Penn State Altoona Film Series: Fall 2009

All films shown on Sundays at 7 p.m. at the Devorris Downtown Center
Admission is free - Everyone is invited
SEPTEMBER OCTOBER NOVEMBER

September 13 - The Boys (and Girl) From County Clare (2003) is full of Irish charm and foot-stomping Irish music. The story involves two brothers intent on winning the ceili band competition at the annual Irish Music festival. The younger brother’s band is from Liverpool and he hopes to upset his older brother’s group, which has won the prize for two years in a row. Boys stars Colm Meaney as Jimmy McMahon, Bernard Hill as his older sibling John Joe, and the beautiful Andrea Corr (of the Corrs family band) as a star fiddler. Boys is a filmic treat from the old sod. Rated R, for some sexuality and nudity. 100 min.

September 20 - A Shot in the Dark (1964), is the second “Pink Panther” film to feature the bumbling French Inspector Clouseau, but the first in which the character played by the great Peter Sellers is the sole focus of the film. Using an impenetrable French accent, Sellers’s Clouseau is the center of a maelstrom of slapstick misadventures. The plot follows Clouseau’s attempts to capture the person responsible for the murder seen in the opening sequence. He refuses to believe that the prime suspect, the beautiful Elke Sommer, could be the guilty party. Herbert Lom is hysterical as Inspector Dreyfus as is Burt Kwouk as Clouseau’s manservant Kato. The great George Sanders appears as a stuffy aristocrat (but has a very difficult time keeping a straight face!). One of Dark’s more memorable bits takes place in a nudist camp, where Sellers and Sommers use artfully placed objects to keep the film from being R rated instead of PG. 102 min.

September 27 - Tell No One (2008) is a French suspense thriller based on a novel by American mystery writer Harlen Coben. A pediatrician named Alex (Francois Cluzet) is haunted by the death of his wife Margot (Marie-Josee Croze) eight years earlier. Even though his innocence seems a given, the police still keep their eyes on him. When he sees a video that suggests his wife is not dead, he begins to be pulled deeper into the mystery of what really happened to him and his wife. One of the best thrillers in years Tell No One deservedly won rave reviews from critics on both sides of the Atlantic. Intricately plotted, dense, and nerve-jangling, the film is a Rubik’s Cube of clues, false steps, and sudden surprises that is very satisfying. In French/English subtitles.NR. 131 min.

October 4 - Beau Geste (1939) is another great film from the greatest year in Hollywood history. Gary Cooper, Ray Milland, and Robert Preston (Victor/Victoria) star as three brothers who join the Foreign Legion to prevent a scandal when a precious gem is stolen from their adopted family and the finger of suspicion points at them. Soon, they and everyone in Fort Zinderneuf in the Sahara find themselves at the mercy of a cruel and sadistic Sergeant, played with menace and wit by a wonderful Brian Donlevy (who was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award). Cooper’s performance as Beau, the oldest of the Geste brothers, relies upon the actor’s quiet strength and decency. J. Carrol Naish is very good as the weasly Rasinoff the Rat, and Preston’s and Milland’s two brothers are charming and brave. NR. 112 min.

October 11 - Whiskey Galore! (1949) is a sparkling comedy gem from director Alexander Mackendrick and that most British of British studios, Ealing. The story is slight but beguiling—a freighter carrying 50,000 cases of whiskey ends up on the rocks just offshore a small island with nothing west of it but the Atlantic Ocean and America. Suffering from a wartime lack of whiskey (“the water of life”) the inhabitants decide to save the precious cargo from the sea even though an officious home service commander believes the bounty belongs to the Revenue service. The film is awash in faces familiar to Americans—including James Robertson Justice, Joan Greenwood, and Gordon Jackson. Basil Radford (“Charters,” in The Lady Vanishes) plays the stiff-upper lip and stiff-backed Captain Paul Waggett, an outsider who doesn’t realize the role good whiskey plays in the lives of the locals. 100-proof entertainment. NR. 82 min.

October 25 - Let the Right One In (2008) flew under the radar when it was released last fall, but critics dubbed it one of the best vampire films in years. A Swedish import, the film concerns a meek and bullied 12-year boy named Oskar. When a strange girl and her “grandfather” move into his apartment building, he begins to suspect that she’s not quite human—even as she becomes his only friend. When a series of grisly deaths start to mount, it becomes difficult for Oskar’s nighttime-only companion Eli to stay around. But, perhaps, if she helps him, he can do a service for her. Seriously, creepy, disturbing, and dark, One definitely does NOT feature hot young vampires and their willing victims. In Swedish, with English subtitles. Rated R, for violence.

November 1 - It’s a Gift (1934) is an aptly named comedy from the great master W.C. Fields. Fields, reprising many of his classic vaudeville routines, portrays Harold Bissonette (“pronounced biss-on-AY”), the hen-pecked owner of a drugstore who longs to own an orange grove ranch in sunny California. Before he can realize his dream, he must deal with Baby LeRoy (his only true match in his films) a blind customer, and various assaults on his peace and quiet. Fields is wonderful (“Was I in here last night, and did I spend a twenty-dollar bill?” Bartender: “Why, yes!” “What a load that is off my mind! I thought I lost it!”). The set pieces of this largely episodic film still amaze and delight after 75 years. NR. 73. min.

November 8 - Hobson’s Choice (1954) [Hobson’s Choice: An apparently free choice when there is no real alternative”—Merriam-Webster Dictionary.] Director David Lean isn’t known for comedies, but this delightful concoction displays a light touch and a sure hand for comic performances. Indeed, the performance of the woefully-underappreciated Brenda De Banzie as the eldest daughter of a pompous skinflint boot maker named Henry Hobson overshadows even the work of the great character actor Charles Laughton as Hobson. Set in Victorian Salford, the story concerns Hobson’s unwillingness to allow his three grown daughters to marry, lest he be forced to pay their dowries. Taking things into her own hands De Banzie’s Maggie settles upon the shop’s talented boot smith, Will (the wonderful John Mills) as her husband-to-be. When Laughton’s Hobson haughtily dismisses both of them, he comes to realize that his choices are less appealing than he thought. NR. 107 min.

November 15 - Victor/Victoria (1982) may be one of the last great comedy-musicals from Hollywood. Director Blake Edwards (of A Shot in the Dark) cast his wife Julie Andrews as an unsuccessful nightclub singer who only finds fame when she hooks up in 1934 Paris with a flamboyantly gay actor (played by the inimitable Robert Preston). His great idea? Andrews is to play a man impersonating a woman—and, thus, “Victor/Victoria,” a cabaret sensation is born. James Garner shows up as a Chicago nightclub owner who finds himself drawn to “Victor” against his better judgment. Lesley Anne Warren is a floozy stalking Garner’s character, and Alex Karras (Mongo in Blazing Saddles) is very funny as a tough guy having sexual identity issues. There are many great numbers by Henry Mancini, including the especially sizzling “Le Jazz Hot.” PG. 132 min.

All descriptions and comments are provided by Dr. Kenneth R. Von Gunden, Lecturer in Integrative Arts.
Dates or films may change due to unforeseen circumstances. MPAA ratings enforced.
Funding provided by the Division of Arts of Humanities: Dr. Marc L. Harris, Head.
Film Series Director: Dr. Kenneth Von Gunden