JAMES STEWART ON THE BIG SCREEN: A FILM LECTURE SERIES

Hello Friends:

Why not escape from the summer heat to enjoy five movies starring one of filmdom's most beloved movie stars, Jimmy Stewart--or James Stewart, as he was always officially billed.

Stewart. It almost makes one think of the word STALWART. The website yourdictionary.com defines this word as follows: "A description for someone who is loyal and strong or for something that is reliable and sturdy." Perhaps the website should feature a photo of James Stewart next to its definition. Few other actors conjure so vividly an image of reliability, strength, and loyalty--traits that spring to mind when we use the term "All American."

Certainly these traits, when coupled with honesty, idealism, and integrity, are on exhibit in Stewart's portrayal of Jefferson Smith in the film that opens the series, director Frank Capra's Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. But while Smith was a career-defining role for Stewart, there was a tendency, perhaps, to assume that, because the actor played characters who possessed these traits, they were uncomplicated and one-dimensional.

Following Stewart's stint of duty as a bomber pilot during World War II, he returned to acting a changed man. The war had aged him, and he brought a less light, more complex sensibility to most of his screen portrayals from that point on.

For example, the five westerns that Stewart made with director Anthony Mann brought a darker, psychological dimension to the genre. Winchester '73 is one such film that will be featured in this series.

He also appeared in four films for director Alfred Hitchcock, including Vertigo, in which he plays a man who becomes obsessed with a woman to the point that he wants her look-alike to be in his thrall. In Rear Window, which will be shown during this series, Stewart plays another obsessed character, this time a convalescing photographer who takes to watching his neighbors. Is it possible that he is projecting many of his unresolved feelings about interpersonal relations onto the lives of the people in whose windows he is peering?

The series is rounded out by two romantic comedies: The Shop Around the Corner, an Ernst Lubitsch-directed confection that derives its sweetness from its Old World setting and characters; and Bell, Book & Candle, a late fifties piece of whimsy with Stewart's book publisher falling under the spell of beautiful witch Kim Novak.

Here's the series schedule -- all films are on Mondays at 1:00 P.M.

July  9th -- Mr. Smith Goes To Washington - Idealistic scout master Jefferson Smith is appointed to the senate and tries to fight corruption. With Jean Arthur, Claude Rains. 1939 -- Black & white -- 129 minutes.

July 16th -- The Shop Around the Corner - Two employees in a Budapest shop clash, but are unaware that they are sending anonymous love letters to one another. With Margaret Sullavan. 1940 -- Black & white -- 99 minutes.

July 23rd -- Winchester '73 - A man tries to find his father's murderer and the one-of-a-kind rifle that was stolen from him. With Shelley Winters, Dan Duryea. 1950 -- Black & white -- 92 minutes.

July 30th -- Rear Window - A photographer with a broken leg fears that a neighbor was murdered. Co-starring Grace Kelly and Thelma Ritter. 1954 -- Color -- 112 minutes.

Aug.  6th -- Bell, Book & Candle - A beautiful witch (Kim Novak) casts a spell to make a man fall in love with her. With Elsa Lanchester, Jack Lemmon, Ernie Kovacs. 1958 -- Color -- 106 minutes.


I look forward to seeing you all in our air-conditioned movie theater here at the Barrington Library.

Doug Swiszcz
Librarian and Film Enthusiast

PRESENTING CARY GRANT

Wednesdays, May 2, 9, 16, 23, 30 at 2:00 P.M.

Library Auditorium

Who hasn't enjoyed a Cary Grant film? The actor with the cleft chin and the "matinee idol" good looks left an indelible impression on the movie world. But Grant proved that he was more than just another handsome face. He had intelligence. He had a wonderful, often self-deprecating sense of humor. And, perhaps owing to his humble beginnings as Archibald Leach, he appealed to the common man. He may have been impeccably dressed and groomed, elegance personified, but he was never afraid to look foolish or vulnerable on the screen. Anyone who has seen him in movies like The Awful Truth and The Philadelphia Story knows that, good looks or not, if a scene called for him to take a pratfall, he did. Not that Grant excelled only in comedy. When paired with the right material and director, he could impress in dramatic roles. Look at the masterful way that he conveys a cold, brittle exterior, as a way to conceal feelings of jealousy and hurt, in Alfred Hitchcock's Notorious. Yes, it's true that, particularly as his career moved towards its fourth decade, Grant's characterizations sometimes relied on his debonair charm, as in the perennial romantic weepie, An Affair To Remember. But he rarely bored us with his film work. Even a casual fan of classic films would be able to name close to a dozen of Grant's memorable movies. I've chosen just five of his films for my May 2012 series. I hope that you will join me to experience anew the thrill of watching Cary Grant up on the big screen. I am sure that you will agree with me that Grant really was that good.

Here's the lineup:

May 2nd -- The Awful Truth -- Screwball comedy about a separated husband and wife (Grant, Irene Dunne) who each tries to sabotage the other's new love affair while waiting for their divorce to become final. 1937 -- Black & white -- 91 min.

May 9th -- The Philadelphia Story -- A socialite (Katharine Hepburn) plans to remarry, but not if her ex-husband (Grant) can help it. With James Stewart and Ruth Hussey. 1940 -- Black & white -- 112 min.

May 16th -- Notorious -- Alfred Hitchcock's classic film about a woman (Ingrid Bergman) who is asked by a U.S. government agent (Grant) to spy on a group of her father's Nazi friends down in Rio de Janeiro. 1946 -- Black & white -- 101 min.

May 23rd -- An Affair to Remember -- A man and woman, (Grant, Deborah Kerr) who are romantically involved with other people, have a shipboard romance. When they return to land, they agree to meet atop the Empire State Building in six months if they still feel love for one another. 1957 -- Color -- 119 min.

May 30th -- North by Northwest -- An advertising executive (Cary Grant) is pursued by enemy spies who have mistaken him for a U.S. CIA agent. Eva Marie Saint is the beautiful blonde whom he encounters along the way. Co-starring James Mason. 1959 -- Color -- 136 min.

As always, I look forward to seeing you all there.

Doug Swiszcz

Librarian & Film Enthusiast