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Our 11th Annual Christmas Eve FIDDLER SING-ALONG is Just Around the Corner! Get Tickets Now!

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UPDATE! We’re pleased to announce our Fiddler Hosts for 2018!  Click here for bios.
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Music Hall
Michael Schlesinger – NEW! – writer, producer, and classic film expert, appearing on behalf of The Los Angeles Jewish Film Festival – BUY TIX

Ahrya Fine Arts
Robbo – NEW! – singer, songwriter, and song leader, appearing on behalf of Shalom Institute, home of Camp JCA Shalom – BUY TIX

Playhouse
Cantor Aviva Rosenbloom – NEW! – appearing on behalf of the Jewish Federation of the San Gabriel and Pamona Valleys – BUY TIX

Glendale
Elissa Glickman – NEW! – community leader, appearing on behalf of Glendale Arts – BUY TIX

Royal
Aaron Wolf – NEW! – director of Restoring Tomorrow, appearing on behalf of Camp Hes Kramer and Gindling Hilltop Camp – BUY TIX

NoHo 7
Gustavo Bulgach – musician, bandleader of Klezmer Juice – BUY TIX

Monica Film Center
Isaac Wade – NEW! – actor, and Monica Film Center GM – BUY TIX

Claremont 5
Dr. Arthur Benjamin  – NEW! – “mathemagician” appearing on behalf of Temple Beth Israel – BUY TIX

Town Center 5
Stephen Sass (4:30pm) – of the Jewish Historical Society of Southern CA – BUY TIX
Kenny Ellis (7:30pm) – entertainer, comedian, singer of Hanukah Swings! – BUY TIX

Jump below to find out more about our hosts.

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Can you believe it’s the 11th year of our Christmas Eve FIDDLER SING-ALONG!?  Join us in coming together as a community to celebrate the song, shtick, and shenanigans of Laemmle’s legendary Christmas Eve experience.

For 2018, this ever-popular event will be occurring at eight of our neighborhood venues including our brand new theater in Glendale and the magnificent single screen, art deco AHRYA FINE ARTS in Beverly Hills (see below for full listing and ticket links).

(Jump down to watch the Sing-A-Long trailer.  For tickets, visit Laemmle.com/Fiddler).

In addition to movie and song, the evening will feature TRIVIA with PRIZES being awarded to Fiddler buffs with the quickest recall.  Dressing in COSTUME is not required, but highly encouraged! Who knows, perhaps the best costume will garner a prize?  Or perhaps this is the year you’ll be given an opportunity to do your best Tevye or Golde impression?  That will be up to the emcee.  Indeed, each location will feature its own host (to be announced).

As Greg Laemmle is fond of saying “Christmas Eve isn’t just Chinese food!”  He elaborates, “This is your once-a-year chance to be the star of the shtetl. Join with friends and neighbors and sing your heart out alongside Fiddler’s screen legends. And it’s okay if you haven’t memorized all the songs. We provide the lyrics.”

Song highlights include the iconic “TRADITION”, “IF I WERE A RICH MAN”,  “TO LIFE”, “SUNRISE SUNSET”, “DO YOU LOVE ME?” and “ANATEVKA”, among many, many more.

Don’t be late! Those who wish to attend the program are advised to purchase tickets in advance as the program has traditionally sold to capacity. We welcome all those in the community who are looking for an alternative Christmas Eve.

See you in the shtetl…


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnuyNaOEBt4&feature=youtu.be

Fiddler Hosts – 2018

Michael Schlesinger at the Music Hall (Beverly Hills)
Writer, producer, and classic film expert MICHAEL SCHLESINGER will be our host at the MUSIC HALL in Beverly Hills. Known as the “the dean of classic film distributors,” Schlesinger worked for more than 25 years at MGM, Paramount and Sony, keeping hundreds of vintage movies in theatrical release. He was responsible for restoring many films, including the award-winning completion of ORSON WELLES’ 1942 documentary “It’s All True.” He has also recorded several DVD commentaries, is a “Trailers From Hell” guru and has appeared in numerous documentaries, notably the recent HBO smash “If You’re Not In The Obit, Eat Breakfast.” Behind the camera, he wrote and produced the American version of “Godzilla 2000” and co-produced such LARRY BLAMIRE comedies as “The Lost Skeleton Returns Again.” According to Schlesinger, he has “never fiddled, and avoids going up onto the roof.” His appearance at the will support our community partner, the THE LOS ANGELES JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL. BUY TIX

