Idyllwild Film Festival - Weekly Cinema

This event takes place at the ALL NEW Cafe Cinema which can be found at its NEW home. Click HERE.

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	-- EVENT FRI JAN 27 2012 @ 7PM-- Tonight, Cafe Cinema presents a classic noir, HE WALKED BY NIGHT. It's Richard Basehart's film role and it's a great one. He plays Roy Martin, a clever thief who is also on the far mental fringe. He is a cop killer that outwits the entire police force with the help of his profound understanding of modern technology. Basehart utterly excels as the alienated villian who prowls the streets of LA at night. This is the film the recent NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN was heavily based on. HE WALKED BY NIGHT also as the distinction of being one of the beautifully filmed noirs of all time. Be prepared for a real noir treat.
	-- EVENT FRI FEB 3 2012 @ 7PM-- On Friday, Jan 27, Cafe Cinema will show a really rare film noir from 1947, REPEAT PERFORMANCE, starring Joan Leslie, Louis Hayward, Tom Conway and Richard Basehart. We thought we would show this classic to help punctuate the connection between film noir and the famous television show from the sixties, THE TWILIGHT ZONE. It turns out that B-movie actors from the golden age of noir filled out the casts of THE TWILIGHT ZONE. Both used the same stylized camera angles to create tension and dispair. The black and white photography used in the Rod Sterling show was almost frame for frame the same as that used in noir films. What makes REPEAT PERFORMANCE so eerily close to THE TWILIGHT ZONE is that unlike other noirs, there is a science fiction and fantasy element to it. Noirs always were always firmly grounded in reality and thus this film is a rarity not only in availability but also in story.
	-- EVENT FRI JAN 21 2012 @ 7PM-- On Friday, Jan 20, Cafe Cinema will present director King Vidor's first talkie and certainly one of his greatest and most pioneering films, HALLELUJAH! It was the first all black film to be produced by a major studio, in this case, MGM. Despite heavy reservations by all in his industry, Vidor was certain that this film would do well at the box office and offered to match MGM financing. It would never have been made otherwise. Besides being brilliantly photographed, this very human story never fails to be highly entertaining and moving. The two leads, Daniel L Haynes and the vivacious temptress, Nina Mae McKinney, give touching performances.
	-- EVENT FRI DEC 30 2011 @ 6PM-- NOTICE: This film was originally scheduled for earlier in the month of December. We moved it to December 30. Over a 100 years ago, filmmaker Herbert Ponting, accompanied Captain Robert F. Scott and his ill-fated expedition to the Antarctic. Ponting was able to capture some of the most striking footage in film history. He photographed magnificent vistas, industrious wildlife and most significantly, documented the living conditions and scientific work of the crew. In 1924, he assembled the footage into this exceptional documentary, complete with toning and tinting. The film was recently restored by the The British Film Institute which recreated the startling color and intricate detail of the original. In 1910, when Ponting sailed out with the Terra Nova, the purpose of recording the expedition was for scientific and commercial purposes. The strategy was to photograph and film so that Scott would have content for his anticipated lectures when he returned. With the dramatic events of the journey, it became much more. Captain Robert Scott described Herbert Ponting as 'an artist in love with his work'. The result is an awe-inspiring silent that will drop your jaw throughout its entirety. A film for the ages.
	-- EVENT FRI DEC 23 -- Capra's highly acclaimed, yet almost never seen drama from the Pre-Hays Code era, will no doubt perplex the viewer on why this film was just recently re-released after 80 years. Its that good. It stars the venerable Walter Huston as a bank executive who makes loans to low income workers. Naturally the bank board of directors goes ballistic for making what amounts to unqualified loans, albeit while the country is in the throes of a deep depression. The action of a not so honest bank teller magnifies the problem by creating a run on the bank. If this sounds familiar, it should. The concept was later integrated in core part of Frank Capra's classic 14 years later, ITS A WONDERFUL LIFE. Rounding out a stellar cast are Kay Johnson, Pat O'Brien, Constance Cummings. A great film for the holiday season.
	-- EVENT FRI DEC 2 2011 @ 7PM-- This week, Cafe Cinema will present the unforgettable Francois Truffaut romantic drama, JULES AND JIM, a homage to bohemian life in France and Germany just prior to the First World War and the Second, all the while immersed in the artistic revolution. The film stars Jeanne Moreau, Oskar Werner, and Henri Serre and is one of the great films of the French New Wave. The story examines the friendship of two writers, Austrian Jules and French Jim. They live a life of decadence in the years prior to World War I Paris. Their lives change when they both fall in love with the stunning Catherine, a capricious siren and free spirit.
