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February 21, 2008, Thursday, 2:30 p.m. Sabrina (1954) directed by Billy Wilder Runtime: 113 min. Billy Wilder directs the lighthearted romantic comedy Sabrina, based on the play by Samuel A. Taylor. Sabrina Fairchild (Audrey Hepburn) is the simple, naļve daughter of a chauffeur, Thomas Fairchild (John Williams). They live on an estate with the wealthy Oliver Larrabee (Walter Hampden) and his two sons: workaholic older brother Linus (Humphrey Bogart) and fun-loving younger brother David (William Holden). Sabrina adores the charming David, but he thinks of her as just a kid. Her father sends her away to Paris for chef school where she meets Baron St. Fontanel (Marcel Dallo), and she returns a worldly, sophisticated woman. David immediately falls for her, but he is already engaged to marry heiress Elizabeth Tyson (Martha Hyer). Sabrina wants to break up the wedding in order to finally catch the man of her dreams, while Linus fights to keep the marriage on in the interest of family business and Mr. Tyson's fortune. In order to keep Sabrina away from David, Linus pretends to court her himself. (source: allmovie.com) |
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March 14, 2008, Friday, 2:30 p.m. The Secret of Roan Inish (1994) Runtime: 103 min. The magic of folklore forms the basis of this Irish tale by writer-director John Sayles. Adapted from the book Secret of the Ron Mor Skerry, the 1940s story is told from the point-of-view of Fiona (Jeni Courtney), a young girl sent to live with her grandparents in an Irish fishing town. Her grandfather weaves grand stories about the family's evacuation from their home on the tiny island of Roan Inish and about his great-great grandfather, who once cheated death at the hands of the unforgiving sea. As she meets other villagers, Fiona hears even more personal stories about an uncle who married a beautiful, part-human/ part-seal and about how the sea stole her baby brother during the departure from Roan Inish. Later, Fiona believes that she has found Jamie romping in the grass on Roan Inish, and she must convince the family of her vision. (source: allmovie.com) |
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March 20th, 2008, Thursday, 2:30 p.m. Witness for the Prosecution directed by Billy Wilder Runtime: 116 min. Having just recovered from a heart attack, fabled British barrister Sir Wilfred Robards (Charles Laughton) has been ordered by his doctor to give up everything he holds dear-brandy, cigars and especially courtroom cases. Robards' already shaky resolve to follow doctor's orders flies out the window when he takes up the defense of Leonard Vole (Tyrone Power), a personable young man accused of murdering a rich old widow. The case becomes something of a sticky wicket when Vole's "loving" German wife Christine (Marlene Dietrich) announces that she's not legally married to Robards' client-and she fully intends to appear as a witness for the prosecution! (source: allmovie.com)
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April 17th, 2008, Thursday, 2:30 p.m. The Fortune Cookie directed by Billy Wilder Runtime: 125 min. The British title of Billy Wilder's classic comedy was Meet Whiplash Willie — for, despite Jack Lemmon star billing, the movie's driving force is Oscar-winning Walter Matthau as gloriously underhanded lawyer "Whiplash" Willie Gingrich. CBS cameraman Harry Hinkle (Lemmon) is injured when he is accidentally bulldozed by football player Luther "Boom Boom" Jackson (Ron Rich) during a Cleveland Browns game. Willie, Harry's brother-in-law, foresees an insurance-settlement bonanza, and he convinces Harry to pretend to be incapacitated by the accident. |
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May 2, 2008, Friday, 2:30 p.m. I Remember Mama (1948) Runtime: 103 min. George Steven's charming film version of Kathryn Forbes' collection of short stories entitled Mama's Bank Account features Irene Dunne as Mama in one of her finest and most ingratiating performances. The film is narrated by Mama's daughter Katrin (Barbara Del Geddes), recalling the trials and tribulations of her family in turn-of-the-century San Francisco. Mama tries to keep her house in order and her family on their toes as a motley assortment of eccentric relatives, boarders, and friends — including Uncle Chris (Oscar Homolka), Mr. Hyde (Cedric Hardwicke), Dr. Johnson (Rudy Vallee), Mr. Thorkelson (Edgar Bergen) — weave in and out of their lives. (source: www.allmovies.com) |
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May 22nd, 2008, Thursday, 2:30 p.m. Irma La Douce directed by Billy Wilder Runtime: 144 min. This romantic comedy opens with a resounding warning: its chief concerns are passion, bloodshed, desire, and death. "Everything," exclaims the narrator, "that makes life worth living." Irma La Douce (Shirley MacLaine) is Paris' most prosperous prostitute. Wise, endearing, and compulsively clad in green, Irma rules the rue Casanova. She triumphantly works the most coveted corner on a street where the cops gladly look the other way and the naughty johns leave tips. However, to upright Nester Patou (Jack Lemmon), the area's new policeman, genial wrongdoing is still wrongdoing. Freshly promoted from day patrol at a children's playground, the scrupulous Nestor arrests Irma and her colleagues in a bumbling, unauthorized raid. He takes pity on Irma, but harasses the guilty johns — including the police captain. Promptly unemployed, Nester returns to the scene of his crime, the rue, and to Irma. After physically besting her pimp, Nester unwittingly takes his position. The two fall madly in love, but Nestor quickly grows jealous of Irma's patrons. |
