October 29, 2013 November Film Schedule Spotlights National Film Registry, Kennedy Legacy

An evening highlighting the television work of Ernie Kovacs and Edie Adams—rescheduled from Oct. 17—will kick off the November programs at the Library of Congress Packard Campus for Audio Visual Conservation theater. Film historian Ben Model will host the event on Nov. 1 and will return the following evening to provide live musical accompaniment for the 1916 silent film “The Half-Breed,” starring Douglas Fairbanks.

National Adoption Month will be celebrated with a film series, which includes “Raising Arizona,” “Anne of Green Gables,” “Bright Eyes,” and the critically acclaimed independent feature “Mother and Child.”

The Packard Campus will continue its ongoing 80th anniversary tribute to films produced in 1933. Moving Image Section Head Mike Mashon will present a new 35 mm print from the Packard Campus Film Preservation Lab of the 1933 Paul Muni feature “The World Changes.” The 50th anniversary of the death of the nation’s 35th president will be commemorated with a screening of the 1966 documentary “John F. Kennedy: Years of Lightning, Day of Drums.”

The second month of the new “Library of Congress Presents” film series at the State Theatre in Culpeper, Va., includes three films from the National Film Registry: Alfred Hitchcock’s “North by Northwest,” “The Best Years of Our Lives,” and Charlie Chaplin’s “The Kid.” For more information on the National Film Registry, visit www.loc.gov/film/filmnfr.html. The State Theatre will also showcase such classics from the Library’s collections as John Ford’s “Rio Bravo” and “Meet Me in St. Louis,” which will kick off the holiday season.

Short subjects will be presented before select programs. Titles are subject to change without notice. Screenings at the Packard Campus are preceded by an informative slide presentation about the film, with music selected by the Library’s Recorded Sound Section.

Seating at the Packard Campus Theater is on a first-come, first-serve basis. Patrons wishing to ensure admission to Packard Campus screenings may acquire a ticket by going to the State Theatre website at www.culpepertheatre.org External; visiting the State Theatre ticket office at 305 S. Main Street in Culpeper, Va., or calling the box office at (540) 829-0292. Ticketing service charges will apply and seats will be held until 10 minutes before showtime.

For general Packard Campus Theater information, call (540) 827-1079 ext. 79994 or (202) 707-9994 during regular business hours. Inquiries regarding the new ticketing policy can be made directly to Moving Image curator Rob Stone at (202) 707-0851 or via email to rsto@loc.gov.

In case of inclement weather, call the theater reservation line no more than three hours before showtime to confirm cancellations. The theater will be closed Oct. 11-12. For further information on the theater and film series, visit www.loc.gov/avconservation/theater/.

The Library of Congress Packard Campus for Audio Visual Conservation is a state-of-the-art facility funded as a gift to the nation by the Packard Humanities Institute. The Packard Campus is the site where the nation’s library acquires, preserves and provides access to the world’s largest and most comprehensive collection of motion pictures, television programs, radio broadcasts and sound recordings (www.loc.gov/avconservation/). The Packard Campus is home to nearly 7 million collection items. It provides staff support for the Library of Congress National Film Preservation Board, the National Recording Preservation Board and the national registries for film and recorded sound.

Founded in 1800, the Library of Congress is the nation’s oldest federal cultural institution. It seeks to spark imagination and creativity and to further human understanding and wisdom by providing access to knowledge through its magnificent collections, programs and exhibitions. Many of the Library’s rich resources can be accessed through its website at www.loc.gov.

Library of Congress Packard Campus Theater Schedule

Friday, Nov. 1 (7:30 p.m.)
“An Evening of Ernie Kovacs and Edie Adams on TV” (1950-1962)
Comic genius and television pioneer Ernie Kovacs and his on-screen partner and wife Edie Adams first appeared on television together in 1951. From that time on, they were consistently on all four networks until Kovacs’ death in 1962. Ben Model, who curated two “Ernie Kovacs Collection” DVD box sets (2011 and 2012), will present a program of highlights of Kovacs’ television shows and Adams’ solo variety series, “Here’s Edie.”

Saturday, Nov. 2 (7:30 p.m.)
“The Half-Breed” (Fine Arts Film Company, 1916)
Douglas Fairbanks plays a half-Native American social outcast living in the forest who ultimately finds acceptance from a medicine show dancing girl. Shot in Northern California near Boulder Creek by cinematographer Victor Fleming, the western drama was directed by Alan Dwan. This is a new restoration print by the San Francisco Silent Film Festival and Cinémathèque Française. Ben Model will provide live musical accompaniment and film preservationist Rob Byrne will discuss how various prints of “The Half-Breed” were found, combined and restored to its present condition.

Thursday, Nov. 7 (7:30 p.m.)
“Airplane!” (Paramount, 1980)
In this parody of disaster movies, commercial airline passenger Ted Striker, a traumatized former combat pilot, is forced to land the plane when food poisoning strikes the crew and there's no one else on board who can do the job. Robert Hays, Julie Hagerty, Lloyd Bridges, Leslie Nielsen, Peter Graves, Robert Stack and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar are part of the comedy’s ensemble cast. The film was added to the National Film Registry in 2010.

Thursday, Nov. 14 (7:30 p.m.)
CELEBRATING NATIONAL ADOPTION MONTH “Mother and Child” (Sony Pictures Classic, 2009 – R-rated*)
Fifty-year-old Karen (Annette Bening) regrets giving up her daughter, Elizabeth (Naomi Watts), for adoption. Years later, Elizabeth questions her own approach to life. Their stories intersect with that of Lucy (Kerry Washington) who hopes to fulfill her dream of motherhood through adoption. Rodrigo García wrote and directed this drama about parenting, sacrifice, romance and self-fulfillment. *No one under the age of 17 will be admitted without a parent or guardian.

