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April Fools’ Double Feature of THE PINK PANTHER and A SHOT IN THE DARK

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Laemmle Theatres and the Anniversary Classics Series invite you to celebrate April Fools’ Day with a double feature starring writer-director Blake Edwards’ inspired creation of accidental mayhem, Inspector Clouseau. Peter Sellers plays the inept French detective to comic perfection in the 55th anniversary screenings of THE PINK PANTHER and A SHOT IN THE DARK on April 1 in Pasadena, North Hollywood, and West LA. Showtime information.

THE PINK PANTHER, the first of a series of films with the blundering sleuth, opened in the United States in April 1964 and was an immediate hit.

Audiences thoroughly enjoyed the jewel heist caper, especially the antics of Sellers, who effectively stole the film from an ensemble cast including David Niven as the suave thief Sir Charles Lytton, Robert Wagner as his playboy nephew, Capucine as Clouseau’s philandering wife, and Claudia Cardinale as the exiled Princess Dala, the owner of the fabulous diamond known as “the Pink Panther.”

Variety found the original screenplay by Edwards and Maurice Richlin (Pillow Talk) “intensely funny,” with kudos to the cast and especially Sellers’ “razor-sharp timing.” Location shooting in the Italian Alps by cinematographer Philip Lathrop in lush Technicolor enhanced the comedy.

Of course, the memorable theme music by Henry Mancini is the film’s greatest legacy. Mancini’s original score was Oscar-nominated and won three Grammy awards, as well as inclusion in the Grammy Hall of Fame. The score is ranked #20 in the AFI’s all-time top 100. In addition, the feline character that cavorted across the screen in the merry main title sequence by the DePatie-Freleng animation studio became an Oscar-winning cartoon star. The film was added to the National Film Registry in 2010.

Edwards, Sellers, and Mancini reunited for A SHOT IN THE DARK, the second of their several collaborations that continued into the 1970s.

Director Edwards enlisted William Peter Blatty to co-write a screen version of the French play by Marcel Archard (adapted by Harry Kurnitz for Broadway). Edwards brought along Inspector Clouseau, who was not a character in the original play, and turned Sellers loose in the murder mystery plot.

Commissioner Dreyfus (Herbert Lom), driven to comic psychosis by Clouseau’s ineptitude, and Clouseau’s servant Cato (Burt Kwuok), characters who would become mainstays in the ensuing movie series with Sellers, appear for the first time. Also starring Elke Sommer as the main murder suspect and veteran actor George Sanders as the owner of the chateau where the bodies keep piling up.

The comedy was released in the summer of 1964 and became an even bigger hit than The Pink Panther. The New Yorker praised Edwards and Blatty for “the good sense to toss the foundation stock out the window and let Mr. Sellers run amok…All in all, extremely jolly.” Mancini created a whole new jazzy theme for Clouseau and the main title’s animation sequence was once again crafted by DePatie and Freleng.

So avoid pranks and hoaxes this April Fools’ and see the real comic deal – the Inspector Clouseau Twofer at three Laemmle locations: Royal, NoHo and Pasadena Playhouse. Two delightful comedies for the price-of-one on Monday, April 1.

Buy tickets to the 5pm A SHOT IN THE DARK with admission to the 7:10pm THE PINK PANTHER included here. Or, buy tickets to the 7:10pm THE PINK PANTHER with admission to the 9:30pm A SHOT IN THE DARK included here.

Format: DVD

Francois Truffaut’s THE 400 BLOWS 60th Anniversary Screenings March 20th in Encino, Pasadena, and West LA

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Laemmle Theatres and the Anniversary Classics Series present this month’s installment of our Anniversary Classics Abroad program. In keeping with the start of spring, we commemorate Francois Truffaut’s evergreen feature film debut, THE 400 BLOWS, which earned an Academy Award nomination as Best Original Screenplay of 1959.

Truffaut’s autobiographical picture, drawn from events in his own childhood, helped to introduce American audiences to the French New Wave. Truffaut had started as a critic for Cahiers du Cinema along with fellow aspiring directors Jean-Luc Godard, Eric Rohmer and Claude Chabrol. When he unveiled his first feature, he dedicated it to pioneering French critic Andre Bazin.

