Brother, Can You
Spare A Dime? Great Films of the Great Depression
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During times of economic woes, movies have always presented a relatively inexpensive form
of entertainment. During the Great Depression, Hollywood responded to Americas
collective troubles with some of the most entertaining movies ever made: classic horror
films (FRANKENSTEIN, THE MUMMY), musicals (the Fred Astaire-Ginger Rogers
pictures), and screwball comedies starring Cary Grant (HOLIDAY), W.C. Fields (ITS
A GIFT) and more. There are few things as comforting as laughing, crying and
screaming together in a crowded movie theater -- so during our current economic downturn,
why not gather together for a series of enduring classics? The Aero will be showing
some of the funniest, scariest and most romantic movies of an era a little too close to
our own for comfort. During this series, the Cinematheque
doesnt want anyone to miss the fun so we are extending a special invitation to our
friends who are out of work to come to this series for FREE upon presentation of a January
or February stub from your EDD benefit check. Please show the stub with photo ID at the
box office for entry. And ask about our Roosevelt Deal at the concession stand!
Thursday, February 5 7:30 PM
Forrest J. Ackerman Memorial Double Feature:
FRANKENSTEIN, 1931, Universal, 70
min. Dir. James Whale. "A Monster Science Created But Could Not
Destroy!" Boris Karloff had appeared in over 75 films before FRANKENSTEIN
turned him almost overnight into a screen legend. His performance as a manmade human
stitched together from pieces of dead bodies and reanimated by electricity
anguished, eloquent, wordless remains one of the most hauntingly powerful in all
cinema. With Colin Clive, Edward Van Sloan, Dwight Frye. Trailer
THE MUMMY, 1932,
Universal, Dir. Karl Freund. Boris Karloff gives one of his finest
performances as the 3,000-year-old Egyptian who returns from the dead to reclaim
reincarnated love Zita Johann, in cinematographer-turned-director Karl
Freunds marvelously atmospheric chiller easily the best of many mummy films
to come. (Look for a memorial tribute to Forry on March 8 at the Egyptian.) More
| Trailer
Friday, February 6 7:30 PM
Double Feature:
SONS OF THE DESERT, 1933, Hal
Roach (Hallmark Entertainment), 68 min. Dir. William A. Seiter. In what many fans
consider their best feature, Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy want to
sneak off to their annual lodge convention, but the wives are having none of it. A
wonderful farce with a deep layer of truth that lifts it above other, more
"respectable" marital comedies. With Mae Busch, Dorothy Christy and a
hilarious Charley Chase as an obnoxious drunk; see if you can spot a young Bob
Cummings in the crowd. More
ITS A GIFT, 1934,
Universal, 73 min. Dir. Norman Z. McLeod. Considered by some to be The Great
Mans greatest film, this short, sweet W.C. Fields vehicle is little more than
a series of zany sketches loosely tied to his desire to move to California and grow
oranges. Includes the legendary "Mr. Muckle" and "Carl LaFong" scenes,
as well as the hanging mirror and sleeping porch routines. Jean Rouverol, who
co-wrote THE FIRST TIME, plays Fields daughter. More
Saturday, February 7 7:30 PM
Double Feature:
ROBERTA, 1935, Warner Bros., 106 min. Dir.
William A. Seiter. Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers make an early
appearance together alongside Randolph Scott and Irene Dunne in this
romantic confection set against the backdrop of the fashion industry. Astaire and
Scott are Americans traveling through Paris; Dunne is the exiled princess who falls in
love with Scott and becomes his business partner. More
FOLLOW THE FLEET, 1936,
Warner Bros., 110 min. Dir. Mark Sandrich. Another Fred Astaire-Ginger Rogers Euro
opus, this time with Astaire as a sailor on shore leave and Rogers as the dance hall
hostess he romances. The great songs include "Lets Face the Music and
Dance" and "Let Yourself Go," and the great supporting cast includes Randolph
Scott and Betty Grable. More | Trailer
Sunday, February 8 7:30 PM
Double Feature:
Newly Restored! TOPPER, 1937, Hal Roach (Hallmark Entertainment), 97 min. Dir. Norman
Z. McLeod. Thorne Smiths timeless tale of a banker (Roland Young) whose
existence is turned upside down by a married pair of wisecracking ghosts (Cary Grant
and Constance Bennett) who decide he needs a little more life in his life. Two
sequels, a TV series and countless knockoffs later, the original still shines as brightly
as ever. With Billie Burke (two years before she became a good witch), Eugene
Pallette, Alan Mowbray, Arthur Lake and Hedda Hopper. More
HOLIDAY, 1938, Sony Repertory, 93 min.
Society girl Katharine Hepburn falls in love with her sister's idiosyncratic
fiancé (a pitch-perfect Cary Grant), and the result is the greatest nonconformist
comedy ever made. Working with Philip Barry's play as his foundation, director George
Cukor considers serious issues about the human condition and what it means to be truly
independent, yet does it all with a light, hilarious and charming touch. |