The Colonial Theatre

The Secret Weapon and The Scarlet Claw Double Feature

Directed by William Neill. US. 1942/44. NR. Running time: 142 min.

• Sun, May 11, 2:00 pm

After two expensively mounted Holmes adventures for 20th Century Fox (including last week’s classic, The Hound of the Baskervilles), Rathbone and Bruce moved over to the more budget-minded (but more gothicly inclined) Universal Studios. For budgetary reasons, Holmes was updated to more modern times, where he matched wits with Nazis, spies and modern-day murderers. The two classic Universal Holmes films presented today are considered to be among the very best of the series. In the former (based loosely on the Holmes story “The Adventure of The Dancing Men”), Holmes is up against his archrival, the criminal mastermind Professor Moriarity (played with supremely evil cunning by Lionel Atwell), as they struggle over a bomb sight that could change the course of the war. In our second feature, considered by many to be the best of the Universal series, our heroes are in a fog- and superstition-drenched Canadian village, on the trail of a fiendish serial killer who stalks the moors, committing ghostly and ghastly murders. Will they catch him in time? “Elementary, my dear Watson.”

The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes

Directed by Billy Wilder. UK. 1970. PG. Running time: 125 min.

• Sun, May 18, 2:00 pm

Acclaimed director and writer, Billy Wilder (Stalag 17, Some Like It Hot, The Apartment), provides an entirely new and unusual take on the legendary Sherlock. Rather than having him played as a stoic and terse “thinking machine,” Wilder attempts to humanize our hero and, in so doing, creates a surprisingly humane, involving, and at times quite satirical story.  Without giving the story away, we’ll just say that not only do Holmes and Watson have to contend with a mystery involving a lovely lady, they also end up coming face to face with such threats as the Loch Ness monster and cocaine addiction. Filmed with loving attention to Victorian period detail (especially the atmospherically rendered setting of Baker Street and Holmes’ 221B apartment), this is a film that was unjustly ignored in it’s time (probably because it was not a typically cynical Wilder comedy), but is now beginning to achieve a cult status. See it and decide for yourself what role it plays in the pantheon of Sherlockiana.

The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959)

Directed by Terence Fisher. UK. 1959. NR. Running time: 87 min.

• Sun, May 25, 2:00 pm

After the Rathbone series of the 1930’s and 40’s, there were no notable Holmes films produced until the British company, Hammer Films, who were just beginning to make a name for themselves with color remakes of Universal horror films (Curse of Frankenstein, Horror of Dracula), decided to dust the old boy off. Though it was difficult to find an actor who could follow in the comfortably-worn shoes of Rathbone, they found an ideal Holmes in Peter Cushing, who fit the role beautifully, both in terms of his physical demeanor and his attitude. To quote the London Radio Times review of the film; “It weaves a darkly romantic Gothic spell around the dread Hound from Hell, stalking the foggy moors on the lookout for cursed Baskerville family members. Peter Cushing gives one of his finest performances as the Baker Street sleuth and Christopher Lee is in top haunted form as Sir Henry Baskerville in an atmospheric tour de force.” See it and decide which is your favorite Holmes, Rathbone or Cushing. Either way, you’re sure to be thrilled and chilled when “the game is afoot!”

Brute Force

Directed by Jules Dassin. US. 1947. NR. Running time: 98 min.

• Sun, Jun 1, 2:00 pm

One of the great prison dramas, Brute Force depicts the inhuman conditions that can prevail under a corrupt and sadistic prison administration, and the brutal ends that men will go to in escaping them. In only his second film role, Burt Lancaster turns in a star-making performance as the convict that can take only so much, causing him to lead the prisoners in a Spartacus-like revolt.  Also notable is Hume Cronyn, as the sadistic, unscrupulous warden who oversees the systematic brutalization of the inmates. With a stellar supporting cast, including Howard Duff (in his first film), Charles Bickford, Sam Levine, and (in flashbacks) Yvonne De Carlo and Ella Raines, this has been called “a masterpiece of escalating violence” from the moment when a blowtorch is used on an informer to the spectacular climax when Burt and his crew move to bust out. Brute Force is an extremely powerful film, shot in documentary style by director Jules Dassin. Don’t miss it!