ROBBO at the Ahrya Fine Arts (Beverly Hills)
Singer, songwriter, and legendary Jewish camp songleader ROB ZELONKY, aka “ROBBO” will be our host at the AHRYA FINE ARTS venue in Beverly Hills. A three-time White House performer and Parent’s Choice Gold Award winner, Robbo has long been a staple of the national children’s music scene. His abundant material on Spotify and iTunes includes the stand-out album “A Kid’s Life” which features the vocal talents of Oscar and Emmy nominated celebrities including TERI GARR. Born into a musical family, Robbo began singing Yiddish and American folk songs around Chicago with his parents and sister as a young boy. ROBBO’s appearance at FIDDLER will support the SHALOM INSTITUTE. The institute operates CAMP JCA SHALOM in Malibu, one of the several Jewish camps that recently fell victim to the recent Woolsey Fire. Robbo served as the camp’s beloved songleader for over 20 years. BUY TIX

Cantor AVIVA ROSENBLOOM at the Playhouse 7 (Pasadena)
Creator of the Feminist Shabbat at Temple Israel of Hollywood and female cantor pioneer AVIVA ROSENBLOOM headlines proceedings at Laemmle’s Pasadena Playhouse. An anti-war activist and veteran of the Civil Rights Movement, Rosenbloom’s life trajectory changed after a transformational trip to Israel. With the realization that Jewish music was her calling, her journey soon led her to become the first full-time woman Cantor in Los Angeles. She served as Cantor at Temple Israel of Hollywood for over 30 years from 1975 to 2008. She is also a songwriter, with several recordings of Jewish music to her credit, including the career retrospective “Viva Aviva: A Life in Song.” Rosenbloom’s appearance will support our community partner, the JEWISH FEDERATION OF THE SAN GABRIEL AND POMONA VALLEYS. BUY TIX

ELISSA GLICKMAN at the Laemmle Glendale
Community leader and CEO of Glendale Arts, ELISSA GLICKMAN will be our host at the brand new Laemmle Glendale. GLENDALE ARTS is the non-profit organization the operates the iconic ALEX THEATRE, a Glendale landmark since 1925 and situated just around the corner from Laemmle. Glickman presides over a dynamic array of film and live programming designed to benefit youth, patrons, artists, and the broader community. She brings more than twenty years of non-profit marketing and event planning experience to the table including stops at the NATIONAL ACADEMY OF RECORDING ARTS AND SCIENCES, AIDS PROJECT LOS ANGELES, and the CHILDREN’S MUSEUM OF LOS ANGELES. Glickman has been awarded “Business Woman of the Year” from both the Glendale Chamber of Commerce and the CA State Assembly. Her appearance at FIDDLER will support the valuable work of Glendale Arts. BUY TIX

AARON WOLF at the Royal (West L.A.)
Award-winning actor and filmmaker AARON WOLF will be our host at the ROYAL THEATRE in West Los Angeles. A native Angeleno, Wolf’s latest film, RESTORING TOMORROW is a personal journey of rediscovery told through recounting the awe-inspiring restoration of our sacred spaces, including the synagogue of his upbringing, Wilshire Boulevard Temple. Currently, Wolf is in post-production on the thriller TAR about an ancient creature that lurks beneath the La Brea Tar Pits featuring Academy nominees Timothy Bottoms and Graham Greene. His upcoming comedy project LD UNIVERSITY, and its companion documentary “(We Are All) disAbled” tackles the important topic of learning disabilities and education. Wolf’s appearance will support the Wilshire Boulevard Temple Camps in Malibu – CAMP HESS KRAMER and GINDLING HILLTOP CAMP – both devastated in the Woolsey Fire. BUY TIX

gustavositting_crop_prGUSTAVO BULGACH at the NoHo 7 (N. Hollwyood)
Accomplished Klezmer musician and bandleader GUSTAVO BULGACH will be our host at the Royal in West L.A. Born and raised in Buenos Aires, Bulgach was inspired at an early age by the religious and secular life of the Argentine community. Now based in L.A., Bulgach travels the globe uplifting audiences with a vibrant, soulful Klezmer he terms the “soundtrack of the Diaspora.” Bulgach has been a longtime member of the House of Blues Foundation house band backing artist such as LITTLE RICHARD, TAJ MAHAL, and THE WAILERS. His own outfit, KLEZMER JUICE, was featured in the Hollywood mega hit movie THE WEDDING CRASHERS featuring Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn. BUY TIX