	-- EVENT SAT NOV 5 2011 @ 6PM-- Cafe Cinema is proud to present a special this Saturday, November 5. Screen legend Boris Karloff's daughter, Sara, will be our special guest for a FREE showing of the classic, FRANKENSTEIN. In addition to discussing the making of the historic, gothic and horror masterpiece, Sara will bring some interestings effects of her legendary father and show some startling homemade movies. The event will be held at the Caine Learning Center, confirmed and scheduled for Saturday, November 5. Also, Cafe Aroma has been kind enough to put up an exhibit of classic horror film posters, many of which include Boris Karloff. This EVENT is FREE all are invited and the event is at the Caine Learning Center(Click for MAP)
	-- EVENT FRI OCT 28 2011 @ 7PM-- In anticipation for Mrs. Karloff's visit, we have chosen one Boris Karloff's greatest films, THE BODY SNATCHER, for our annual Halloween Haunted movie event. This film is the 8th and last time Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi appeared together. The Body Snatcher is based on a fictional Robert Louis Stevenson's short story and takes place in creepy 19th century Scotland. At the time, the use of cadavers was essential in medical research and education but the supply was meager. Grave robbers were particularly useful to the demented institutions thirst for knowledge.
	-- EVENT FRI OCT 21 2011 @ 7PM-- This week's film is a rare noir from the early fifties that was shot in Technicolor, NIAGARA. It stars the soon to be famous, Marilyn Monroe. Despite having a starring role, Marilyn was under contract to 20th Century-Fox for smaller character roles and so her salary was incredibly small. Everything else about the movie was anything but small, including the bigger than life setting of Niagara Falls. Although Marilyn Monroe is remembered primarily for comedies, this taut thriller never lets up and demonstrates with perfection Marilyn's ability to act in a leading role. The film also utilizes the backdrop of the dramatic Niagara Falls scenery with stunning results to create a very claustrophobic and precarious world that envelopes the duplicitous characters.
	-- EVENT FRI OCT 14 2011 @ 7PM-- This week's film is a 13-year project about the Canadian-born star's career and narrated by Michael YORK and traces the life of the movie pioneer. Pickford’s life (1892-1979) is also the telling of the "birth of the cinema" itself. Pickford, along with Douglas Fairbanks and Charlie Chaplin, created United Artists Studios which in turn was instrumental the founding of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Pickford also established the Motion Picture Retirement Home in Woodland Hills. Mary, known as "America's Sweetheart" was the first actress to earn one million dollars, and only star to ever receive a 50% profit of her movies. She was the first actor, male or female, to have her name placed on the Cinema’s marquee along with the film’s title, and she was the second to win an Oscar for Best Actress or her performance in the 1929 film COQUETTE. In 1976, Mary was presented with her second Academy Award for her humanitarian work.
	-- EVENT FRI SEPT 30 2011 @ 7PM-- Our dear friends and Cafe Cinema regulars, Lori and Will, are leaving the hill next month and so their many friends collectively thought it only fitting to throw a going-away (and film) party this Friday, September 30 at 7:00 PM. We asked them to pick a film to show at their tribute and they together selected two comedies. One is from Israel, BONSIEUR MONSIEUR SHLOMI, and the other a short film William starred in with recent local American Idol contestant, Casey Abrams, SEX AMONG OTHER THINGS. Lori is a very accomplished music composer and William is renowned for being an extremely popular instructor at our local arts academy, Idyllwild Arts. This coming of age teen comedy centers around sixteen year old Shlomi, who is a responsible teenager who takes care of his mother, grandfather and brother. Shlomi is also a tremendous cook and can handle alot of the household needs of his family. Things change for Shlomi when his school's principal discovers Shlomi is a genius and attempts to guide him through a career path that involves a change in is schooling. However, Shlomi is lovestruck with the girl next door and feels compelled to continue watching over his family.
	-- EVENT SAT SEPT 24 2011 @ 7PM-- This Saturday night, Cafe Cinema presents one of the best comedies of all time, The Four Marx Brothers in DUCK SOUP from 1933. This classic is in a very short list of films that could actually be viewed with the sound off and most people would laugh hysterically. Don't worry, we will keep the sound on. At one level, the film seems to break every record in absurdity. At another level, it's a biting and cohesive attack on politics and all those eager to encourage a people or nation to go to war. To start off the evening of high comedy, we will show some short films that are certain to make you "toss your cookies".