Critics around the world hailed the arrival of a major new talent. The New York Times’ Bosley Crowther declared, “Not since the 1952 arrival of Rene Clement’s Forbidden Games…have we had from France a cinema that so brilliantly and strikingly reveals the explosion of a fresh creative talent in the directorial field.” Indeed Truffaut won the award for Best Director at the Cannes Film Festival in 1959.

Jean-Pierre Leaud starred as the director’s alter ego, Antoine Doinel, and the character re-appeared in four more films over the course of Truffaut’s career. Albert Remy and Claire Maurier co-star. Another of Truffaut’s frequent collaborators, Henri Decae, provided the lustrous black-and-white cinematography.

The screenplay by Truffaut and Marcel Moussy follows the exploits of Antoine as he battles with his parents, teachers, police, and administrators of the reformatory where he is sent. The director employed an arsenal of fresh cinematic techniques to capture the hero’s irreverent spirit and journey toward liberation. The final freeze frame became one of the most imitated shots in cinema history.

Almost all critics endorsed the film. As Roger Ebert wrote, “The 400 Blows, with all its simplicity and feeling, is in a class by itself.” Directors around the world, including Akira Kurosawa, Luis Bunuel, and Jean Cocteau, also praised Truffaut’s audacious vision. Writing many years later, The New Yorker’s Anthony Lane said, “time has fortified this sharp, slender account of a misbegotten boyhood into one of the unassailable monuments of French cinema.”

THE 400 BLOWS (1959) screens Wednesday, March 20 at 7PM at the Royal, Town Center, and Playhouse. Click here for tickets.

Format: DCP

KRAMER VS. KRAMER 40th Anniversary Screening with Co-stars Justin Henry and JoBeth Williams In Person

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Laemmle Theatres and the Anniversary Classics Series present a 40th anniversary screening of the Academy Award-winning best picture of 1979, KRAMER VS. KRAMER. The film, produced by Stanley R. Jaffe, won four other major Oscars — Best Actor Dustin Hoffman, Best Supporting Actress Meryl Streep, Best Director Robert Benton, and Best Adapted Screenplay by Benton, working from the poignant, timely novel by Avery Corman. The film was also named Best Picture of the Year by both the Los Angeles Film Critics Association and the New York Film Critics Circle.

The picture touched a nerve for audiences because it was one of the first films to dramatize changing gender roles and the bitter aftermath of divorce. In the opening scene Joanna Kramer (Streep) leaves her self-centered, workaholic husband Ted (Hoffman), forcing him to take over the primary parenting role with their six-year-old son, Billy (Justin Henry). Although Ted bungles the job at first, he eventually establishes a deep bond with his son that is threatened several months later when Joanna returns and sues for custody of Billy. The tense courtroom scenes build to a riveting dramatic climax with an unexpected denouement. Award-winning cinematographer Nestor Almendros made the most of interior and exterior Manhattan locations.

Benton’s achievement is in finding sharp, telling details that illuminate character and heighten the drama inherent in everyday life. As Frank Rich wrote in TIME magazine, “Benton gives his film its depth and complexity by challenging the audience’s preconceptions and snap opinions at every turn.” David Denby of New York magazine concurred: “The Robert Benton movie is a major dramatic work—startling and emotionally involving.” Leonard Maltin called it an “intelligent, beautifully crafted, intensely moving film…acted to perfection by entire cast.”

That ensemble included Jane Alexander, Oscar-nominated for her performance as a caring neighbor; veteran actors Howard Duff and George Coe; and two actors making their film debuts, JoBeth Williams and Justin Henry. Williams, who has a couple of vivid scenes as an advertising colleague of Hoffman’s, went on to star in two of the most memorable films of the early 1980s—Steven Spielberg’s production of ‘Poltergeist’ and Lawrence Kasdan’s ‘The Big Chill.’ She also co-starred in ‘American Dreamer,’ ‘Teachers’ with Nick Nolte, and ‘Memories of Me’ with Billy Crystal. She has had a long career in the theater, in several powerful television movies, and has also worked behind the camera as director and producer.

