If you can find it, check out the May 1984 issue (Volume 14 Number 3) of Cinefantastique. There’s a 20-page retrospective article on 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea written by Joel Frazier and Harry Hathorne. It’s one of the best “making of” articles on…
A toast to the upcoming Pickwick Theatre Classic Film Series! I have a Nemo-like desire to escape the world at the surface– the movie world where violence and noise vibrate against the walls of every multiplex across the country. Away from that I will take audiences…
On September 26, 2013, we will be showing the definitive screen version of Jules Verne’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. However, a lot of people do not realize there was an earlier silent version of the film made in 1916. The…
I thought for this entry I would quote at length from film director Richard Fleischer’s wonderful memoir, Just Tell Me When to Cry (1993). In Chapter VIII, Fleischer offers insightful revelations on working with Walt Disney, hunting and killing sharks, and handling a difficult star like Kirk Douglas. The…
Our first show has to be something special. Something that would look great on a big screen: in Technicolor and Cinemascope! It would have to be a film the parents could bring their kids to– a well-loved family classic… There were many films to choose…
Now that your film operator has a main switchboard, I thought I’d go back to earlier days and record what I feel was the turning point of our Classic Film program at the Park Ridge Public Library. Sections of this entry were actually…
Power Family Visits Park Ridge Classic Film Series: Part II Originally published on 6/1/13 in the Crossed Swords movie blog… On Thursday night, May 16, the Park Ridge Public Library screened The Black Swan (1942) starring Tyrone Power. Beforehand, I mentioned that…
Power Family Visits Park Ridge Classic Film Series: Part I Originally published on 5/20/13 in the Crossed Swords movie blog… This past Thursday night we were honored to have Tyrone Power’s youngest daughter, Taryn, and her daughter, Valentina, as guests prior to…
Treasure at the Pickwick Originally published on 4/29/13 in the Crossed Swords movie blog… Audiences of all ages lined up down the block this past Sunday to see The Black Pirate starring Douglas Fairbanks. This screening was held at the historic Pickwick…
Opening Night for the Crossed Swords film series! Originally published 3/15/13 in the Crossed Swords movie blog… “Seventy-five years ago, FDR was our President, the Chicago Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup, and Superman debuted in Action Comics. Nineteen thirty-eight was…