BELLOWS FALLS-On Thursdays in February at 6 p.m. at 33 Bridge Street in Bellows Falls, Stage 33 Live and WOOL.fm will screen a series of classic films newly entered into the public domain.
The lineup of films, as described by the organizers, is as follows:
• Feb. 5: King of Jazz, plus two cartoons featuring Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. King of Jazz is a lavish series of musical numbers, comedy sketches, and visual set pieces showcasing the possibilities of sound cinema and color filmmaking at the dawn of the 1930s. The film revels in Art Deco-inspired design and the use of two-color Technicolor, and celebrates popular music of the era.
Highlights include performances by Paul Whiteman and his orchestra, appearances by the Rhythm Boys (including a young Bing Crosby), and a striking "Rhapsody in Blue" sequence. Run time is 1 hour and 57 minutes, including a brief intermission.
• Feb. 12: All Quiet on the Western Front (1930). A German youth eagerly enters World War I, but his enthusiasm wanes as he gets a firsthand view of the horror. Considered a realistic and harrowing account of warfare in World War I, the film opened to wide acclaim in the United States.
In 1990, it was selected and preserved by the Library of Congress's National Film Registry, being deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." The film was the first to win the Academy Awards for both Outstanding Picture and Best Director, and it is the first Best Picture-winner based on a finished novel. Run time is 2 hours 14 minutes, including a brief intermission.
• Feb. 19: Hell's Angels. A feat of adventure filmmaking and a testament to the audacious, spare-no-expense vision of Howard Hughes, this landmark aviation epic remains exhilarating. With the onset of World War I, two British brothers recruited into the Royal Flying Corps find their bond tested by their differing attitudes toward the war and their love for the same woman (Jean Harlow in her bombshell breakthrough).
The product of a notoriously long and dangerous production that resulted in the deaths of multiple crew members, Hell's Angels broke new technical ground, making use of early sound and color technologies, and capturing some of the most thrilling dogfight scenes ever filmed. Runtime is 2 hours 13 minutes, including a brief intermission.
• Feb. 26: Animal Crackers and Soup to Nuts. Based on the Marx Brothers' 1928 stage musical, Animal Crackers is set at a Long Island society party honoring eccentric African explorer Captain Jeffrey T. Spaulding (Groucho). The film serves as a vehicle for the Marx Brothers' comedy and absurdist routines, with a minimal plot loosely structured around the theft of a valuable painting.
The film's humor and surrealist elements influenced comedy filmmaking and earned recognition from avant-garde critics and filmmakers.
In Soup to Nuts, Mr. Schmidt's costume store is bankrupt because he spends his time on Rube Goldberg-style inventions. The creditors send a young manager who falls for Schmidt's niece Louise, but she'll have none of him. Schmidt's friends and some goofy firemen try to help out, and things come to a slapstick head when Louise needs rescuing from a fire.
Soup to Nuts was the film debut of the original four members who would later go on to become known as The Three Stooges. Running time is 2 hours 50 minutes, including a brief intermission.
There is a $5 suggested donation at the door, but nobody will be turned away for lack of money. More information about this series, and other upcoming events, can be found at stage33live.com.
This Arts item was submitted to The Commons.