WORTH NOTING: When the Tramp sings in "Modern Times" it is Chaplin's own voice. He has the Tramp sing a gibberish song in order to make the only words the character would ever speak on screen "universal" words.

Gone With the Wind ~ 1939
Director: Victor Fleming
Starring: Vivien Leigh, Clark Gable, Leslie Howard, Olivia de Havilland

What can we possibly say about one of the most beloved films of all time? Is there anything anyone does not know about the plot? The characters? The setting? Probably not, but just in case let us start by summing up the movie:
A couple's love/hate relationship span the Civil War and Reconstruction in the rapidly fading Antebellum South.

That describes the story perhaps…but does it describe the movie? Hardly. The film itself is truly a masterpiece of motion picture technology with the equipment used to film it being state of the art at the time. Neither time nor money was spared. With such a powerful story to tell the studio held nothing back and gave carte blanche for its production.

For instance:

--The studio paid $50,000 for the movie rights to Margaret Mitchell's book soon after publication. No one had ever paid more for an author's first (and only) published work.

--The "Burning of Atlanta" scene was shot first, before the movie had even been fully cast. Because it was such a massive undertaking and could only be shot once, shooting began with that scene so that if something went wrong they could scrap the rest of the movie.

--1400 actresses were interviewed for the role of Scarlett including Katharine Hepburn, Tallulah Bankhead, Lana Turner, Barbara Stanwyck, Joan Crawford, Mae West, Jean Arthur, and Lucille Ball. Over four hundred actually did readings for the part.

--During the Burning of Atlanta scene all seven of the Technicolor cameras that existed in Hollywood at the time were used to capture footage. Nearly two hours of film was shot and edited into that harrowing scene.

--Rhett's final line was actually rejected by the Hollywood Production Code that dictated what was and was not proper to be seen and heard in the movies. However, rather than change the signature line the producer, David O. Selznick, opted to pay the $5000 fine.

The film was nominated for thirteen Oscars and eventually won eight of them including Best Picture, Best Actress, and Best Director. More importantly than that, the film entered our culture in such a deep and pervasive way that images from the film have become iconic, almost mythic in stature. If you have never seen this film on the big screen then do yourself a favor and come…as powerful as the story is on TV, it is even more so in a theater.

WORTH NOTING: Hattie McDaniel, who won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role as Mammy in the film, was the first African-American ever nominated for an Academy Award but was not allowed to attend the premiere of the film in Atlanta because of her color.

Kiss Me Kate ~ 1953
Director: George Sidney
Starring: Kathryn Grayson, Howard Keel, Ann Miller, Keenan Wynn

What a movie and what a treat as Movietime at the Tivoli brings you something that you may never see again! When released in 1953, "Kiss Me Kate" was presented in 3-D, ever since, however, it has been presented in its flat version. We are presenting it here at the Weinberg in the original 3-D version…silly glasses and all!

The movie is the film adaptation of Cole Porter's musical stage adaptation of Shakespeare's "The Taming of the Shrew." To complicate matters even more the stage production of the musical is taking place within the film…a sort of play within a play.

Thrown into this are Fred and Lilli, two formerly married actors who are cast in the lead roles. As Fred tries to get them back together before Lilli can run off and marry her Texas millionaire, real life begins to imitate art.

Spectacular dancing, wonderful music, and great acting would normally be enough for any movie but with the added benefit of the 3-D production these things are accented even more. Dancers are pushed toward the audience, objects are thrown in that direction and the characters themselves lunge at camera, all to take advantage of the 3-D process.

So, if you have never seen a 3-D film, or you haven't seen one since the 50's, then take the time to come see a relic from motion picture history.

WORTH NOTING: During the "From This Moment On" number we see a very young Bob Fosse dancing to his own choreography.

Doctor Dolittle ~ 1967
Director: Richard Fleisher
Starring: Rex Harrison, Samantha Eggar, Richard Attenborough

The Weinberg continues the new Sunday matinee Family Movie Series with a showing of the classic story of the man who could talk to the animals, Doctor Dolittle.

While the recent remake of this film might be more up to date and modern, there is little or no comparison to the original version starring the always watchable Rex Harrison as the good doctor. Unlike the recent versions this classic film is more of a tale about the Doctor's adventures looking for, and looking after, exotic animals.

And we mean exotic animals….like the Pushmi-Pullyu, a llama with a head at both ends; or the Giant Moon Moth which is large enough for a grown man to ride; and Great Pink Sea Snail, a snail so large it is often mistaken for an island.

The bizarre animals and the great adventures, all set to a great musical score that will have you humming "If I Could Talk to the Animals" for days! All of these wonderful elements make this movie a real family adventure suitable for, and enjoyable by, the entire family.

