Hitchcock: Master of Suspense
A Film Lecture Series with Librarian Doug Swiszcz
Wednesdays October 7 - November 4 at 1 pm

Hitchcock: hear the name, even just the surname, and you know exactly what kind of film to expect. Films of mystery, suspense, of beautiful women in peril, of men who find themselves wrongly accused or pursued. Films that show the very thin line that separates good from evil. Films that exploit the voyeuristic nature of watching movies, that make those sitting in the cinema complicit in the crimes committed, the compulsions unable to be repressed up on the screen.

Hitchcock began by making silent films in England. He keenly understood the purely visual aspect of storytelling that is such an intrinsic part of movies, one which carried over to his "talking pictures." He meticulously planned each shot long before filming began, and there was little to no deviation from this blueprint once the cameras started rolling.

For my Fall 2015 film lecture series, I've chosen five Hitchcock movies from his Hollywood era--a career trajectory that began when he was signed by producer David O. Selznick and made Rebecca. Based on the novel by Daphne du Maurier, this Oscar-winning Best Film explored the strong grip that the past can exert on the present. A new bride comes to live with her husband at his Cornish estate, where the memory of his deceased first wife hangs as thickly and oppressively as dense fog. Just who was Rebecca, and what are the secrets surrounding her?

Strangers on a Train was based on a book by Patricia Highsmith, who is probably best known for creating the character of  the murderous, amoral Tom Ripley in a series that included The Talented Mr. Ripley. The anti-hero in Strangers on a Train, Bruno Anthony, is no less morally compromised--and just as murderous. Bruno suggests to famed tennis player Guy Haines that he would be happy to kill Guy's promiscuous wife, if Guy would return the favor by killing Bruno's despised father. Only Bruno is (pardon the expression) dead serious, and soon Guy is in over his head.

Hitchcock's penchant for voyeurism was never better exploited than in Rear Window, in which a photographer convalescing with a broken leg peers through his binoculars to watch his neighbors. Soon he becomes convinced that one neighbor, who bickers with his wife, has killed her. Just like a movie audience, the observer suddenly finds himself complicit in the transgressions of those being observed.

The object of the gaze also figures prominently in Vertigo, in which a retired police detective is asked to tail a friend's wife--and becomes mesmerized with her to the point of obsession. Even after the woman is gone, the ex-cop feels the need to try to bring her back, to recreate her, even as his blurring of fantasy and reality sends him reeling towards a nervous breakdown.

Finally, The Birds ostensibly looks at the onslaught by hundreds of birds on a small Pacific Coast town. Is the film making a comment on the human race's arrogant belief that it is in control of nature, or is all of this man-versus-nature terror merely a pretext for exploring the relationships between a widow, the grown son that she fears losing, and the pretty young heiress to whom he has become attracted?

Hitchcock's films are like onions: peel off one layer, and another is revealed. His movies can be dense, inscrutable, revealing new facets with each viewing, yielding new secrets with each coaxing.

I invite you to join me so that we can discover anew the joys and complexities of Alfred Hitchcock's work. I look forward to seeing you soon.

Here's the lineup:

October 7 - Rebecca (1940) - Joan Fontaine, Laurence Olivier, Judith Anderson, George Sanders. B&W - 130 min. - unrated

October 14 - Strangers on a Train (1951) - Farley Granger, Robert Walker.  B&W - 101 min, - unrated

October 21 - Rear Window (1954) - James Stewart, Grace Kelly, Thelma Ritter.  Color - 112 min. - unrated

October 28 - Vertigo (1958) - James Stewart, Kim Novak.  Color - 128 min. - unrated

November 4 - The Birds (1963) - Color - 119 min. - rated PG-13 for violence involving bird attacks, some disturbing images, and brief language

BIG MOVIES ON THE BIG SCREEN

FILM LECTURE SERIES - WEDNESDAYS, JULY 8 - AUGUST 5, 2015 - 1:00 p.m.

It hardly seems as though summer is almost here, it's been so cool lately.

But we all know that it's only a matter of time before summer takes up residence, bringing with it heat and humidity.

Why not leave the stifling midday heat for the air-conditioned comfort of the library's auditorium, to enjoy some outsized films the way that they were meant to be experi-enced: on a large screen, with immersive sound that will place you right in the middle of the action.

Feel the rush of adrenaline as Charlton Heston is pitted against Stephen Boyd in the heart-pounding chariot race that is the centerpiece in Ben-Hur.

Watch rival gangs the Jets and the Sharks fight to defend their New York turf, while lovers Tony and Maria play out their ill-fated romance on back alley fire escapes, in the musical West Side Story.

Join the enigmatic T.E. Lawrence (Peter O'Toole) as he leads the Arabs' revolt against the Turks in the expansive Arabian Desert during World War I, in director David Lean's epic Lawrence of Arabia.

