The following is guest post by Jenny Paxson, Administrative Assistant at the Packard Campus and the Packard Campus Theater programmer for December.
We finish 2014 with a quartet of wonderful holiday films, and as a special added attraction, here’s the trailer for Remember the Night, which will close out the calendar Saturday at 7:30 pm. The sound is a little rough, but rest assured that the feature will be presented in a beautiful 35mm print preserved by the Packard Campus Film Laboratory!
Remember the Night trailer (Paramount, 1940)
If you want to download this video, right-click here and Save As.
Thursday, December 18 (7:30 p.m.)
The Man Who Came to Dinner (Warner Bros., 1942)
When the acerbic and nationally popular radio personality Sheridan Whiteside slips on the icy front steps of a provincial Ohio businessman’s home at Christmastime and ends up in a wheelchair, he and his entourage take over the house indefinitely. Monty Woolley recreates his Broadway role as Whiteside in this delightful adaptation of the George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart play. Bette Davis gives a sympathetic and likeable performance as Whiteside’s assistant Maggie, in one of her rare appearances in a comedy. Directed by William Keighley, the film also features Richard Travis, Ann Sheridan, Jimmy Durante and Mary Wickes as nurse Preen in her hilarious film debut.
Friday, December 19 (7:30 p.m.)
Holiday Affair (RKO, 1949)
Janet Leigh stars in this Christmas gem as war widow Connie Ennis, who lives in a New York apartment with her precocious young son Timmy. While working undercover as a holiday comparison shopper, she inadvertently gets laid-back toy salesman Steve Mason (Robert Mitchum) fired from his job. Though Connie is engaged to a nice respectable lawyer (Wendell Corey), Steve’s appearance in her world shakes up her well-structured life. Don Hartman produced and directed this charming romantic comedy. Gordon Gebert, who charmed critics and audiences alike as Timmy, will make a special appearance for a Q&A after the film.
Saturday, December 20 (2 p.m.)
Elf (New Line, 2003)
In this family fantasy, one of Santa’s elves, who is much taller than his colleagues, learns that he is actually a human being and heads off to New York to meet his father, who is as un-Christmas-like a character as ever lived. Will Ferrell is a delight as the elf with the gift for spreading good cheer, even in a world of cynics. Directed by Jon Favreau, it also stars James Caan, Bob Newhart, Mary Steenburgen, Ed Asner and Zooey Deschanel.
Saturday, December 20 (7:30 p.m.)
Remember the Night (Paramount, 1940)
New York assistant district attorney John Sargent feels sorry for Lee Leander, a cynical shoplifter, who Sargent is scheduled to prosecute after the Christmas holidays. He pays her bail and after discovering they are from neighboring Midwest towns, takes her along on his trip back home to Indiana. Fred MacMurray and Barbara Stanwyck star in this romantic comedy-drama, with Beulah Bondi, Elizabeth Patterson and Sterling Holloway in supporting roles as Sargent’s family. This rediscovered Christmas classic was directed by Mitchell Leisen and written by Preston Sturges.
For more information on our programs, please visit the web site at www.loc.gov/avconservation/theater/.