ISAAC WADE at the Monica Film Center (Santa Monica)
Laemmle’s very own ISAAC WADE is the General Manager of our MONICA FILM CENTER location and has been working with the company for over 16 years. He is the former GM of the storied LAEMMLE SUNSET 5 in W. Hollywood as well as the company’s signature ROYAL venue in West L.A. Additionally, the talented Wade is an accomplished thespian, working overseas and with several local companies such as the L.A. THEATRE ENSEMBLE and cARTel: THE ARTS COLLABORATIVE. During his youth in Kansas, he performed the role of TEVYE in the Galena High School production of Fiddler. Laemmle audiences who love and appreciate Wade in his role as theater manager are in for a treat as he reveals yet another facet of his dynamic persona. BUY TIX

Dr. ARTHUR BENJAMIN at the Claremont 5 (Claremont)
New this year to the Claremont 5, Dr. ARTHUR BENJAMIN brings his mesmerizing math and magic combo to host and entertain our Claremont audiences in an entirely unique way! Appearing on TV and radio on shows such as The Today Show, CNN, The Colbert Report, and NPR, Dr. Benjamin demonstrates and explains his secrets for performing rapid mental calculations faster than a calculator. He has given 3 TED Talks, one of which has been viewed over five million times. Reader’s Digest calls him “America’s Best Math Whiz”. Dr. Benjamin’s appearance will support TEMPLE BETH ISRAEL in Claremont, our Fiddler partner for the past six years. BUY TIX

STEVE SASS at the Town Center 5 (Encino, 4:30pm Show)
Community leader STEPHEN SASS currently serves as President of the JEWISH HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. As founding president of the BREED STREET SHUL PROJECT, he has been instrumental in the ongoing revitalization of one of L.A’s earliest synagogues built in 1915 in Boyle Heights. He co-wrote and executive-produced “Meet Me at Brooklyn & Soto” an award-winning documentary on East L.A.’s Jewish Heritage. What’s more, Sass is the chair of the L.A. COUNTY HISTORICAL LANDMARKS AND RECORDS COMMISSION, appointed by Supervisor Sheila Kuehl. In professional life, he is the Senior Vice President of Legal Affairs for HBO. Sass’ appearance will support our partner, Jewish Historical Society of Southern California. BUY TIX

KENNY ELLIS at theTown Center 5 (Encino, 7:30pm Show)
Known as “The Man Behind the Matzoh Ball,” cantor and comedian KENNY ELLIS will be our 7:30pm host in Encino. He appears in support of our partner, the JEWISH HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. As a cantor and comedian, Ellis has entertained audiences all around the globe. Currently the cantor at Temple Beth Ami in Santa Clarita, you can also catch Ellis at the LAUGH FACTORY in Hollywood. His television credits include recent appearances on CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM as well as LAW & ORDER. Ellis achieved further success with HANUKKAH SWINGS! a recording that broke new ground as the first ever big band Hanukkah album. Large YouTube audiences have enjoyed “Swingin’ Dreidel” and other tracks from the hit record. BUY TIX

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PROGRAM DETAILS

DATE: Monday, December 24th

TIME: 7:30pm

PRICING:
General – $18
Senior 62 & Over / Child 11 & Under – $15
Premiere Card General – $15
Premiere Card Senior 62 & Over / Child 11 & Under – $12

LOCATIONS:
Claremont – Get Tickets
Ahrya Fine Arts in Beverly Hills- Get Tickets
Glendale – Get Tickets
NoHo – Get Tickets
Playhouse in Pasadena – Get Tickets
Royal in West L.A. – Get Tickets
Monica Film Center in Santa Monica – Get Tickets
Town Center in Encino- Get Tickets 

Fifty-fifth Anniversary Screenings of Luchino Visconti’s THE LEOPARD on December 5th in Encino, Pasadena, and West LA

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Laemmle Theatres and the Anniversary Classics Series present a 55th anniversary screening of acclaimed director Luchino Visconti’s sumptuous masterpiece, THE LEOPARD (Il Gattopardo). The film will close out the year for the popular Anniversary Classics Abroad program of showcasing vintage foreign-language cinema.

The Leopard is based on the historical novel by Giuseppe Tomasi de Lampedusa, an international best seller upon publication in 1958. The story is set in the 1860s during the turbulent period of the “Risorgimento,” the struggle for the unification of Italy.