Print courtesy of the Museum of Modern Art. 

Stalag 17

Directed by Billy Wilder. UK. 1953. NR. Running time: 120 min.

• Sun, Jun 8, 2:00 pm

In this, considered by many to be one of the two best WWII prison camp films (The Great Escape, of course, being the other), Billy Wilder created another masterpiece of cynicism and black humor. It stars William Holden, in a role that won him the Best Actor Oscar for the year, as a super-cynical opportunist in a Nazi prison camp who is suspected by his peers of collaborating with the enemy. Backed by a stellar cast that includes Otto Preminger and Sig Rumann (as Nazi prison staff), Peter Graves, Neville Brand, Harvey Lembeck, and Richard Strauss (Oscar nominated for his role as “Animal”), Stalag 17 esecutes an amazing balance of drama, satire, comedy, and pulse-pounding tension. If you’ve never seen it, or if you haven’t seen it in a long time, come remind yourself what great moviemaking is all about. (Note: Though the TV show “Hogan’s Heroes” copied many of the elements of this film, that exercise in silliness did not convey any of the inherent tension, threat or fear that this film exudes. So, don’t come expecting Corporal Klink.)

The Dirty Dozen

Directed by Richard Aldrich. UK. 1967. NR. Running time: 145 min.

• Sun, Jun 15, 2:00 pm

If you like your anti-heroes really anti-, then this is the movie for you. With a starring cast the likes of Lee Marvin, Charles Bronson, Robert Ryan, Donald Sutherland, Ernest Borgnine, and Jim Brown, there’s more testosterone here than a truckload full of steroids. The plot, though simple (suicide squad of military felons and sociopaths gets an offer they can’t refuse, goes through tough training, and rides out to murder the Nazis’ top brass), is one that results in an incredibly entertaining roller-coaster ride of a film. (Note: John Wayne was offered the lead role, but withdrew to make The Green Berets; Jack Palance turned down the part that went to Telly Savalas; and Jim Brown actually ran for his life in the explosive climactic sequence – because no available stunt double could run as fast as the former pro football star.)

The Great Escape

Directed by John Sturges. US. 1963. NR. Running time: 168 min.

• Sun, Jun 22, 2:00 pm

This star-studded granddaddy of all WWII prison-camp escape movies is actually based on a true story. Steve McQueen, James Garner, Charles Bronson, Richard Attenborough, James Coburn and others are hardened Allied escaped prisoners of war who have been rounded up and placed in a supposedly “escape-proof” Nazi prison camp. Any guesses what they set about to do?  Filmed with a growing sense of tension and a wry undercurrent of wit and good humor, this is one of those films that is best seen on the big screen. McQueen’s climactic race on motorcycle to escape a horde of Germans on choppers is an action classic, and sure to stir the blood of any action fan. One of the most exciting and enjoyable films of all time.

To mark The Blob's 50th anniversary we're saluting Steve McQueen, who had his first starring role in the film. A Look-Alike contest after the screening of The Great Escape will find our star for BlobFest '08. The winner will receive $500 cash and the opportunity to "star" as the legendary actor during BlobFest weekend, July 11 & 12. To register for the contest please call the theatre at 610-917-1228. 

Stir Crazy

Directed by Sidney Poitier. US. 1980. R. Running time: 108 min.

• Sun, Jun 29, 2:00 pm

As a change of pace from the tense prison escape films shown earlier this month, here is a raucous comedy of two good-hearted bozos (Richard Pryor and Gene Wilder at their best) who get framed for a robbery they didn’t commit and end up in a particularly tough Southern prison. Their reactions and the mayhem that prevails provide a high level of visual humor. (Watch, for the scene in which Pryor teaches Gene to be tough and black. It’s a classic.)  Directed by Sidney Poitier, who makes fun of many of the standard prison flick clichés, this was a sleeper when it was first released, receiving such positive word-of-mouth that it became one of the highest grossing films of the year. (Note: This being a Richard Pryor film, be prepared for his customary colorful language; but watch also for Wilder’s calm, often beatific, take on the events taking place around him. The interplay of their characters, and the genuine friendship that comes across between them, provides a pleasant and often gentle context within the threat and mayhem to which they are exposed.)