The Alex Film Society's Classic Screenings
By Chrystal Ann Heidemann
Tired of the same old weekend routine of dinner and a movie? Spice it up with a trip to Glendale's Alex Theater. Located in the heart of the Brand Boulevard strip, there's plenty of dining choices close by for a pre-show bite, and a full calendar of events to choose from. This summer the Alex Theater is featuring a series of orchestral concerts, kid's programs, dance shows, and more.
The Alex Theatre is a gorgeous venue over 80 years old that was once a top Vaudeville theater. The theater then went on to be a popular movie palace, and is now a full-blown performance arts center. In 1992, the theater was purchased by the City of Glendale's Redevelopment Agency. Brand Boulevard had gone through a major renovation, and the agency put $6.2 million in public funds towards restoring the theater and transforming it into a performing arts center.
The Alex Film Society is a group of film-lovers that put on a series of events at the Alex Theater with the intent to preserve and revive the respect and love for antique movies and entertainment. By presenting programs of classic feature films, cartoons, and newsreels combined with guest appearances by notable personalities, their goal is to "entertain and educate the audience while demonstrating to film owners that there is a market for classic films and the financial risks involved in film preservation are worthwhile."
Last month, I attended the Alex Film Society's screening of MGM's 1950 film version of Annie Get Your Gun starring Betty Hutton and Howard Keel, and music and lyrics by Irving Berlin. I've never been a big fan of musical theatre on film, but seeing the movie in this vintage setting, added a live stage element that I enjoyed very much.
The set-up to the screening was very informative, with interesting lobby displays about the theater, the film, and the actors. Also, Howard Keel's widow attended the event, as well as special guest speaker Miles Kreuger. Kreuger is the founder of the Institute of the American Musical, a 17-room museum in Los Angeles featuring a collection of playbills, films, sheet music, autographs, and much more from musical films and stage shows. Needless to say, Kreuger is an expert on everything musical. After a brief oldie, but goody Donald Duck cartoon, Kreuger came out and gave the audience the background on the filming of Annie Get Your Gun. He told us how Judy Garland started filming as Annie, but fell ill, so MGM borrowed Betty Hutton from Paramount to star in the role. He went on to explain how the rights to Annie Get Your Gun were leased to MGM for 25 years, and how this caused a problem when the lease was up. The movie was no longer made available to the public, but Kreuger, being a friend to many contacts in the musical theatre world was able to convince the family members to give their consent to the re-release of the film - an amazing story.
This type of event is one that the whole family will appreciate. The next screening put on by The Alex Film Society will take place on July 26th at 1 PM and 7 PM. They will be showing Lawrence of Arabia. This 1962 film, based on T.E. Lawrence's autobiography, The Seven Pillars of Wisdom, introduced actors such as Peter O'Toole and Omar Sharif to the big screen and won seven Academy Awards. Bringing an end to Summer and entering Fall, the society will bring the Alex Theater back to its Vaudeville roots by presenting the 9th Annual Vaudeville Extravaganza on September 20th at 8pm. This show will feature 5 live acts of music and magic, plus a screening of a cartoon and two classic comedies - one starring Charlie Chaplin.
For more information on the Alex Film Society and upcoming events at the Alex Theater visit: www.alexfilmsociety.org or www.alextheatre.org.