By Kathy Collins
The Tampa Theatre’s 26th Annual Summer Classic Movie Series features beloved classic films, and there is no better way to see a classic movie then in a classic theatre. The Tampa Theatre is a protected landmark and one of America’s best-preserved movie palaces.
First up on Sunday, July 2 come see the 1930 classic, All Quiet On The Western Front. When it opened in 1930, Variety called it a “harrowing, gruesome, morbid tale of war, so compelling in its realism, bigness and repulsiveness.” Already famous as a book, the movie showed the horror of World War I with unblinking directness. It follows new soldiers from their romantic enlistment, through their brutal combat, to their shattering return home.
Then, come see the Academy Award winning film The Sting on Sunday, July 9. The Sting is by any measure one of the most successful movies of all time. It was nominated for 10 Academy Awards and won seven. It was a gigantic box office smash hit. The film stars Robert Redford, Paul Newman and Robert Shaw. It is a beautifully appointed period piece, delicate plotted and dripping with charisma; it is an all-time American Classic.
On Sunday, July 16, you can see Alfred Hitchcock’s Saboteur. Contrary to the way films were usually made at that time and not yet a distinctive trademark for Hitchcock, Saboteur was shot largely on location. Hitchcock’s innovative use of composite shots and groundbreaking camera trickery captivates and disorients audiences to this day.
Next, on Sunday, July 23 you can see Mel Brooks in Young Frankenstein. This movie retells the story of a differently pronounced Dr. Frankenstein played by Gene Wilder and his henchmen as Dr. Frankenstein creates life and then loses control of it much to the villagers’ dismay.
Next, you can see It’s A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World on Sunday, July 30. This movie is, more than anything, big. It stars nearly every comedian alive in 1963 including Milton Berle, Sid Caesar, Buddy Hacket, Ethel Merman, Jonathan Winters and many more. According to Jill Witecki with the Tampa Theatre, “The Tampa Theatre is presenting this film in a brand-new expert restoration with an additional 30 minutes of footage thought lost for more than 50 years.”
All films are shown at 3 p.m. Tickets are $10 for adults and $7 for Tampa a Theatre members. The Tampa Theatre is located at 711 N Franklin St. in downtown Tampa.
This is part two of a three-part series.
