Classic Returns To Screens July 12

A cinema classic is returning to movie theaters for one night only next week.

In honor of its 60^th Anniversary, “Singin' In The Rain” will be shown in select theaters 7pm Thursday, July 12, thanks to a partnership between NCM Fathom, Warner Bros. Studios and Turner Classic Movies.

Greenville's own Hollywood 20 Cinemas will be showing the film, which is a hilarious musical set in the time when movies were transitioning from the silent era to the first “talkies.”

Gene Kelly stars as a dancing actor who's thrown for a loop when the silent film era begins to wane. If you loved The Artist, you'll soon discover where many of that films references are drawn from.

Kelly's joined by Donald O'Connor, who was laid up in bed for three days after they filmed the “Make 'Em Laugh” number and Debbie Reynolds, in her film debut.

The film hits you with one great dance sequence after another, all leading up to Kelly's famous romp in the rain, one of the all-time great moments in movie history.

Know someone in another region or state that would like to see the film? Click here for a complete list of theaters participating in the special showing.

Several movie gems have returned to theaters recently. Fathom Events recently presented a singalong version of the Julie Andrews classic “The Sound of Music.”

In May, I was lucky enough to see “Casablanca” at Hollywood 20. The film was re-released in honor of its 70^th Anniversary.

The screening started with a special program, hosted by Turner Classic Movies' Robert Osbourne, featuring interviews with some of the cast and crew, who reminisced about the filming of the Humphrey Bogart/Ingrid Bergman classic.

It was great hearing stories about one of my favorite movies, but it was even better to see it as it was meant to be shown – on a big screen, surrounded by fellow fans.

After I left the theater that night – still humming “As Time Goes By,” I began to wonder what other movies have big anniversaries coming up.

Thanks to the Internet Movie Database, I see that lots of other great movies are turning 70 this year along with “Casablanca.”

Disney's “Bambi,” for example. How great would it be to be able to take your family to see this movie in an actual theater?

It would have been great to have been able to see “Yankee Doodle Dandy” in theaters around July 4 or Memorial Day this year. The story of the life of composer George M. Cohan, who wrote more than 500 songs in his lifetime, including “You're a Grand Old Flag,” “The Yankee Doodle Boy,” “Give My Regards to Broadway,” and “Over There,” the most popular song during the World War I era, the movie stars James Cagney and is a real eye-opener for anyone only familiar with Cagney's gangster pictures. That man could dance.

The movie was directed by Michael Curtiz – who also directed “Casablanca.”

I wondered what movies are turning 60 along with “Singin' In The Rain.”

One of John Wayne's best movies, “The Quiet Man” will have its 60^th anniversary this year. Set in Ireland, the movie features Wayne as Sean Thorton, an American returning to his mother's hometown to settle down. He falls in love with Maureen O'Hara, a woman with a fiery temper, and must contend with her brother, played by Victor McLaglen, a man with a temper of his own.

The movie features one of the greatest fight scenes, as Wayne and McLaglen knock each other around – and through – the town, as the townsfolk and O'Hara herself egg them on.

“High Noon,” a great Western, turns 60 this year. The movie stars Gary Cooper as a town sheriff who learns that some desperadoes will be coming through his town, hell-bent on revenge. Cooper must try to enlist townsfolk to help him fight the criminals. The movie has a huge cast of familiar faces, including Harry Morgan of “MASH” fame, Lon Chaney, Jr., Lloyd Bridges (father of actors Jeff and Beau), Lee Van Cleef and Sheb Wooley, who is probably best known as the singer of “The One-Eyed, One-Horned Flying Purple People Eater.”

“My Week With Marilyn” earned actress Michelle Williams an Oscar nomination for Best Actress for her portrayal of Marilyn Monroe. Well, five of Monroe's movies came out in 1952: “Clash by Night,” “We're Not Married,” “Don't Bother to Knock,” “Full House,” and “Monkey Business.”

Pictures celebrating their golden anniversary this year include “To Kill A Mockingbird,” featuring what might be Gregory Peck's greatest performance, from a career packed with them; “Lawrence of Arabia,” one of the greatest epics ever made; John Wayne again in “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance,” and the first James Bond movie starring Sean Connery, “Dr. No.”

As a movie nerd, I'd love to see any of those movies in an actual theater.

But why should we have to wait for a movie to have a big birthday to see it again on the silver screen? Movie theater owners are always trying to come up with ways to boost ticket sales.

At a conference of theater owners held earlier this year., one idea that was suggested was allowing movie-goers to text on cell phones during the show, without fear of consequences.

That strikes me as an asinine suggestion, frankly – texting during a movie is rude – and stupid, if you think about it. Why spring for a ticket if you're going to spend two hours staring at a little screen in your hand and not the giant one in front of you?

But re-releasing older movies – movies that many people have never had a chance to see in a theater before – I think would be a home run, and a great way to get more people seeing movies.

While I was in college, an Anderson movie theater held a mini-film fest, and some friends and I got to see “Raiders of the Lost Ark” during it. What a wonderful experience. Nothing like seeing a giant Indiana Jones punching a giant Nazi in the face.

When I was in high school, Easley's Colony Theater showed Alfred Hitchcock's “The Birds.” The bigger picture made the movie all the more scary, especially in the scenes where characters are surrounded by the birds, moments before an attack.

We're lucky to live in a time when so many movies are available on DVD or Blu-Ray, but there's something to be said for seeing a movie in a crowd of rapt fans.

A Movie Night used to be an event. Re-releasing classics could make it movie theaters a destination once again.