Courtesy of CAPA
The Man Who Knew Too Much
After maintaining its streak with a much-condensed 2020 season, one of the longest running classic film series in America returns to strength this summer. The Columbus Association for the Performing Art’s summer movies series kicks off this Thursday with Alfred Hitchcock’s 1956 classic The Man Who Knew to Much.
The film series, now in its 52nd consecutive season, plays host to classics and cult favorites alike. This season, which runs from July 22-August 29, includes well-known titles from Pinocchio and Murder on the Orient Express to Friday the 13th and Planes, Trains & Automobiles. The series will also feature a silent film with live musical accompaniment and two Saturday morning cartoon specials.
As the series coaxes some moviegoers to return to the theater after a long hiatus, they’ll experience a recently renovated Ohio Theatre. The loge, mezzanine and balcony all saw upgrades including new railings and stairs, new carpeting and a flattening of the cross aisle between the loge and mezzanine.
CAPA will also premiere a new assisted listening app, Listen Everywhere, allowing guests to stream the film audio directly through their phones and adjust the volume to their personal preferences.
One thing staying the same will be Clark Wilson. The organist will provide pre-screening music on the Ohio Theatre’s “Mighty Morton” organ for the 30th year in a row.
Tickets can be purchased in strips of 10, valid for any film in the series, for $35 at www.capa.com or individually at the Ohio Theatre kiosk starting one hour prior to each show for $6 general. Tickets are $5 for senior citizens.
See the full schedule of screenings below. Movies are subject to change without notice.
2021 CAPA SUMMER MOVIE SERIES
Hitchcock’s The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956)
RATED PG
Thursday & Friday, July 22 & 23, 7:30 pm
James Stewart, Doris Day, Brenda de Banzie
Spies, kidnapping and political assassination fuel this thriller filmed in colorful locales from Morocco to England as an American doctor innocently becomes involved in an international intrigue while on vacation with family in Marrakesh. Doris Day sings the Oscar-winning "Que Sera, Sera."
SERIES PREMIERE!
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)
RATED PG-13
Saturday, July 24, 7:30 pm
Harrison Ford, Cate Blanchett, Shia LaBeouf
Set in 1957, this fourth installment of Steven Spielberg’s highly successful film series finds archaeologist, adventurer and beloved scoundrel, Dr. Henry "Indiana" Jones, Jr., called back into action to become entangled in a Soviet plot to uncover the secret behind mysterious artifacts known as the Crystal Skulls.
Mary Poppins (1964)
Sunday, July 25, 2 pm
Julie Andrews, Dick Van Dyke, David Tomlinson
Julie Andrews enchants as Mary Poppins, going above and beyond her duties (literally!) to unite the Banks family with the help of some imagination and a “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” soundtrack including "Chim-Chim-Cheree" and “A Spoonful of Sugar.”
My Man Godfrey (1936)
Thursday, July 29, 7:30 pm
William Powell, Carole Lombard, Alice Brady
“All you need to start an asylum is an empty room and the right kind of people.” Powell shines in this screwball comedy classic as a hobo turned society butler who teaches a wealthy, hilariously dysfunctional family a few lessons. Touted as the funniest comedy of its decade!
SERIES PREMIERE!
Sounder (1972)
Friday, July 30, 7:30 pm
Cicely Tyson, Paul Winfield, Kevin Hooks
This four-time Oscar nominated family drama tells the story of a loving and strong family of sharecroppers coming of age in the Depression-era South. The first film to feature Oscar-nominated performances by two Black actors—Paul Winfield (Best Actor) and Cicely Tyson (Best Actress)!
Cartoon Capers
Saturday, July 31, 10 am
Enjoy an amalgamation of animated antics featuring your favorite Warner Bros. cartoon stars including Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck! Digital presentation.
The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)
Saturday, July 31, 7:30 pm
Michael Rennie, Patricia Neal, Hugh Marlowe
Alien Klaatu and his powerful robot sidekick Gort have just landed on earth to force humans into a peaceful existence. One of the great science-fiction classics of all time, director Robert Wise (West Side Story) offers an ironic commentary on the political climate of the 1950s and a quiet observation of both the good and bad in human nature.
The Long, Long Trailer (1954)
Sunday, August 1, 2 pm
Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Marjorie Main
A young couple’s marriage almost collapses when the wife insists on making a cross-country trip in a camping trailer. Full of uproarious moments, this color comedy, a virtual spinoff of “I Love Lucy,” was a major hit upon release.
Murder on the Orient Express (1974)
RATED PG
Thursday, August 5, 7:30 pm
Albert Finney, Lauren Bacall, Ingrid Bergman
Set in the 1930s, this lavishly produced Agatha Christie whodunit features an all-star cast. Super-sleuth Hercule Poirot (a brilliant, high-comedy performance by Finney) need not look far to discover the whereabouts of his murder suspects. A mountain avalanche has stranded them all on the same train!
A Tale of Two Cities (1935)
Friday, August 6, 7:30 pm
Ronald Colman, Elizabeth Allan, Edna May Oliver
Based on Charles Dickens’ historical novel, this romantic drama set during the tumultuous times of the French Revolution is generally regarded as the best cinematic version of Dickens' novel and the best performance of Ronald Colman's career. Nominated for two Academy Awards, including Best Picture!
SERIES PREMIERE!
Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987)
Rated R
Saturday, August 7, 7:30 pm
Steve Martin, John Candy, Laila Robins
Easily excitable marketing executive Neal Page (Martin) wants nothing more than to get home for Thanksgiving, but a freak snowstorm sidetracks his travel and forces him to bunk up with talkative shower curtain ring salesman Del Griffith (Candy). The impeccable chemistry between Steve Martin and John Candy, as well as a deft mix of humor and heart, make this a hilarious, heartfelt John Hughes classic.
Disney’s Pinocchio (1940)
Sunday, August 8, 2 pm
Cliff Edwards, Dickie Jones, Christian Rub
When woodcarver Geppetto creates a wooden puppet named Pinocchio, he is brought to life by a blue fairy who says he can become a real boy if he proves himself to be "brave, truthful and unselfish." This childhood classic was only the second animated feature film produced by Walt Disney but became the first animated feature to win a competitive Academy Award!
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936)
Thursday, August 12, 7:30 pm
Gary Cooper, Jean Arthur, George Bancroft
Director Frank Capra won his second Academy Award for this irresistible film about a country rube who wants to give his $20 million inheritance to the needy and the hard-boiled city reporter determined to find out what makes him tick.
FRIGHT NITE FRIDAY WITH FRITZ!
SERIES PREMIERE!
Friday the 13th (1980)
Rated R
Friday, August 13, 7:30 pm
Betsy Palmer, Adrienne King, Jeannine Taylor
While trying to reopen a summer camp with a grisly past, a group of camp counselors are stalked by an unknown assailant. This horror classic will be screened in signature Nite Owl Theatre-style with era-appropriate, retro commercials and pre-recorded vignettes full of Fritz the Nite Owl trivia-tastic tomfoolery and campy special effects.
SERIES PREMIERE!
Out of the Past (1947)
Saturday, August 14, 7:30 pm
Robert Mitchum, Jane Greer, Kirk Douglas
With its complex, fatalistic storyline, dark cinematography and classic femme fatale, this tale of a private eye trying to escape his past to begin a new life in a small town is credited as one of the greatest of all film noirs.
The King and I (1956)
Sunday, August 15, 2 pm
Deborah Kerr, Yul Brynner, Rita Moreno
This stunning film adaptation of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Broadway musical sparkles with unforgettable melodies and the tour-de-force performance of Oscar-winner Yul Brynner. His Siamese royal court is changed forever by a candid English schoolteacher amid such memorable tunes as “Getting to Know You,” “Hello Young Lovers,” and “Shall We Dance.”
SILENT FILM!
The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923)
Thursday & Friday, August 19 & 20, 7:30pm daily
Lon Chaney, Patsy Ruth Miller, Norman Kerry
Set in 15th-century Paris, this Victor Hugo classic is brimming with mob scenes, medieval pageantry and “horror.” Lon Chaney, “the man of a thousand faces,” is startling as the hunchback who, living amongst the shadows of the great cathedral, provides sanctuary to a naïve gypsy girl and becomes her devoted slave and protector. Accompanied by CAPA featured organist Clark Wilson on the Ohio’s original “Mighty Morton” theatre organ!
SERIES PREMIERE!
East of Eden (1955)
RATED PG
Saturday, August 21, 7:30 pm
James Dean, Raymond Massey, Julie Harris
Based on the Steinbeck novel, this Oscar winner features James Dean in his first major screen role as a willful young man searching for his own identity while vying for the affection of his deeply religious father against his favored brother.
SERIES PREMIERE!
Jason and the Argonauts (1963)
Sunday, August 22, 2 pm
Todd Armstrong, Nancy Kovack, Gary Raymond
This mythological fantasy adventure film follows legendary Greek hero Jason as he leads a team of intrepid adventurers in a perilous quest for the illustrious Golden Fleece. Known for the wizardry of Ray Harryhausen’s stop-motion animation, the film features fight scenes with a variety of mythological creatures, including the iconic battle with seven skeleton warriors!
To Have and Have Not (1944)
Thursday, August 26, 7:30 pm
Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Walter Brennan
In this screen adaptation of the Hemingway novel, Howard Hawks directs steamy, 19-year-old screen vixen Lauren Bacall in her first film and her soon-to-be, real-life husband, Humphrey Bogart. Expatriate American and world-weary fishing-boat captain Harry Morgan (Bogart) falls on hard financial times and is forced to transport a French Resistance leader and his beautiful wife to Martinique where he meets an alluring lounge singer (Bacall).
SERIES PREMIERE!
The Defiant Ones (1958)
Friday, August 27, 7:30 pm
Tony Curtis, Sidney Poitier, Theodore Bikel
This two-time Oscar-winning drama tells the story of two prisoners, shackled together, that take advantage of an unexpected opportunity to escape and must overcome their contempt for each other in order to survive.
Cartoon Capers
Saturday, August 28, 10 am
Enjoy a collection of classic characters from animation’s heyday featuring many Warner Brothers superstars including Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and a few surprises! Digital presentation.
Hitchcock’s North by Northwest (1959)
Saturday, August 28. 7:30 pm
Sunday, August 29, 2 pm
Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint, James Mason
Romance and villainy fill the screen in Hitchcock’s non-stop action adventure about a suave Madison Avenue ad man mistaken for a federal intelligence agent. This James Bond precursor includes patented plot twists, tongue-in-cheek humor, a terrifying attack by a crop-dusting biplane and a perilous trip across the face of Mount Rushmore.
Cameron Carr is an associate editor. Feedback welcome at feedback@cityscenemediagroup.com.
