ON SCREEN: From Elvis to Bette Davis

The return of several winter film and theater programs

Jan. 8, 2013

Jennifer Landes

Now that the holiday season has left us, those on the South Fork looking for other reasons to get out of the house can take advantage of the return of several winter film and theater programs beginning this week, such as the Bay Street Theatre’s Picture Show.

The eight-year-old film series, produced by Gary Hygom, is dedicated to classic films predominantly from the 1930s to 1950s. It will inaugurate its return with Elvis Weekend, beginning tomorrow with “Speedway,” from 1968, and, on Saturday, “Kid Galahad,” from 1962. The cost for each of the films is $7, which includes a box of popcorn. They begin at 8 p.m.

A number of restaurants are offering $28 “dinner and a movie” packages, including Page at 63 Main, Il Cappuccino, and Sen. Beginning on Feb. 15, the dinner package will be available at Dockside. The cost does not include sales tax, beverages, or gratuities, and each establishment should be called to confirm availability.

Frank Capra Weekend, starting Friday, Jan. 18, will feature the director’s 1948 “State of the Union” and “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,” from 1939. The weekend of Jan. 25 will be dedicated to Fred MacMurray, with 1961’s “The Absent-Minded Professor” and “Double Indemnity,” from 1944. Fritz Lang Weekend on Feb. 1 brings “M” (1931) and “Metropolis” (1927).

Other spring offerings will showcase the work of W.C. Fields and Mae West (“My Little Chickadee”), Joan Crawford (“Johnny Guitar” and “Possessed”), Charles Laughton (“The Hunchback of Notre Dame” and “Mutiny on the Bounty”), Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers (“Top Hat”), Woody Allen (“Broadway Danny Rose” and “Everything You Always Wanted to Know about Sex* but Were Afraid to Ask”), Mel Brooks (“The Producers” and “Young Frankenstein”), and Alfred Hitchcock (“Stage Fright” and “To Catch a Thief”). Joseph Mankiewicz will close out the spring on April 13 with “All About Eve” and “Cleopatra.”

The series will return in October with Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant in “Holiday” and “Bringing Up Baby,” and Bette Davis in “Jezebel” and a repeat screening of “All About Eve.”