Thursday Afternoon Film Series January 3, 2008

In January, Williamsburg Regional Librarys Thursday Afternoon Film Series will precede the feature film with an episode in the award-winning thirteen-part series, Hollywood: A Celebration of the American Silent Film. This fascinating documentary details the development of the Hollywood film industry in the early days of the 20th century and contains rare clips from silent films and interviews with many famous stars and directors of the period. The episodes will run from 1 to 1:50 pm, and will be followed by that weeks feature film, which, in January, will highlight actors who successfully made the transition from silent film to talkies.

The movies are show in the Williamsburg Library Theatre, 515 Scotland Street. Admission is free and tickets are not required. Call the Adult Services Department at (757) 259-4050 or visit www.wrl.org/programs for more information.

January 3
1 p.m. - The Pioneers
An eye-opening look at the experience of watching silent films and the powerful effect they had on people throughout the world.

2 p.m. - Ninotchka (1939, unrated)
In her only comedy, Greta Garbo is delightful playing a dour communist official unsuccessfully trying to resist the allure of Melvyn Douglas and his luxurious capitalist lifestyle. The amusing satirical script was cowritten by Billy Wilder and directed by Ernst Lubitsch.

January 10
1 p.m. - In the Beginning
As stars like Mary Pickford and Charlie Chaplin become internationally famous, and directors like Cecil B. DeMille and D. W. Griffith create the first box-office blockbusters, silent film rapidly establishes itself as the most powerful medium of mass entertainment the world has ever known.

2 p.m. - Dinner at Eight
Seriocomic film about the personal problems of a colorful group of people attending a swank society dinner party. George Cukor directed from material written by Edna Ferber and Herman J. Mankiewicz. The all-star cast includes John and Lionel Barrymore, Jean Harlow, Billie Burke, Wallace Beery and Marie Dressler.

January 17
1 p.m. Hollywood Goes to War (1933, unrated)
The First World War breaks out and the film industry is over there in a big way, providing morale building patriotic films for civilians and troops. Movie stars also prove a potent force on bond selling drives.

2 p.m. - The Great Dictator (1940, unrated)
Charlie Chaplins first sound film is a slapstick satire of fascism in general, and Adolf Hitler in particular. A comedy of mistaken identity ensues when Adenoid Hynkel, dictator of Tomania, crosses paths with a lowly Jewish barber who bears a remarkable likeness to Hynkel. Chaplin plays both roles in addition to writing and directing the film.

January 24
1 p.m. - Single Beds and Double Standards
The celebrity scandal originated in the early 1920s when bad behavior by movie stars threatened to sink the fledging film industry and led to the implementation of the Hays Code, the industrys first attempt at self-censorship.

2 p.m. - The Women (1939, unrated)
Malicious gossip amongst backbiting society women destroys a previously happy marriage. This classic comedy is a superb blend of acting talent (Joan Crawford, Norma Shearer, Rosalind Russell), an exquisitely catty script by Clare Booth Luce and fine direction by George Cukor.

January 31
1 p.m. - Swanson and Valentino
The rise and fall of two major stars of the silent era.

2 p.m. - Sunset Boulevard (1950, unrated)
One of Hollywoods all-time great films is a dark expose of the industry itself. Gloria Swanson gives a heartbreaking performance as deluded silent film star Norma Desmond, dreaming of making a comeback in a world that has long since forgotten her. William Holden plays the cynical gigolo who both exploits and pities her. Billy Wilder directed and wrote the exceptional script.


Event submitted by Eventful.com on behalf of programs.