All this is reflected in the fate of one Sicilian aristocratic family, headed by Prince Fabrizio de Salina (Burt Lancaster). The Prince (the Leopard) at first resists all the political and social changes, but comes to accept them after their embrace by his pragmatic nephew (Alain Delon), who joins Garibaldi’s Red Shirts and marries the daughter (Claudia Cardinale) of an ambitious small-town merchant mayor to secure the family’s place in the new Italy.

Visconti was drawn to the material about fading aristocracy from his own heritage, as he was born to nobility in Milan. He had previously explored his country’s past with another historical adaptation, Senso, in 1954, and that film is also considered a masterwork.

The Leopard won the Palme D’or at the 1963 Cannes Film Festival and has been reissued on several occasions. The film is notable for its rich production design by Mario Garbuglia, cinematography by Giuseppe Rotunno, and Oscar-nominated costume design by Piero Tosi, who won an Honorary Oscar in 2014.

The original release reaped praise from The New York Times’ Bosley Crowther, “a stunning visualization of a mood of melancholy and nostalgia at the passing of an age.” Admiration has grown through the decades, with The London Observer calling it “That rare thing—a great film from a great book.” J. Hoberman in the Village Voice exclaimed, “The greatest film of its kind since World War II.”

Martin Scorsese is one of the film’s champions, placing it on his own personal list of the 12 greatest films ever made, extolling “the deeply measured tone…its use of vast spaces, and also the richness of every detail.” As a lament for a lost world, the film is considered Italy’s Gone With the Wind.

Also starring Terrence Hill (Mario Girotti), Paola Stoppa et al. Music by Nino Rota (La Strada, Romeo and Juliet, The Godfather). Visconti co-wrote the screenplay with Suso Cecchi d’Amico, Pasquale Festa Campanile, Enrico Medioli, and Massimo Franciosca.

The Leopard screens on December 5 at 7:00 PM at the Royal, Town Center, and Pasadena Playhouse.

Joanna Lancaster, daughter of Burt Lancaster, will participate in a pre-screening Q&A moderated by film critic Stephen Farber at the Laemmle Royal in West LA.

Click here for tickets.

Running time: 187 minutes
Italian with English subtitles
Format: Blu-ray

LAEMMLE LIVE presents: Crossroads School Jazz “A” Band December 2 in Santa Monica

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RSVP ON EVENTBRITE
This is a Free Event

LAEMMLE LIVE proudly presents the extraordinary Crossroads School Jazz “A” Band on Sunday, December 2, 2018 performing classic, contemporary and original jazz.

Crossroads School for Arts & Sciences is a K-12, coed college preparatory school in Santa Monica, California. Crossroads was founded upon five basic commitments: to academic excellence; to the arts; to the greater community; to the development of a student population of social, economic and racial diversity; and to the development of each student’s physical well-being and full human potential. One in four students receives financial assistance. The School is highly acclaimed for its programs and is a leader in public/private educational partnerships.

The program will be selected from the following: Inner Space, by Chick Corea, Drum Battle, by Kneedbody, Ridges, by Leo Major, My Foolish Heart, by Washington/Young, Have You Met Miss Jones, by Richard Rodgers, Red Clay, by Freddie Hubbard, Someday My Prince Will Come, by Churchill/Morey, In a Sentimental Mood, by Duke Ellington, 500 Miles High, by Chick Corea, Head in the Clouds, by Lucas Wurman, Isfahan, by Strayhorn/Ellington, Nardis, by Miles Davis, Capricornus, by Austin Peralta, Time After Time, by Cahn/Styne, Footprints, by Wayne Shorter.

Crossroads Jazz “A” Band
Leo Major, alto saxophone
Ethan Avery, trumpet
Will Kissinger, piano
Josh Lipp, guitar
Lucas Wurman, guitar/vocals
Will Royce, bass
Emilio Anamos, drums
Stefan Fayman, drums

This is a Free Event
RSVP ON EVENTBRITE

Sunday, December 2, 2018
11:00 AM
Monica Film Center

 

Dyan Cannon In Person for 45th Anniversary of THE LAST OF SHEILA on November 28 in West LA

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Following our sold-out screening of Death on the Nile, Laemmle Theatres and the Anniversary Classics Series present another treat for mystery lovers. THE LAST OF SHEILA is a modern-day whodunit, and according to Newsweek, “the story moves through intellectual gymnastics reminiscent of the best of Agatha Christie.” The scintillating screenplay represents the only script ever written by celebrated composer Stephen Sondheim, which he co-authored with actor Anthony Perkins.

