The following is a guest post by Jenny Paxson of the Packard Campus.
Thursday, January 10 (7:30 p.m.)
Ed Sullivan’s Toast of the Town (CBS, 1948-1954)
The American institution known as The Ed Sullivan Show was first titled Toast of the Town when it began broadcasting live from New York on June 20, 1948 – a time when less than 1% of U.S. households had a television set. This program of clips from the first six years of the long-running variety series was curated from original 16mm kinescopes of the show. Included are appearances by Jackie Gleason, Nat King Cole, Peggy Lee, Sarah Vaughn, Zero Mostel, Cab Calloway, Louis Prima, W.C. Handy, Lionel Hampton, Pearl Bailey, Tony Bennett, Les Paul & Mary Ford, Walt Disney, Xavier Cugat with Abbe Lane, Bill Haley & the Comets and Marilyn Monroe’s screen test from 1947. Digital presentation. Approximately 100 min.
Friday, January 11 (7:30 p.m.)
Misery (Columbia, 1990 – rated R*)
Kathy Bates won a Best Actress Oscar for her portrayal of Annie Wilkes, an obsessive fan of romance novelist Paul Sheldon (James Caan). When Annie rescues Sheldon after he crashes his car during a blizzard, he comes to realize that the nursing care she is giving him is the beginning of a nightmare. Oscar-winning screenwriter William Goldman adapted the 1987 Stephen King novel, creating a heart-stopping psychological thriller. Directed by Rob Reiner, the cast also includes Richard Farnsworth, Frances Sternhagen and Lauren Bacall. 35mm archival film print. 107 min. *Rated R, no one under the age of 17 will be admitted without a parent or guardian.
Saturday, January 12 (2 p.m.)
Balto (Universal, 1995)
In this family-friendly animated film, Balto, an outcast dog, transports some desperately needed medicine through a series of blinding storms in Alaska. This epic drama adventure directed by Simon Wells is loosely based on a true story about the dog of the same name who helped save children from the diphtheria epidemic in the 1925 serum run to Nome. The voice cast includes Kevin Bacon, Bridget Fonda, Jim Cummings, Phil Collins (in a dual role), and Bob Hoskins with Miriam Margoyles in a live-action sequence. 35mm archival film print. 78 min.
Saturday, January 12 (7:30 p.m.)
Beauty and the Beast (DisCina, 1946)
Jean Cocteau’s sublime adaptation of Mme. Leprince de Beaumont’s fairy-tale masterpiece – in which the pure love of a beautiful girl melts the heart of a feral but gentle beast – is a landmark of motion picture fantasy, with unforgettably romantic performances by Jean Marais and Josette Day. The spectacular visions of enchantment, desire, and death in Beauty and the Beast (La Belle et la Bête) have become timeless icons of cinematic wonder. Critic Roger Ebert wrote in his four star review, “Before the days of computer effects and modern creature makeup, here is a fantasy alive with trick shots and astonishing effects, giving us a Beast who is lonely like a man and misunderstood like an animal. Cocteau, a poet and surrealist, was not making a ‘children’s film’ but was adapting a classic French tale that he felt had a special message after the suffering of World War II: Anyone who has an unhappy childhood may grow up to be a Beast.” In French with English subtitles. 35mm restoration film print on loan from Janus Films. 93 min.
For more information on our programs, please visit the website at: www.loc.gov/avconservation/theater/.