	-- EVENT FRI SEPT 16 2011 @ 7PM-- This Friday night, Cafe Cinema will pay tribute a truly great American actor, Cliff Robertson, who passed away recently. We have chosen a rarely seen noir from 1961, UNDERWORLD USA. This dark and edgy syndicate drama grabs you from the very beginning and never lets go. Cliff Robertson is fantastic in his portrayal of ultra determined man working his way up through the mob to punish the men who killed his father. Director Sam Fuller is really at his peak here with this noir gem for the ages. UNDERWORLD USA is fraught with creative camera angles, tense action and superb acting throughout.
	-- SPECIAL EVENT SEPT 10 2011 @ 7PM-- This Saturday night, Cafe Cinema will celebrated our projectionist birthday with a showing from his favorite director, Jacques Tati. Although Tati passed away in 1982, a screenplay he wrote in the late fifties, THE ILLUSIONIST, was never used and is the basis of this Saturday night's Academy Award Nominated animated film. Sylvain Chomet, who directed another animated classic, THE TRIPLETS OF BELLEVILLE (2003), was personally handed the unknown script from Tati's daughter Sophie, who was tremendously impressed with his vision of Tati's world.
	-- EVENT SEPT 2 2011 @ 7PM-- This week, Cafe Cinema will show the first film to win the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film, Frederico Fellini's 1954 masterpiece, LA STRATA. This legendary film concerns an irresponsible girl who is sold to a traveling strongman, played by Anthony Quinn, who subsequently endures both physical and emotional torment during the road ("la strada") trip. This is easily one of world cinema's greatest achievements and should be seen by one and all.
	-- SPECIAL EVENT AUGUST 26 @ 7PM-- This Friday night, we have a very special event to complement Jazz Weekend here in our hometown of Idyllwild, California. We will present A TRIBUTE TO THE NICHOLAS BROTHERS which traces the 60-year career of the world's most famous song-and-dance team. There is literally nothing in our culture today that remotely compares to the genius of these performers. The sensational Nicholas Brothers, Fayard (1914-2006) and Harold (1921-2000), are generally considered among the greatest dancers of the 20th century. With gigantic racial obstacles, the African American dancers became one of the most popular and respected musical acts of their time. This special tribute is produced and will be hosted by the Projectionist at Cafe Cinema.
	-- EVENT AUGUST 19 @ 7PM-- The 1933 Busby Berkeley musical from the depression era, FOOTLIGHT PARADE, elevated the damped conditions of a hurting America if for no other reason but to allow James Cagney the chance to show his prodigious talent from his vaudeville days. He plays the ultra optimistic Chester Kent, a musical theater producer whose livelihood is threatened with the advent of talking pictures. So what does he do? He puts together live musical prologues before the showing of movies. It works great for awhile until his competitors copy him. That is when the fireworks begin and a "show of shows" is put into effect that defies description. Its Hollywood at its best!
	-- EVENT AUGUST 12 7PM-- The star of this week's film, Louise Brooks, would have to go down as one of Hollywood's most eclectic personalities. She became famous for portraying the ultra independent Lulu in PANDORA'S BOX. She absolutely refused to play water-downed roles that Hollywood producers offered her and preferred to act in much less restrictive roles overseas. She felt that roles for women should be real and not formulated by the imagination of a male dominated film industry. Be prepared to be wowed out of your chair by the one an only Louise Brooks in her second most famous role.. Please click HERE for more information.
	-- EVENT JULY 22 7PM-- This week, Cafe Cinema will show director Clarence Brown's NIGHT FLIGHT (1933), a film that hasn't been shown in any format since 1942 because of rights issues. This aviation drama produced by David O. Selznick stars a "bigger than life cast" which includes Clark Gable, Helen Hayes, Myrna Loy, Robert Montgomery and brothers John and Lionel Barrymore. Set in South America, it's based a novel by Antoine de Saint-Exupery (The Little Prince). Only MGM, with their incredible 'more stars than there are in the heavens' slogan, could assemble a cast like this one. The film was re-released literally just a few days ago and we have the newly restored print ready for film nite. Please click HERE for more information.
	-- EVENT TBA-- The film genre known as Science Fiction is all about rationally looking at alternative possibilities in future settings, technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities. We thought it would be fun and educational to sample some remarkable Sci-Fi film efforts from around the world at our next Cafe Cinema . THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING MAN (1957): We will show the 1950's sci-fi classic, THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING MAN (1957). The story follows Scott Carey who gets doused with a potent combo of radiation and insecticides. He begins to get very small and seeks the help of medical science. After learning that there is little that conventional medical wisdom can do for him he quickly learns how to defend himself against giant villians such as people, cats and spiders and how to find food and water in the huge wasteland he used to call his basement. Please click HERE for more information.

