Community Corner
Bring Your Own Popcorn for Library's Classic Movie Night
Join fellow movie lovers the first Monday of every month at the Moorestown Library for a showing of classic cinema, from "All About Eve" to "Singin' in the Rain."
If winter weather puts you in the mood to warm up with a classic movie, now’s the time to join in on a longstanding Moorestown Library tradition—Jack Favorite’s Film Festival. Throughout the year, local stage actor and classic film connoisseur Jack Favorite selects his favorite films and shows them on the big screen in the library meeting room. Jack draws on his considerable knowledge of classic films to enhance each showing with a lively discussion of the film.
The films are shown at 7:30 p.m. on the first Monday of every month. All are welcome, and no registration is required. Here’s a look at what Jack has in store for 2013:
February 4 — Adventures of Don Juan (U.S., 1948, Technicolor, 110 minutes. Directed by Vincent Sherman. Starring Errol Flynn, Viveca Lindfors, Robert Douglas, Raymond Burr, Ann Rutherford and Alan Hale.) Handsome, elaborate, tongue-in-cheek swashbuckler with Errol Flynn excelling in style and assurance as “The Great Lover.”
March 4 — All About Eve (U.S., 1950, 138 minutes. Directed by Joseph Mankiewicz. Starring Bette Davis, Ann Baxter, George Sanders, Celeste Holm, Gary Merrill and Marilyn Monroe.) One of the best films ever on the backstage world of the Broadway theatre and those who toil, cheat and connive to reach the peaks of stardom. A serio-comic movie experience to treasure. Winner of four Academy Awards!
April 8 — The Bible (U.S., 1966, color, 174 minutes. Directed by John Huston. Starring George C. Scott, Ava Gardner, Richard Harris, Stephen Boyd, Peter O’Toole, Michael Parks and John Huston.) Stately, mature screen version of the Book of Genesis as adapted by Christopher Fry. Vivid imagery and faithful storytelling highlight this biblical drama.
May 6 — Knights of the Round Table (U.S., 1953, Technicolor, 115 minutes. Directed by Richard Thorpe. Starring Robert Taylor, Ava Gardner, Mel Ferrer, Stanley Baker, Anne Crawford and Felix Aylmer.) A colorful, exciting excursion into the medieval legend of King Arthur and his knights. Based primarily on Sir Thomas Malory’s Le Morte D’Arthur.
June 10 — Pygmalion (England, 1938, 90 minutes. Directed by Anthony Asquith and Leslie Howard. Starring Leslie Howard, Wendy Hiller, Wilfred Larson, Marie Lohr and Scott Sunderland.) George Bernard Shaw’s first venture into the movies became a celebrated screen event for both the eyes and ears of the viewer. A perfectly splendid Shavian comedy of bad manners, beautifully filed and filled with memorable lines and performances.
July 1 — Singin' in the Rain (U.S., 1952, Technicolor, 102 minutes. Directed by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen. Starring Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds, Donald O’Connor, Jean Hagen and Millard Mitchell.) The setting is Hollywood during the transition from silents to sound and the complications and chaos that ensue. Possibly the greatest and best-loved of all movie musicals.
August 5 — Modern Times (U.S., 1936, 89 minutes. Directed by Charlie Chaplin. Starring Charlie Chaplin, Paulette Goddard and Chester Conklin.) This brilliant satire on the perils of a mechanized society has become one of the most honored of all film classics. Chaplin expanded his comic vistas to include unemployment, breadlines, assembly lines, street agitators, television and “Big Brother.” It’s all very funny and surprisingly undated. This is the first film in which Chaplin used dialogue and his own voice…. nine years after the introduction of sound on the screen.
September 9 — Pride and Prejudice (U.S., 1940, 116 minutes. Directed by Robert Z. Leonard. Starring Laurence Olivier, Greer Garson, Edna May Oliver, Edmund Gwenn and Maureen O’Sullivan.) A literate, entertaining adaptation of Jane Austen’s novel about five sisters searching for husbands in early 19th century England. Lovely period recreation steeped in old manners and morals.
October 7 — The Wrong Box (England, 1966, Technicolor, 107 minutes. Directed by Bryan Forbes. Starring Michael Caine, Nanette Newman, Ralph Richardson, John Mills, Peter Cook, Dudley Moore, Wilfred Lawson and Peter Sellers.) Two elderly Victorian brothers are the last survivors of a tontine (lottery) and are about to inherit a vast sum of money after one or the other expires. They gleefully try to dispatch each other with the aid of many of England’s funniest comic performers. Arguably the last outstanding British comedy after two decades of sophisticated mirth and wit.
November 11 — The Alamo (U.S., 1960, Technicolor, 161 minutes. Directed by John Wayne. Starring John Wayne, Richard Widmark, Laurence Harvey, Richard Boone, Linda Christal and Chill Wills.) This spectacular homage to the heroes of the Alamo is a noble and inspiring film venture. Presenting the fully restored, uncut version. Unseen in more than 50 years.
December 2 — Meet John Doe (U.S., 1940, 135 minutes. Directed by Frank Capra. Starring Gary Cooper, Barbara Stanwyck, Walter Brennan and Edward Arnold.) The search for the forgotten average man as a publicity stunt by a newspaper and how it backfired. Excellent and elaborate comedy production.