Experience, along with (fictional) couple Jack and Rose (Leonardo Di Caprio Jr. and Kate Winslet), the fateful night in April 1912 when the S.S. Titanic hit an iceberg in the North Atlantic on its maiden voyage, in James Cameron's blockbuster Titanic.

Finally, be swept up in the heartwarming story of the bond between a young man and his horse, and the separation that they must endure when the horse is consigned to the British Cavalry during World War I, in Steven Spielberg's War Horse.

As usual, I'll provide you with brief pre-film commentary to help you better appreciate the pictures that we'll be watching together.

But wait!!--
Because these movies are rather epic in scope (and length!), they are better enjoyed with an intermission. These breaks will give you a chance to stretch your legs, go to the powder room, and absorb what you've experienced during each film's first half. During these 15-minute intermissions, complimentary light refreshments will be served. Enjoy a cool drink and an edible goody before settling back in for the remainder of the movie.

I hope that you'll enjoy this experience as much as I am looking forward to presenting it to you.

Doug Swiszcz
Librarian & Film Enthusiast

Here's the lineup (all running times include my pre-film commentary and the 15-min. intermission):

July  8 - Ben-Hur (1959 - Color - 4 hrs., 15 min. - Rated G)

July 15 - West Side Story (1961 - Color - 3 hrs., 15 min. - Unrated)

July 22 - Lawrence of Arabia (1962 - Color - 4 hrs., 15 min. - Rated PG)

July 29 - Titanic (1997 - Color - 4 hrs. - Rated PG-13)

Aug. 5 - War Horse (2011 - Color - 3 hrs. -Rated PG-13)

SINATRA 100 - A FILM LECTURE SERIES IN HONOR OF THE CENTENARY OF HIS BIRTH

Wednesdays, May 6 - June 3, 2015 at 1:00 PM

There he sits, apparently between shots on a movie set. Although Frank Sinatra logged more time in recording studios and on concert and nightclub stages during his lengthy career, he was able to parlay his success into all kinds of media: radio, television, and, germane to this post, movies.

It was only natural that Hollywood would come calling in the early 1940s, at a time when young Francis Albert Sinatra was making bobby-soxers swoon at venues like New York's Paramount Theater. He was "all the rage," as they say, and Hollywood wanted a piece of the action.

What followed was a film career that carried him into the early 1980s, although the last two decades showed a decrease in output.

But, for a time, Sinatra was a constant presence up on the big screen, appearing in musicals (naturally), dramas, comedies, detective stories, war pictures, even a western or two.

This coming December will mark the 100th anniversary of Sinatra's birth, and I thought that it would be a good time for us to share a handful of the close to 60 movies that the Chairman of the Board made.

On the Town teamed the slim, jug-eared movie neophyte with star Gene Kelly and fellow supporting player Jules Munshin, in Leonard Bernstein's and Comden & Green's story of three sailors' 24-hour shore leave in the city that, Sinatra would tell us decades later in song, "doesn't sleep"--namely, New York. Vera-Ellen, Ann Miller, and Betty Garrett offered fine support in this singing-dancing extravaganza.

From Here to Eternity, based on the James Jones novel set on a Hawaiian army base shortly before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, was part of a career renaissance that Sinatra experienced in the early 1950s, after he hit rock bottom personally and professionally. Playing a private with a chip on his shoulder who runs afoul of a sadistic stockade warden, Sinatra won a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award--one of eight gold statuettes that the production earned.

No longer a supporting player, Ol Blue Eyes headlined a 1955 film noted for its frank (you'll pardon the pun) depiction of a heroin addict in The Man With the Golden Arm. Sinatra earned an Oscar nomination for his harrowing portrayal of a one-time junkie who struggles to turn his life around. With Kim Novak, Darren McGavin, and Eleanor Parker.

Pal Joey, the screen adaptation of the Broadway hit, was retooled to serve as a permanent record, if you will, of the 1950s-era Sinatra, with a reputation for being a likable cad with a knack for charming the ladies. Torn between wealthy socialite Rita Hayworth and young chorus girl Kim Novak, Sinatra got to sing those great Rodgers and Hart songs with arrangements from his Capitol Records arranger of the day, Nelson Riddle.

We conclude the series with The Manchurian Candidate, one of the greatest political thrillers ever committed to film. Sinatra played a former Korean War military commander troubled by dreams involving an officer who served with him during the war. Laurence Harvey, Janet Leight, and Angela Lansbury all lent solid support in this tense exploration of America's Cold War fears.

I look forward to seeing you in May, as we collectively salute the cinematic career of a man who stands as, arguably, one of the greatest entertainers of the 20th century--or of any century.

