Upcoming "Uninterrupted" Saturday Night Cinemas

May 15 – The Philadelphia Story

James Stewart won his first Oscar for Best Actor in the role of the reporter MacCaulay Connor in this fast paced funny film from 1940. You know the old story about Stewart not getting the Oscar for “Mr. Smith Goes To Washington” the year before. Well some would have you believe the Academy awarded him the Oscar for this movie to make up for him not getting in 1939. Stewart had no plans to attend the Oscar ceremony the year he was nominated for this film. Just before the ceremony began, he received a call at home "advising" him to slip into a dinner jacket and attend the ceremony. He did and he received the award for Best Actor. This was in the days before an accounting firm kept the Oscar voting results secret. He thought the award should have gone to Henry Fonda for “The Grapes of Wrath”.

Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn co-star.

May 22 – The Thin Man

This is the movie that started it all. William Powell and Myrna Loy star in this 1934 caper. There were six films in “The Thin Man” series.

People always think The Thin Man title refers to Nick Charles. In fact it is the murder victim played by Edward Ellis in this film. Audiences and critics alike kept referring to Nick Charles as "the Thin Man", so subsequent films kept the name.

May 29 – Gigi

Our last film for May is Gigi starring Maurice Chevalier, Leslie Caron and Louie Jourdan. It is from 1958. This film received nine Oscar nominations and won every one of them including Best Picture. Director Vincente Minnelli won his only Oscar for this film. According to Minnelli, when shooting in the French restaurant Maxim's, the film crew wanted the restaurant's famous mirrored walls to be covered up because they would reflect the equipment, but Minnelli contended that they had to be seen (and uncovered) as they were the hallmark of Maxim's. Eventually cinematographer Joseph Ruttenberg resolved the matter satisfactorily, by putting suction cups on photo flood lights. Ingenious!

Saturday Night Cinema takes a two week break in June for our Special Membership Campaign.

I hope you can join us on June 19 for “The Magnificent Seven” starring Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen, Eli Wallach, Charles Bronson and Robert Vaughn. Talk about action packed.

And our final film for this season is “High Society” on June 26 with Bing, Frank and in her last film appearance Grace Kelly.

I’m Bill Stanley and I’ll see you on Saturday Night Cinema!