“At first glance, the Mobile Saenger Theatre’s summer classic movie series is a little hard to figure out. ‘80s teen romance next to ‘40s noir? “The Goonies” beside “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof?” When “Dr. Strangelove” met “When Harry Met Sally?”
Note: This story first appeared July 23 in The Lede, a digital news publication delivered to our subscribers every morning. Go here to subscribe.
Don’t try figuring out the overarching concept, advised Ryan Foster, marketing manager for ASM Global in Mobile. There wasn’t one.
Actually there were two, sort of. When it became clear that the Saenger’s concert schedule would allow for a movie series that alternated between Thursday evenings and Sunday afternoons, it seemed better to program the two time slots differently.
Thursday evening? Maybe that’s a date night, or a chance to catch something light after dinner with friends. So: “Pretty in Pink,” “The Goonies,” “Clerks,” “When Harry Met Sally,” “The Karate Kid.”
A Sunday matinee? That’s the time to show films that might appeal to an audience interested in the kind of classics guaranteed to be on Top-10 lists. Other than that, there’s no need for the selections to have anything in common – not the era they were made in, or their genre, or their level of gravitas. So: “The Maltese Falcon,” “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,” “42nd Street, “Dr. Strangelove,” “Invasion of the Body Snatchers,” “Blazing Saddles.”
“The general concept is, we don’t want to repeat stuff we’ve done in previous series,” said Foster, who credited the selections to Saenger booking manager Chris Penton. “We want to try to keep it fresh, keep it different.”
“What I consider a classic, somebody who’s 80 wouldn’t. What my daughter considers a classic, at 15 years old, is probably not going to match what you or I would think of as a classic. We try to mix and match a little as best we can.”
The series, which started Sunday with “The Maltese Falcon,” continues with movies alternating between 7 p.m. Thursday evening shows and 3 p.m. Sunday matinees. Admission is $6 for adults, $3 for children 12 and younger and for seniors over 60. Tickets are available only at the Saenger box office and the Mobile Civic Center box office. As is usually the case at the Saenger, concessions include beer and wine.
During the series, the Saenger will collect donated items for the Dumas Wesley Community Center. Items on the center’s wish lists include toilet tissue, paper towels, dish liquid, dishwasher detergent, laundry detergent, bleach, disinfecting cleaners, Clorox/Lysol wipes and sprays, hand soap, Kleenex, shampoo, conditioner, razors and deodorant. Patrons can drop off their donations at any Saenger Theatre event. For more information on the center, visit www.dumaswesley.org.
July 28, 7 p.m., “Pretty In Pink” -- “Andie, hon. Listen, it’s after 7:00. Don’t waste good lip gloss.” Andie (Molly Ringwald) has a classic problem: Respond to the interest of a yuppie (Andrew McCarthy) who’s pursuing her affections, or let things unfold with a longtime friend (Jon Cryer). The cast is surprisingly stacked, with Harry Dean Stanton, James Spader, Annie Potts, Gina Gershon and more; and as time has passed the film’s humor hasn’t become as cringey as that in some other John Hughes projects. 1986, PG-13.
July 31, 3 p.m., “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” -- “What’s that smell in this room? Didn’t you notice it, Brick? Didn’t you notice a powerful and obnoxious odor of mendacity in this room?” Elizabeth Taylor, Paul Newman and Burl Ives deliver supercharged performances in this adaptation of a Tennesee Williams story about a son using alcohol to isolate himself from the advances of his wife, and pretty much everything else. If it’s drama you’re looking for, it’s hard to get more dramatic than this. 1958, not rated.
Aug. 4, 7 p.m., “The Goonies” -- “You know your voice is kind of nice when your mouth isn’t screwing it up.” “Yeah and you looks are kind of pretty. When your face isn’t screwing it up.” In this Steven Spielberg story turned into a screenplay by Chris Columbus, a neighborhood gang of kids follows a pirate treasure map to an adventure bigger than they could have guessed. 1986, rated PG.
Aug. 7, 3 p.m., “42nd Street” -- “It seems that little Loraine’s hit the bottle again.” “Yah, the peroxide bottle.” The Great Depression is raging, and a Broadway producer with health problems needs one last big musical hit to see him into retirement. A snarl of romantic relationships involving his financier, the star, a rising starlet and other cast members don’t make it easy. The show within the show delivers some big Busby Berkeley action, on songs including “Shuffle Off to Buffalo” and the title tune. 1933.
Aug. 11, 7 p.m., “Clerks” -- “You know what the real tragedy about all this is? I’m not even supposed to be here today!” Kevin Smith’s super-low-budget debut gives viewers an extremely profane day in the life of a put-upon convenience store clerk, his co-workers and his customers. 1994, Rated R.
Aug. 14, 3 p.m., “Dr. Strangelove or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb” -- “Gentlemen, you can’t fight in here! This is the War Room.” A crazed general (George C. Scott) goes off the rails and orders a nuclear strike on the Soviet Union. Bombers are launched, including one piloted by Maj. “King” Kong (Slim Pickens). A former(?) Nazi scientist (Peter Sellers) complicates the efforts of another officer (also Peter Sellers) to set things right. Then things get really crazy. 1964, rated PG.
Aug. 18, 7 p.m., “When Harry Met Sally” -- “I came here tonight because when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.” As their paths cross over the years, Harry (Billy Crystal) and Sally (Meg Ryan) debate whether they can be friends, or lovers, or both, or neither. As a rom-com that managed to be both very romantic and very funny, it helped set the bar for the genre. 1989, Rated R.
Aug. 21, 3 p.m., “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” – “Listen to me! Please listen! If you don’t, if you won’t, if you fail to understand, then the same incredible terror that’s menacing me will strike at you!” This isn’t the later version with Donald Sutherland, Leonard Nimoy and other notable names, and that’s okay. The spooky concept of an alien takeover that replaces people with seemingly emotionless clones is disturbing even without the layer of ‘70s paranoia ladled on in the remake. 1956, black and white.
Aug. 25, 7 p.m., “The Karate Kid” -- “Wax on, right hand. Wax off, left hand. Wax on, wax off. Breathe in through nose, out the mouth. Wax on, wax off. Don’t forget to breathe, very important.” Just think. Back in the 1980s, people thought this was a freestanding movie about a shrimpy kid (Ralph Macchio) learning self-defense and self-worth from an unlikely mentor (Pat Morita). Little did they realize it was just a prequel to a pretty cool TV series that would unfold 30 years in the future. 1984, rated PG.
Aug 28, 3 p.m. “Blazing Saddles” -- 1974, rated R. “What did you expect? ‘Welcome, sonny?’ ‘Make yourself at home?’ ‘Marry my daughter?’ You’ve got to remember that these are just simple farmers. These are people of the land. The common clay of the new West. You know... morons.” In Mel Brooks’ epic western farce, the Waco Kid (Gene Wilder) has to convince a town threatened by a land-grabbing villain (Harvey Korman) to overcome its racist ways and accept the protection of its new Black sheriff (Cleavon Little). 1974, Rated R.
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