FREE! Film and Television Lecture Series
Join us on select days at 7 pm in the Discovery Theater with acclaimed Film & TV critic Ron Miller as he discusses his personal association and interviews with legendary film and TV celebrities such as Lucille Ball, Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly, Alfred Hitchcock, Bette Davis, Barbara Stanwyck, Elizabeth Taylor as well as Halle Berry, Angelina Jolie and George Clooney, among others. Along with his personal anecdotes with these stars, Ron will show clips and occasionally, full length films from his personal collection.
Four Weeks with Oscar
Wednesday Nights 7 - 9 pm. Film series presented by film and television critic Ron Miller.
April 7: The Hollywood Jungle
An evening of thrills and hilarity as Ron traces Hollywood’s long love affair with jungles and the weird people who inhabit them – Tarzan, Sheena, Bomba, Nyoka, Jungle Jim, The Phantom and all those guys in gorilla costumes. Plus real-life jungles heroes Clyde Beatty, Frank “Bring ‘Em Back Alive” Buck, Martin & Osa Johnson and such classic jungle movies as “Trader Horn” and “King Solomon’s Mines”.
April 14: Hollywood: The Depression Years
How did Hollywood movies reflect the hard times of the 1930s and the social changes coming over America? Dramas, comedies, musicals, action pictures and other movie genres included – along with the great stars of the 1930s.
April 21: Hollywood: The War Years
By 1942, America was plunged into war in Europe, North Africa, and the South Pacific. Immediately Hollywood was involved in massive production of patriotic films loaded with anti-enemy propaganda. While stars like James Stewart and Clark Gable served on active military duty, others like John Wayne and Randolph Scott did their fighting on the big screen. Ron shows how Hollywood reflected the war and the struggle on the home front.
April 28: Hollywood: The Rebel Years
In the 1950s, Hollywood had to deal with a rising tide of social change, and new competition from TV. Included in this lecture: “Rebel” actors Marlon Brando and James Dean, a wave of “problem” films, the ordeal of McCarthyism and the new demand for sexual candor on the screen.
No admission charge - Complimentary popcorn and coffee.