Justin Henry became the youngest actor ever to be nominated for an Oscar for his piercing performance as Billy. The New Republic’s Stanley Kauffmann declared that Henry “goes through as wide a range of scenes as he could possibly be asked for, and he is true, absolutely true, every moment. He’s enchanting.” Gene Shalit added, “I have never seen such realistic acting from a child so young.” When he grew older, Henry appeared in such films as John Hughes’ ‘Sixteen Candles,’ ‘Sweet Hearts Dance,’ and in John Frankenheimer’s award-winning TV drama, ‘Andersonville.’ Today he works as an entrepreneur in digital media.

KRAMER VS. KRAMER (1979) plus Q&A with co-stars Justin Henry and JoBeth Williams screens Thursday, March 14 at 7pm at the Laemmle Royal in West LA. Click here for tickets.

LAEMMLE LIVE presents PASADENA CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC in Pasadena March 24

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Laemmle Theatres proudly presents the launch of LAEMMLE LIVE PASADENA, inspired by Laemmle’s popular concert series in Santa Monica. Laemmle Live showcases emerging musicians and professional performers from local schools and organizations, celebrating our diverse community with live performance. Laemmle Live Pasadena’s free Sunday morning concerts will take place in the courtyard between Laemmle’s Playhouse 7 and Vroman’s Bookstore from 11am to 12pm. A light reception will follow the program. The inaugural concert will feature musicians from the Pasadena Conservatory of Music. The Pasadena Conservatory of Music provides opportunities for students of all ages and backgrounds to study, perform, and enjoy music. The March 24 program will feature the Los Angeles Youth Guitar Orchestra  (LAYGO) from the Conservatory. LAYGO is a dynamic group composed of fifteen of PCM’s top guitar students, ages 12-17. The ensemble is led by faculty member Felix Bullock, coaches Brian Barany and Adam Pettit, who are proud to give the emerging musicians the opportunity to practice and perform around the world.

LAYGO has performed at SOKA University, the Pasadena Presbyterian Church, and Loyola Marymount University, and have collaborated with guitarists Scott Tennant, Andrew York, and pipa virtuoso, Wu Man. LAYGO has also embarked on several tours with the German group Guitarreando in a musical and cultural exchange. While on tour, they have performed in Switzerland, Prague, Germany, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. Additionally, they have premiered new works for guitar orchestra including Concerto in E minor by Alexander Mansour, Bleu by Alfonso Montes, and Tribal Youngers by Andrew York. The program will include Huapango by Moncayo, Kyrie from Requiem by W.A. Mozart, Heart & Passion by Patrick Roux, Tantra by Carlos Rafael Rivera.

MUSICIANS
Charlie Beroud, Caleb Bowne, Sean Browne, Jadon Elliott, Grayson Gooden, Maggie Grether, Ethan Kim, Hameed Majid, Jazzbird, Molina, Momo Moran, Evelyn Nguyen, Cooper Norman, Neel Sadda, Lyric Woo, Brandon Wong

This is a Free Event!
RSVP via Eventbrite

Sunday, March 24, 2019
Playhouse 7 Courtyard
673 East Colorado
Pasadena, CA 91101
11am – 12pm

LAEMMLE LIVE presents CANTILENA TRIO March 17 in Santa Monica

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LAEMMLE LIVE presents Beverly Hills National Auditions Winner CANTILENA TRIO featuring Susan Greenberg, flute; Jon Lee Keenan, tenor; and Kenton Youngstrom, guitar. These three consummate ensemble artists and good friends are favorites among Southern California aficionados. Join us Sunday, March 17 at the Monica Film Center.

The program will include works by Wolfgang Mozart, John Dowland, Vincenzo Bellini, Isaac Albéniz, Gabriel Fauré, Astor Piazzolla, I Bordel 1900, Aaron Copland and Fred Ahlert.