Sondheim, Perkins, and director Herbert Ross were all fans of murder mystery games, and they channeled their enthusiasm into this intricate, suspenseful thriller, which also allowed them to poke fun at a whole gallery of Hollywood personalities. As Alan Howard wrote in The Hollywood Reporter, “The ingeniously constructed screenplay by Stephen Sondheim and Anthony Perkins is genuinely witty, gossipy and often downright malicious.”

The story begins with the death of Sheila, a gossip columnist who knew all the carefully guarded secrets of the stars and filmmakers in Tinseltown. She is run down in a hit-and-run accident, and the driver speeds away. A year later her husband, a wealthy and sadistic producer, invites their friends to a holiday on his yacht in the south of France. There he intends to have them join him in a series of mystery games, and he also plans to unmask one of them as the killer of his wife. But the games do not go exactly as planned, and soon a few more bodies begin to pile up.

Leonard Maltin called the elegantly photographed film a “super murder-puzzler about jet-set gamester who devises what turns into a deadly game of whodunit.” Ross assembled an all-star cast to play the conniving jet-setters: James Coburn as the producer, James Mason as a director fallen on hard times, Richard Benjamin as a struggling screenwriter, Joan Hackett as his supportive wife, Dyan Cannon as a bitchy Hollywood agent, Raquel Welch as a neurotic star, and Ian McShane as her manager husband.

Co-star Dyan Cannon received Oscar nominations for her performances in Paul Mazursky’s Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice and Warren Beatty’s Heaven Can Wait. She also earned a nomination for a short film she directed, Number One. Her other films include Such Good Friends, The Anderson Tapes, Revenge of the Pink Panther, Honeysuckle Rose, Deathtrap, Author! Author!, The End of Innocence (which she also wrote and directed), and Boynton Beach Club.

Writing of her performance in The Last of Sheila, The New York Times’ Vincent Canby declared, “Most colorful is Dyan Cannon, who plays the talent agent for all that the wisecracks are worth… she gives a very good, very comic performance. The others are also good, especially Richard Benjamin and Joan Hackett and James Mason… but the essential bitchery that makes the film work is provided by Miss Cannon and by all of the Sondheim-Perkins inside references.” The Hollywood Reporter agreed: “Dyan Cannon gives the performance of her career as a demonic Hollywood agent.”

THE LAST OF SHEILA with Dyan Cannon in person screens at 7pm on Wednesday, November 28th at the Royal Theater in West Los Angeles. Click here to purchase tickets.

Format: DVD

Eightieth Anniversary Screenings of Jean Renoir’s GRAND ILLUSION on November 14 in Encino, Pasadena, and West LA

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Laemmle Theatres and the Anniversary Classics Series present the latest in our Anniversary Classics Abroad program, Jean Renoir’s anti-war masterpiece, GRAND ILLUSION. We present this program to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I on November 11, 1918. Renoir’s film is generally regarded as the finest set during the First World War, and it endures as a memorable lament for the loss of an entire generation.

Part of the originality and impact of ‘Grand Illusion’ comes from the fact that it has no battle scenes. Much of it is set in a German prison camp where several French soldiers are under the command of an aristocratic German officer, played by silent film director Erich von Stroheim. The prisoners are portrayed by rising French actors Jean Gabin, Pierre Fresnay, and Marcel Dalio. Their struggle to escape the camp provides the suspense in the film’s second half.

Throughout the picture, Renoir sees the humanity in both captives and captors, and the film is especially notable in its portrayal of Dalio’s character, a wealthy French Jew. Filmed on the eve of the Second World War, Renoir deliberately chose to include a prominent Jewish character at a time when virulent anti-Semitism was on the rise in Europe. Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels called ‘Grand Illusion’ “Cinematic Public Enemy No. 1.”

Elsewhere, the film received nothing but acclaim. In 1937 it won a prize at the Venice Film Festival for Best Artistic Ensemble. When the film opened in the United States in 1938, it became the first foreign language film ever to be nominated by the Academy for Best Picture. (This would not happen again for 30 years, when ‘Z’ received a Best Picture nod in 1969.) Over the years the film was acclaimed by critics and also by other filmmakers. Orson Welles named ‘Grand Illusion’ as one of two films he would take with him to a desert island.