-- EVENT FRIDAY, JULY 1, 2011 --

THE ROAD TO MOROCCO (1942): This week, we will show one of the funniest, if not funniest, Hope-Crosby-Lamour road films, THE ROAD TO MOROCCO. In this comedic gem, Bob Hope and Bing Crosby land on a desert shore and then promply get sold into slavery to a beautiful princess played by Dorothy Lamour. Its side pains every minute of the way. Before the main feature exhibition, we will show a couple of short clips involving the multi-talented Bob Hope. The first is a segment from when he used to host the Academy Awards way back in the fifties and includes a couple of memorable repartees with Humphrey Bogart, Bing Crosby and Cary Grant. The second is a searing dance number with James Cagney. Yes, Bob Hope could dance! Please click HERE for more information.

-- EVENT FRIDAY, JUNE 24, 2011 --

THE PETRIFIED FOREST (1936): The film noir movement is generally regarded as beginning in 1941 with THE MALTESE FALCON. This week's film is a precursor of film noir (proto-noir) as it has many of the elements associated with film noir. It was adapted from Robert E. Sherwood's stage play. Both Humphrey Bogart and Leslie Howard performed in the play. Bette Davis was used for the film version. Delmer Daves handled the screenplay.

If it were not for this film, Humphrey Bogart may never have become a household name. Due to the diligence of the film's star, Leslie Howard, who demanded that Bogart play the role, and not Edgar G. Robinson, Bogie soared to stardom as the ganster, Duke Mantee. Bogart he remained grateful to Howard throughout his life. He and his wife, Lauren Bacall, named their daughter Leslie Howard Bogart in honor of Howard, who had been killed in a plane crash under while on duty in World War II. Please click HERE for more information.

-- EVENT FRIDAY, JUNE 17, 2011 --

We have the unmatchable privilege of exhibiting the renunion of Cafe Cinema diehard, Svetlana and Cary Grant's one and only daughter, Jennifer Grant. Svetlana, who helped raise Jennifer from ages 14 to 18 while under the employ of Cary Grant, had not seen Jennifer for almost THIRTY years. We have the magical meeting forever saved digitally. The meeting took place a few weeks ago at a book signing by Jennifer to promote her biography about Mr. Grant, entitled GOOD STUFF. We will also show 15 minutes of a recently taped interview with Jennifer where she shares her memories of growing up with her most famous father. A extremely funny film starring Cary Grant, MONKEY BUSINESS 1952, follows. Please check this LINK for more info.