WORTH NOTING: One of the goats escaped and managed to find and eat the director's copy of the script.

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid ~ 1969
Director: George Roy Hill
Starring: Paul Newman, Robert Redford

There are buddy movies and there are buddy movies but there is nothing quite like the chemistry between Paul Newman and Robert Redford in this, their first of only two films together. The two actors, one a super-star, one a relative unknown, share an ability to appear to be having the time of their lives filming this movie as if they had made a hundred of them before. This rare talent is necessary to pull off what this film, ostensibly a Western but actually much more than that, attempts to pull off.

While using the names of actual people and places the movie is largely fictitious. There was a Butch Cassidy, a Sundance Kid and a Hole-in-the-Wall gang and they robbed banks and trains, but the timing is off. The writer has altered the time frame from the 1880s/1890s, when Butch and Sundance really lived, to the turn of the century to make the story one about the end of one era and the beginning of another. Nearly every conflict in the film, from the very first scene to the very last, can be traced to the rise of 20th Century technology against the 19th Century man.

Such weighty themes could cause a lesser film to drag or become very depressing. This film, however, stays appealing and enjoyable due in large part to the abilities of the two main characters. Butch and Sundance are certain that they can ignore the changes that are coming and continue to do things as they always have. It is charming, but it is also naïve.

It is very easy to label this film a comic Western and enjoy it on that level because it is an incredibly entertaining movie. However, it is also possible to see it as an allegorical tale and perhaps one that says more about the time in which it was made than about the time in which it was set.

The film was expected to clean up at the Oscars winning all seven that it was nominated for. However, another allegorical "Western", "Midnight Cowboy" walked away with the Best Picture and Best Director and Butch and Sundance made off with only four.

WORTH NOTING: Newman was originally cast as Sundance and Redford as Butch but Redford suggested that they switch roles.

The Three Musketeers ~ 1921
Director: Fred Niblo
Starring: Douglas Fairbanks, Leon Bary, George Siegmann

Prepare yourself for swashbuckling fun when the most daring of actors from the silent era, Douglas Fairbanks, straps on the rapier for one of the most beloved literary works, "The Three Musketeers."

Fairbanks here plays D'Artagnan who has come to Paris to join the Musketeers. He does and together they protect Milady de Winter and others from the evil machinations of Cardinal Richelieu.

Despite the great story, the real draw in the movie is Fairbanks. It can be argued that he often plays the same character in each movie, just in different costumes. The tricks, stunts, gestures and swordplay are all the same. This may or may not be true but what is important is that he did all these things so well and with such flourish that it doesn't matter that Zorro, the Thief of Bagdad, and D'Artagnan all fight the same way, what matters is how entertaining the fights are.

And they are. Fairbanks was just getting started in his swashbuckling career with this film being only his second in that genre. There were many more to come, and, in all honesty, this best was yet to come, but there is enough in the Fairbanks in this movie to give the viewer the idea that they were looking at something special.

The film is presented with accompaniment by the Weinberg's Mighty Wurlitzer!

WORTH NOTING: Fairbanks was so widely lauded for his performance in this costume drama that he never performed in modern dress for the remainder of the 1920s!

Vertigo ~ 1958
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Starring: James Stewart, Kim Novak

"Vertigo" is perhaps the greatest Hitchcock film. It is as psychologically terrifying, teasing, and telling as anything he ever put on the screen. He builds one of the most complex stories ever produced and throws the viewer into it and drags them along for a most enjoyable, if sometimes disturbing, ride.

Jimmy Stewart plays an ex-cop who was removed from the force because he suffers from vertigo. An old friend visits him and offers him a job following his wife around town. He accepts and, as he's following her, becomes enamoured and, eventually, falls in love with her.

And THAT is just the set up….it is after that point that the film really starts. However, to say anymore about the plot of the movie (regardless of how much we would like to) would be to spoil one of the finest mysteries ever filmed. Suffice it to say, it gets bumpy from here.

There are, however, some motifs that Hitchcock plays with throughout the film that give clues or hints to the larger events that are occurring. For instance, notice that Jimmy Stewart's character seldom, if ever, drives uphill…only down and level. And notice the use of mirrors and reflective surfaces in the film…you will probably lose count early in the movie. And, finally, notice the use of the spiral throughout the film…including in the fashions worn by the characters. Hitch was never one to waste the opportunity to set the mood or put an idea in a viewer's head. He appears to have been working overtime on this one.

We will stop now in case we say something that spoils the ending! Hitchcock's movies are better experienced than talked about anyway so bring someone you like and come see the master film-maker at the height of his game.

WORTH NOTING: Hitchcock's trademark cameo occurs about eleven minutes into the film. He is walking by the shipyard and is wearing a gray suit.