When the film was reissued years later, the New York Times’ Janet Maslin called it “one of the most haunting of all war films… an oasis of subtlety, moral intelligence and deep emotion on the cinematic landscape.” Pauline Kael praised the film as “a triumph of clarity and lucidity; every detail fits simply, easily, and intelligibly.” And Leonard Maltin acclaimed “Renoir’s classic treatise on war, focusing on French prisoners during WWI and their cultured German commandant. Beautiful performances enhance an eloquent script.”

GRAND ILLUSION screens at 7pm on Wednesday, November 14th at the Playhouse 7 in Pasadena, Royal Theatre in West LA, and Town Center 5 in Encino.

Click here to purchase tickets.

Format: DCP

LAEMMLE LIVE presents: Project LENS November 18 in Santa Monica

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RSVP ON EVENTBRITE
This is a Free Event

Please join us for a very special event as LAEMMLE LIVE presents Project LENS for their Los Angeles debut event on Sunday, November 18, 2018. The event will be presented by LENS co-founders Ariel Mitnick and Rainer Crosett, with featured guest speaker Hillary Green-Lerman, an expert data scientist from DataCamp, the premier online educational platform for data science learning.

Every Project LENS event features thrilling performances of classical music interwoven with a presentation from a non-musical field. For their LA debut, the LENS team will be revealing the commonalities between doing data science and interpreting works of music. A musician’s aim to tell a story through music by interpreting scores in a specific way is, as they will show, not so different from a data scientist’s mission to make raw data intelligible and meaningful to others, also if that line of work interests you, look into data workshops to gain some traction in the industry. These parallel interpretative journeys often lead to conflicting conclusions among both musicians and data scientists, with disagreements over whether, for example, a work of music is fundamentally humorous or tragic, or whether drinking coffee makes you live longer or shorter. What does an honest interpretation based on deep analysis look like in both cases, and what can go wrong? Join Project LENS for this discussion and live performances of string quartets by Beethoven and Debussy!

Project LENS is a performance collaborative founded in Boston in 2014 with the mission of exploring the many ways in which music is connected to the world around it. Our events weave TED-style talks given by experts in their fields together with classical performance, revealing parallels that cast both subjects in a new light. We believe music can interact meaningfully with virtually any other discipline, and our events have featured topics as diverse as evolution, moral philosophy, neurobiology, visual art, and documentary filmography. Our featured speakers have included world-renowned psychologist Steven Pinker, painter Samuel Bak, and numerous Harvard professors and researchers.

Our musical collaborators have included the GRAMMY Award-winning Parker Quartet, and we have appeared at venues ranging from Harvard’s Paine Hall to the Oberon Theatre, the Harvard Ed Portal, and Boston’s Pucker Gallery. Our three co-founders, Ariel Mitnick, Rainer Crosett, and Alan Toda-Ambaras, met during their studies in the Harvard-New England Conservatory Joint Program, and their combined accolades include prize-winning theses and top academic honors at Harvard College, top prizes at international music competitions, and collaborations with artists such as Yo-Yo Ma.

This is a Free Event
RSVP ON EVENTBRITE
Sunday, November 18, 2018
11:00 AM
Monica Film Center

 

Two Horror Classics from the Universal Studio Vaults on Tuesday, October 30 in Pasadena, NoHo, and West LA

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Laemmle Theatres and the Anniversary Classics Series present a double feature of classic Universal studios’ horror films on the eve of Halloween, October 30, in our popular Twofer Tuesday (two films for the price of one) program. We will show a “double treat” of the 85th anniversary of THE INVISIBLE MAN (1933) paired with the 70th anniversary of the horror-comedy ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN (1948).

THE INVISIBLE MAN was a key entry in the cycle of terror films from Universal studios in the early 1930s that helped secure its reputation as the “house of horror” in the early sound era. Produced by Carl Laemmle Jr., son of the studio founder, the film stars Claude Rains in his American screen debut and Gloria Stuart, and was based on the H. G. Wells’ novel, adapted for the screen by R. C. Sheriff (‘Goodbye, Mr. Chips,’ ‘The Four Feathers,’ ‘Odd Man Out’). Universal called on James Whale, the acclaimed director of ‘Frankenstein’ and ‘The Old Dark House’ (with ‘The Bride of Frankenstein’ still waiting in the wings in the genre), to helm the project.