-- EVENT FRIDAY, JUNE 17, 2011 --

Naturally, a Cary Grant film is in order so we will show director Howard's Hawks comedy, MONKEY BUSINESS (1952), starring Cary Grant, Ginger Rogers, Charles Coburn and Marilyn Monroe. Legendary Hollywood director, Howard Hawks, holds nothing back in this madcap farce, portraying Cary Grant’s research scientist’s attempts to produce a formula for eternal youth.

-- EVENT FRIDAY, JUNE 10, 2011 --

One of great romantic classics of the silent era, RED LILY (1924) is a stirring and emotional romance from the newly formed MGM Studios and stars the heart-throb of the day, Ramon Navarro, in a tale of love and separation.

-- EVENT FRIDAY, MAY 27, 2011 --

"WHAM! ... It Hits you Right in the Teeth"

A top-notch noir from director Phil Karlson and starring John Payne, Evelyn Keyes and Brad Dexter. Director Karlson made a few films where the theme focused on heroes who are innocent working class guys framed for crimes they did not commit. This film along with KANSAS CITY CONFIDENTIAL are now considered landmark films and play an important role in the canon of film noir. Payne, who plays the hero, his hounded by both police and bad guys, and has to track down the crooks himself and prove his innocence.

-- EVENT FRIDAY MAY 20, 2011 --

THE UNDERWORLD STORY: a largely unknown noir crime thriller which is actually one of the bests. This film is packed with references to the unfair treatment of suspected "tainted" Americans by HUAC. The story follows an unscrupulous small town newspaper reporter, terrifically portrayed by veteran film noir slime bag, Dan Duryea. Director and writer Cy Endfield keeps the action going nonstop with the aid of the great cinematographers, Stanley Cortez. The cast is ultra talented, down to smallest role.

This event takes place at the ALL NEW Cafe Cinema now located at its new home. Click HERE for directions.

-- EVENT WEDNESDAY MAY 11, 2011 --

Throughout this summer and fall, Cafe Cinema will show one silent film every month. There is no better way to kick this series off with one of, if not the, most influential films in cinema history. THE CABINET OF DR CALIGARI (1920) is the first example in cinema of German Expressionism, a visual style in which both the characters and the world itself are out of whack. It is also the first true horror film ever made. We will have the newly restored print, ever so horrific, for your cinematic perusal this Wednesday night at 7:00 PM. We will also talk a bit about the upcoming Arthur Lyons Film Noir Festival in Palm Springs and make arrangements for our annual Day of Noir field trip.

This event takes place at the ALL NEW Cafe Cinema now located at its new home. Click HERE for directions.

-- EVENT FRIDAY MAY 6, 2011 --

WHISTLE DOWN THE WIND is the timeless tale of faith and hope as seen through the eyes of these three young girls that live on a farm in Lancashire England. Alan Bates is stunning as the escaped criminal who is mistaken for Jesus by the girls. Leading the girls is the one and only Hayley Mills in a career defining role you won't soon forget.

This event takes place at the ALL NEW Cafe Cinema now located at its new home. Click HERE for directions.

-- EVENT FRIDAY, April 1, 2011 --

The American film, Les Misérables, is a 1935 romance based upon the famous Victor Hugo novel. It was directed by Richard Boleslawski and it was the last film for 20th Century Pictures before it merged with Fox Film Corporation to form 20th Century Fox. It concerns an ex-convict who understandbly fails to report to his parole officer and is tirelessly pursued by an obsessive policeman for a twenty year stretch. The acting duel between March (Valjean) and Laughton (Javert) is legendary. This event takes place at the ALL NEW Cafe Cinema now located at its new home. Click HERE for directions.

-- EVENT FRIDAY, MARCH 25, 2011 --

This Friday, March 25, at 7 PM, we will show the Abbott and Costello comedy classic, HOLD THAT GHOST (1941). This is Abbott and Costello's best film. Their unique atmosphere and spot on eye for detail really peaks in this film and it's impossible to dislike. They shine so much and they are perpetually hilarious. The candle holding scene will kill you. There is a wonderfull dance routine with Lou & Joan Davis that will leave fuzzy all over. This event takes place at the ALL NEW Cafe Cinema now located at its new home. Click HERE for directions.