Friday, Nov. 15 (7:30 p.m.)
CELEBRATING NATIONAL ADOPTION MONTH DOUBLE FEATURE “Anne of Green Gables” (RKO, 1934)
Farmer Matthew Cuthbert and his sister Marilla adopt Anne Shirley, a spirited orphan with a vivid imagination. Although they were expecting a boy to help with the farm work, Anne was quickly accepted, endearing herself to them and to the local villagers. Previously known as Dawn O’Day, the actress who played Anne took her professional name from the character she played in the film.

“Bright Eyes” (20th Century-Fox, 1934)
Shirley Temple plays Shirley Blake, the little darling of a group of aviators, who divides her time between her pilot godfather Loop (James Dunn) and her long-suffering mother (Lois Wilson), a housemaid for a selfish, wealthy family. When an accident leaves Shirley orphaned, Loop sets out to adopt Shirley, but soon learns he is not the only one determined to keep her. The film features Shirley’s most famous song, “The Good Ship Lollipop.”

Saturday, Nov. 16 (7:30 p.m.)
CELEBRATING NATIONAL ADOPTION MONTH “Raising Arizona” (20th Century-Fox, 1987)
Ex-cop Edwina "Ed" McDonnough (Holly Hunter) and her ex-con husband, H.I. (Nicolas Cage), are devastated when they learn they can't have children, so they decide to “borrow” one of the new quintuplets of furniture magnate Nathan Arizona and his wife. This screwball comedy was written and directed by Joel Coen and Ethan Coen.

Thursday, Nov. 21 (7:30 p.m.)
“The World Changes” (First National, 1933)
This saga of the rise and fall of a Midwestern family dynasty from the mid-1800s through the Great Depression stars Paul Muni as a young Dakota farm boy who pursues his ambitions by moving to Chicago. There he becomes a multimillionaire meat-packing baron—only to see his family life crumble before his eyes. Mervyn LeRoy directed the drama featuring a large cast that includes Mary Astor and Aline MacMahon. The Packard Campus Film Preservation Lab produced the new 35 mm print.

Friday, Nov. 22 (7:30 p.m.)
“John F. Kennedy: Years of Lightning, Day of Drums” (Embassy Pictures, 1965)
Scenes of President John F. Kennedy's personal efforts to implement his policies, his most famous speeches and his family life are interwoven with footage of his funeral in this memorial tribute. The film was narrated by Gregory Peck, written and directed by Bruce Herschensohn and produced by the United States Information Agency. Although not intended initially for public viewing, the documentary was so outstanding that a special act of Congress allowed it to be shown in theatres.

Saturday, Nov. 23 (7:30 p.m.)
“The Dumb Girl of Portici” (Universal, 1916)
A poor and mute Italian girl falls in love with a Spanish nobleman, but their affair triggers a revolution and national catastrophe. Legendary Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova made her lone feature-film appearance in Universal’s lavish adaptation of Daniel Auber’s 1828 opera “La muette de Portici.” The studio’s leading director Lois Weber, along with her husband Phillips Smalley, directed the film. The print is a new digital preservation copy produced by the Library of Congress Packard Campus for Audio Visual Conservation. Andrew Simpson provides live musical accompaniment.

State Theatre Schedule

Wednesday, Nov. 6 (7:30 p.m.)
“North by Northwest” (MGM, 1959)
Alfred Hitchcock directed this thriller starring Cary Grant as a hapless New York advertising executive who is mistaken for a spy, triggering a deadly cross-country chase. Co-starring Eva Marie Saint, the film features a script by Ernest Lehman, full of witty sophistication, and an exciting score by Bernard Herrmann. “North by Northwest” was added to the National Film Registry in 1995.

Wednesday, Nov. 13 (7:30 p. m.)
“The Best Years of Our Lives” (Goldwyn-RKO, 1946)
This American classic about three veterans returning home after WWII and readjusting to civilian life perfectly captured the mood of postwar America and is still powerful today. Directed by William Wyler and starring Fredric March, Dana Andrews, Harold Russell, Myrna Loy and Teresa Wright, the film won seven Oscars including Best Picture. It was added to the National Film Registry in its inaugural year of 1989.

Sunday, Nov. 17 (2 p.m.)
CELEBRATING NATIONAL ADOPTION MONTH “The Kid” (First National, 1921)
Charlie Chaplin's first real feature mixes slapstick and sentiment in a winning combination, as the Tramp raises a streetwise orphan. This wonderful film launched Jackie Coogan as major child star and was added to the National Film Registry in 2011. Andrew Simpson will provide live musical accompaniment.

Wednesday, Nov. 20 (7:30 p.m.)
“Rio Bravo” (Warner Bros., 1959)
Howard Hawks directed this classic American western that stars John Wayne as Texas Sheriff John T. Chance who tries to prevent a cadre of hired guns from breaking a killer out of jail. The only help available is his cantankerous old deputy with a bad leg, a drunk and an inexperienced young gunman who would rather not get involved. Claude Akins, Walter Brennan, Dean Martin, Ricky Nelson and Angie Dickinson round out the cast.

Sunday, Nov. 24 (2 p.m.)
“Meet Me in St. Louis” (MGM, 1944)
This captivating musical based on the 1942 novel by Sally Benson is slice of Americana about a family's experiences during the year of the St. Louis World's Fair in 1903. Vincente Minnelli directed his then-wife Judy Garland, who sings Ralph Blane and Hugh Martin songs “The Boy Next Door,'’ “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” and “The Trolley Song.” Margaret O'Brien, however, steals every scene she is in as Garland’s little sister Tootie. The film also stars Lucille Bremer, Tom Drake, Mary Astor and Leon Ames. “Meet Me in St. Louis” was added to the National Film Registry in 1994.