Rains portrays Dr. Jack Griffin, a chemist whose experiments with an obscure drug go awry, rendering him invisible and murderously insane. Rains played the title character mostly as a disembodied voice, often shown swathed in bandages, appearing only briefly on screen. He would later become one of the most recognizable of British actors working in Hollywood, garnering four Oscar nominations (‘Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,’ ‘Casablanca,’ ‘Mr. Skeffington,’ ‘Notorious’) and dozens of notable performances in his illustrious career.

Leading lady Gloria Stuart would have to wait sixty-four years before she capped her career with an Oscar nod for ‘Titanic’ in 1997. THE INVISIBLE MAN was a major hit at the box office, and was named one of the year’s ten best by The New York Times, whose critic at the time wrote,“The story makes such superb cinematic material that one wonders why Hollywood did not film it sooner…it is a remarkable achievement.” In 2008 the Library of Congress added it to the National Film Registry.


ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN, as noted by TV Guide, is a “hilarious spoof of the Universal horror films of the 1930s and early 40s.” Bud Abbott and Lou Costello star as railway freight handlers who unwittingly deliver the “undead” bodies of Dracula (Bela Lugosi) and Frankenstein’s Monster (Glenn Strange) to a wax museum, where they are revived. Lon Chaney Jr. co-stars, recreating his role as the Wolf Man, who tries to aid the comic duo. Lugosi donned Dracula’s cape in a featured role for the second and final time on the screen. The Invisible Man also makes a cameo appearance, this time with the voice of Vincent Price.

The film, directed by Charles Barton from a screenplay by Robert Lees, Frederic Rinaldo, and John Grant, was such a huge hit that it propelled Abbott and Costello onto the Top Ten Box Office Stars Poll the following year, where they would be ranked for four consecutive years. Its success also spawned a series of seven films in which the duo would “meet” more of the monsters from the Universal vaults. The film is ranked 56th on the AFI’s list of the Funniest Movies, and was added to the National Film Registry in 2001.

The Halloween Eve Twofer Tuesday double bill of THE INVISIBLE MAN and ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN plays at three Laemmle locations: Royal, NoHo and Pasadena Playhouse 7 on October 30.

ABBOTT & COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN shows at 4:40 PM and 8:10 PM. THE INVISIBLE MAN shows at 6:30 PM and 9:55.

Click here to get tickets for the 4:40 PM or 8:10 PM ABBOTT & COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN with the 6:30 PM or 9:55 THE INVISIBLE MAN included.

Click here to get tickets for the 6:30 PM THE INVISIBLE MAN with the 8:10 PM ABBOTT & COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN included.

Jacques Tati’s MON ONCLE 60th Anniversary Screenings October 17 in Encino, Pasadena, and West LA

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Laemmle Theatres and the Anniversary Classics Series present the latest installment in our popular Anniversary Classics Abroad program, 60th anniversary screenings of the Oscar winner for Best Foreign Language Film of 1958, Jacques Tati’s MON ONCLE.

Tati made only six feature films over the course of his career (including Jour de Fete, Playtime, and Traffic), and this comedy—his first film in color—is considered one of the highlights.

Tati had introduced the character of Mr. Hulot in Mr. Hulot’s Holiday, his highly praised film from 1953. He once again plays the character of Hulot in this more ambitious satire of modern technology and its dehumanizing effect on family life. Jean-Pierre Zola and Adrienne Servantie play a married couple in thrall to a sterile, workaday world. Alain Becourt plays their young son who finds liberation with his playful uncle.

As in many of Tati’s films, Mon Oncle pays homage to the masters of silent comedy. There is very little dialogue in the film; instead the humor is visual, where the slightly futuristic settings are as important as the human characters. The ingenious sets were designed by Jacques Lagrange at the Victorine Studios outside Nice.

Variety wrote, “Jacques Tati’s film has inventiveness, gags, warmth and a ‘poetic’ approach to satire.” Leonard Maltin declared, “Tati’s first color film is a masterpiece… Continuous flow of sight gags (including the funniest fountain you’ll ever see) makes this easygoing, nearly dialogue-less comedy a total delight.”

The film has also had an enduring impact on many other directors. At the AFI Festival in 2010, David Lynch presented a screening of Mon Oncle and announced that it was one of the films that had the greatest influence on him.

MON ONCLE screens Wednesday, October 17, at 7pm at the Royal, Town Center, and Playhouse. Click here for tickets.