-- EVENT FRIDAY, MARCH 18, 2011 --

This Friday, March 18, at 7 PM, we will show the film that caused a lot of confusion in my father's life (he had the same name as the director, Sam Taylor), Harold Lloyd's SAFETY LAST (1923). This silent-comedy classic concerns a store clerk (Lloyd) who organizes a contest to climb the outside of a tall building. Fate kicks in and he must do it himself. The scene of Lloyd hanging from the hands of a clock on the side of building and many flights up is easily one of the most famous in all of film history. This event takes place at the ALL NEW Cafe Cinema now located at its new home. Click HERE for directions.

-- EVENT FRIDAY, MARCH 11, 2011 --

This Friday, March 11, at 7 PM, we will show Alfred Hitchcock's A LADY VANISHES (1938), which may best be described as what you get when combine CASABLANCA with STRANGERS ON A TRAIN. A stupendous plot mixed with captivating dialogue, unforgettable characters and great direction by Hitch easily makes this one of the great comedy-thriller-mystery efforts in film history. This event takes place at the ALL NEW Cafe Cinema now located at its new home. Click HERE for directions.

-- EVENT FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 2011 --

Cafe Cinema will show two Academy Award winning films from 2010 this Friday, March 4 at 7:00 PM. The first is this year's winner of Best Short Film, Live Action, GOD OF LOVE. A dart champion, who is lovestruck, mysteriously receives a box of love-inducing darts. The main feature, INSIDE JOB, won Best Documentary. It's a penetrating look of exactly how US financial system got taken down. The film will be shown at the new home of Cafe Cinema. Click HERE for directions.

-- EVENT FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2011 --

To celebrate the upcoming Valentines Day, Cafe Cinema will present one of the great English comedies by the now legendary Ealing Studios of England, KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS. The film's focus is a very remote relative of the Duke of D'Ascoyne who schemes to become the next Duke by killing the eight others ahead of him as heirs. Alec Guinness, aka Mr. Anonymous, plays all eight members of the same family, male and female and with a remarkable 60 year age span.

-- EVENT FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2011 --

In the spirit of the upcoming Valentine's Day, Cafe Cinema will show, CITY LIGHTS (1931) by director, producer, actor and screenwriter, Charles Chaplin, the Tramp comes to the aid of a blind flower girl, who he has fallen in love with. The result is a comic masterpiece that few films, if any, have equaled.

-- EVENT FRIDAY, JAN 28, 2011 --

This Friday night, January 28, Cafe Cinema will show a film from 1968 by legendary documentary director, Frederick Wiseman. HIGH SCHOOL accomplishes a tricky feat in filmmaking. It both captures a specific time and place in our country's history and simultaneously transcends it. HIGH SCHOOL chronicles the many interactions between students and faculty members at a generally white, middle class school in Philadelphia. One thing that will grab you immediately is that little has changed in 43 years. Mystifying conformist attitudes and pressures still prevail in high school. This film was selected to the National Film Registry, Library of Congress, in 1991.

-- EVENT FRIDAY, JAN 21, 2011 --

DEAR ZACHARY is more than just a great documentary. It's one of the most inspiring films you will every see. It starts as a filmic love letter to a son who will never see his dad. It then shifts into a stunning and heart-wrenching search into the circumstances of the fathers death and the subsequent custody battle that followed. A true crime story like no other.

-- EVENT FRIDAY, JAN 7, 2011 --

Director Alan Rudolph's neo-noir 1985 cult classic, TROUBLE IN MIND, has been described as a low budget BLADE RUNNER, but it extends into areas that you couldn't even dream of. Its a crime drama based in an alternate urban landscape with hardboiled heros, rain-drenched streets and alleys and curious characters lurking in shadowy areas. Kris Kristofferson, Keith Carradine and Genevieve Bujold star in this most hypnotic and poignant modern noir.

Cafe Cinema is a free community event provided by Idyllwild Film Festival
and is made possible only with the generous sponsorship of many individuals
and by the following Idyllwild area establishments:

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