by rick grant rickgrant01@comcast.net
Years ago, when I was a kid growing up on the Westside, I remember taking the bus to the Florida Theater to see movies like Mister Roberts. In those days, an organist would rise up from the depths of the stage and entertain the audience as they filed into the theater. Yes, I have fond memories of going to the cinema and having a bunch of Krystals at that famous burger joint on the corner of Ocean and Forsyth. Later in High School, I’d take my dates to the darkened balcony of the Florida Theater and fantasize about getting to second base.
Today, the magnificent Florida Theater is continuing its tradition of exhibiting the Summer Movie Classics, including Mister Roberts. The showings are on Sundays at 2 pm from June 24th through September 2nd.
July 8th
This was the first film about a person with Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD). Eve White, a wife and mother who lived here in Jacksonville, would black out and find herself in unfamiliar surroundings and living as one of her other personalities. One of them was a party girl who frequented the after hours bars that used to be on Beach Boulevard. Based on the real case, Joanne Woodward portrayed Eve, whose case was a benchmark for treating patients with MPD.
July 15th
Starring Rock Hudson, Doris Day, and Tony Randall, this film is based on a French farce about an interior decorator and a composer who share a phone line (called a 2-party line in those days), but have never met. Jan Morrow is annoyed because Brad Allen keeps the line tied up all day, but when Brad sees Jan by chance, he is smitten. He then begins calling her with a disguised voice, trying to hook up with her.
July 22nd
Starring Bette Davis, Olivia de Havilland, Joseph Cotton, and Agnes Moorehead. Charlotte Hollis is suspected of committing a grisly murder 40 years ago. The police never had enough evidence to charge her, but everyone is convinced she’s guilty and shuns her. Now she lives as a recluse with her personal assistant Velma. When her property is condemned and designated for demolition, she refuses to leave. A cousin comes to help Charlotte keep her house and strange things begin to happen.
July 29th
Starring Ned Beatty, Shelley Duvall, and Jeff Goldblum. Considered one of the late Robert Altman’s greatest films, this film exposes the behind the scenes wheeling and dealing of the Nashville music business during the 1970s. The characters are based on real life superstars as their careers rise and fall with the influence of sex, drugs, and divorces.
August 5th
Shown in black and white and starring Kevin McCarthy and Dana Winter. Dr. Miles Bennel returns to his small town practice to find several of his patients with the delusion that their friends or relative are impostors. Skeptical at first, to his horror he finds out the whole town has been replaced by alien beings.
August 12th
Starring Gene Wilder, Peter Boyle, and Madeline Kahn. This is Mel Brooks’ classic comedy that is still hilarious today, even in black and white. It involves the grandson of Victor Frankenstein, a young surgeon who has always lived in his grandfather’s shadow, but has never been taken seriously. He finds his grandfather’s diary and travels to the family castle to test his famous formulas. Consequently, he creates a lonely creature (Peter Boyle) that longs for a human soul.
August 19th
Starring Charles Laughton, Clark Gable and Franchot Tone. This is the timeless tale of Captain Bligh, whose harsh discipline leads to a mutiny after the crew gets a taste of the good life in Tahiti. As the ship sets sail, the crew is not willing to submit to Captain Bligh’s firebrand justice, and they set him adrift so they can return to Tahiti.
August 26th
Starring Henry Fonda, James Cagey, and Jack Lemmon. During WWII, life aboard a cargo ship is routine and boring. Mr. Roberts (Fonda) longs to get into the real war, while Ensign Pulver (Jack Lemmon) avoids the Captain at all costs so he can goof-off. Pulver spends his time planning pranks to piss off the Captain, while Roberts and the Doc drink homemade scotch and plan to mingle with a group of nurses in a nearby island. But Pulver’s pranks have caused the Captain to cancel all shore leave.
September 2nd
Starring Audrey Hepburn and George Peppard. Struggling writer Paul Varjack and socialite Holly Golightly are neighbors in a New York apartment building. Varjak is smitten and fascinated by the pretty and quirky Holly, who, on the surface, is a social butterfly. But when Paul is alone with her, she is shy and vulnerable, which drives him wild. This film set the stage for dozens of romantic comedies during the 1960s and 70s.
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EU Critic’s Choice Awards