Doug Swiszcz
Librarian and Film Enthusiast

Here's the lineup, at a glance:

May  6: On The Town - 1949 - Color - 98 minutes

May 13: From Here to Eternity - 1953 - Black & white - 118 minutes

May 20: The Man With the Golden Arm - 1955 - Black & white - 119 minutes

May 27: Pal Joey - 1957 - Color - 111 minutes

June   3: The Manchurian Candidate - 1962 - Black & white - 126 minutes

FASTEN YOUR SEAT BELTS! - A BETTE DAVIS FILM LECTURE SERIES

There was no one quite like her. Small in physical size but larger than life on the silver screen, Bette Davis was a movie star back in the days when that term--movie star--meant something. Not fitting into the roles normally available to actresses of her time--neither demure, girl-next-door ingenue, nor sex goddess--Davis found a niche for herself playing women who often resented (either outwardly or with simmering repression) the strictures that society placed upon them.

My early Spring 2015 film lecture series (yes, think spring!) will salute Davis with six movies that show the different ways that she expressed the battles that her characters fought.

In Jezebel, Davis is a willful Southern belle in antebellum New Orleans who refuses to follow the social mores of her day, and whose tempestuous ways bring about unhappiness for herself and others.

The Letter has Davis playing the wife of a man who runs a rubber plantation in Singapore (they're both British colonialists). She shoots and kills a man, claiming that she was defending herself from his physical advances. But what of the existence of a letter that may present the facts of the case differently?

Now, Voyager shows the resilience of the human spirit, with Davis playing a repressed spinster who evolves into a confident woman, but who nevertheless does not adhere to the path in life expected of her.

All About Eve has Davis in fine form as an aging stage actress who is not willing to settle comfortably into the quiescence imposed by her youth-centered profession, even as a young admirer plots to steal her thunder.

Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? proves that Davis herself was not ready for retirement, even as she passed the half-century mark, with a warts-and-all portrayal of a faded child star who plans a comeback, as she holds her crippled sister (Joan Crawford) captive in their home. What's so impressive is that, despite the gargoyle-like outward appearance of the over-the-hill star, Davis mines the pathos at the core of the character.

Dead Ringer concludes the series, and this post-Baby Jane entry has Davis playing twins, one of whom has spent the majority of her life in the lap of luxury, while the other has eked out a hardscrabble life. Just how does the poor twin deal with her resentment of her more fortunate sister? By killing her and assuming her identity, of course.

Davis certainly led a tumultuous life, marked by the separation of her parents when she was a child (which left her without paternal love), four failed marriages, the discovery that one of her adopted children was mentally retarded, and the betrayal of her only natural-born daughter late in life. But Davis was in many ways a trailblazer. Dropped by her first movie studio because she wasn't considered sexy, she helped to recast the ways that we define beauty, paving the way for actresses like Streisand, Cher, Bette Midler, and Meryl Streep. At Warner Bros. studio, she battled fiercely for better scripts and directors, even walking out of her contract in defiance. But it was never about being a diva. If Bette was troublesome on some of her movie sets, it was always in service to the integrity of her character and the film. And, as headstrong and tenacious as she could be, Davis was insightful enough to know that she needed a strong director to temper her histrionic ways.

I look forward to you joining me, on six consecutive Wednesdays at 1:00 PM beginning March 4th, to contemplate and enjoy just a sampling of the work of this most iconic actress of the golden days of Hollywood cinema.

Doug Swiszcz
Librarian & Film Enthusiast

Here's the line-up:

March  4th - Jezebel (1938 - black &white - 104 minutes)

March 11th - The Letter (1940 - black & white - 95 minutes)

March 18th - Now, Voyager (1942 - black & white - 117 minutes)

March 25th - All About Eve (1950 - black & white - 138 minutes)

April    1st - Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962 - black & white - 134 minutes)

April    8th - Dead Ringer (1964 - black & white - 116 minutes)

JUST IN TIME FOR VALENTINE'S DAY....
MOONSTRUCK
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2015 AT 1:00 PM

It's always fascinating to consider the less than rational, circuitous route that Cupid's arrow can take on its way to the heart. In this delightful romantic comedy from 1987, Cher plays Loretta Castorini, a late thirties widow who hopes to reverse the streak of bad luck that began with her first, short-lived marriage. She accepts a marriage proposal from her safe, steady boyfriend, Johnny Cammareri (Danny Aiello). However, things get messy when Loretta meets Johnny's estranged brother Ronny (Nicolas Cage), a fiery, brooding man with a kind of raw sensuality. Ronny is as over-the-top as the grand operas that he loves, and Loretta feels an attraction to him that she doesn't feel with Johnny. A full moon casts a spell of enchantment over all of New York in a wise, funny film about taking chances, not settling, and following your heart, even when your sane, reasoned side tells you otherwise. Cher won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance, and Olympia Dukakis won for Best Supporting Actress for her world-weary but wise portrayal of Cher's mother. Also in the cast are John Mahoney and Vincent Gardenia. (Color - 102 minutes - Rated PG for sensuality and language)

I look forward to enjoying this film with you on the Wednesday before Valentine's Day.

Doug Swiszcz
Librarian & Film Enthusiast