Flutist Susan Greenberg enjoys a versatile career as soloist, chamber musician, symphony player, and recording artist. The Los Angeles Times has described her playing as “brilliant,” “elegant” and “supple,” and has lauded her “panache” and “musical projection.” During her 36 years with the LA Chamber Orchestra, she was a frequent soloist on both flute and piccolo, premiering a concerto for piccolo by Bruce Broughton and performing a concerto for flute, alto flute and piccolo written for her by Gernot Wolfgang. Presently she is the principal flutist with the Santa Monica Symphony and the Vicente Chamber Orchestra. She has performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, L.A. Opera, New York City Opera, American Ballet Theater, as well as at the Casals, Ojai and Martha’s Vineyard Music Festivals. he received both her B.A., cum laude, and her M.A. from UCLA.  She is the Co-Artistic Director of Chamber Music Palisades, now celebrating its twenty-first season. Ms. Greenberg has recorded for over 500 motion pictures and many TV television shows, including the Simpsons for 25 years.

Versatile tenor Jon Lee Keenan studied Classical Voice and Jazz Bass at UNLV. Jon relocated to Southern California to pursue a career in classical singing, and study vocal arts at the USC Thornton School of Music. Shortly after moving to LA, Jon was selected to join the LA Master Chorale and has been featured as a soloist at Walt Disney Concert Hall in each season since. Recent highlights with the Chorale include the role of “Evangelist” in Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, tenor soloist in Handel’s Messiah and Bach’s Magnificat. Jon recently recorded the role “Gniphos” in the LA Philharmonic’s production of Lou Harrison’s Young Caesar, released internationally in 2018 on The Industry Records. This season’s highlights include appearances with the Corona Del Mar Baroque Festival in Bach’s Magnificat; Various roles in John Cage’s Europeras I and II with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and an international tour of Lagrime di San Pietro with music by Orlando di Lasso and staging by Peter Sellars.

Kenton Youngstrom, guitarist, composer, and educator is the first in a long line of prize-winning students of Jim Smith at the University of Southern California. While earning his Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees, he studied composition with Donald Crockett, arranging with Darniell Pershing, and film scoring with David Raksin.  Mr. Youngstrom has performed concerts and recitals with numerous jazz notables such as pianists Taylor Eigsti and Dave Brubeck, flutist Hubert Laws, bassist Scott Colley and guitarist Larry Koonse. Producing credits include the Falla Guitar Trio’s Concord Records LP, “Virtuoso Music for Three Guitars” which won a Record of the Year Award from Stereo Review magazine. Mr. Youngstrom teaches guitar at the Colburn Community School of Performing Arts.

Free Event!
RSVP via Eventbrite

Sunday, March 17, 2019
Monica Film Center
1332 Second Street
Santa Monica, CA
11am – 12pm

 

 

 

 

ART IN THE ARTHOUSE presents: Ronald Dunlap: The Elegance of Silence in Claremont

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Come on over to Claremont for Laemmle’s Art in the Arthouse’s newest show featuring the exquisite photography of Ronald Dunlap. The show will run at the Claremont 5 till June, 2019. Sales benefit the Laemmle Foundation and its support of humanitarian and environmental causes in Los Angeles.

About the Exhibit
Photographer and artist Ronald Dunlap has been “living pictures” both in life and through his lens for forty years. Dunlap’s service in Vietnam as a Marine left an indelible mark. Over the years he has returned to Vietnam, Cambodia and toured the East to record the stark images of daily life in those regions. Many of the fifteen photographs in this collection are from those journeys.Dunlap has a refined eye and fastidious focus. His imagery is evocative and speaks volumes. According to the artist his raison d’etre is “a concern with picture structure and the ability to connect with the viewer without the need for any written explanation.”

Dunlap has studied at Laguna College of Art and Design, Chouinard Art Institute and received his BFA in Fine Art from the California Institute of the Arts. His MFA Fine Art degree is from Otis College of Art and Design.The artist has previously shown his work at both Laemmle’s Pasadena and Claremont community art shows. Dunlap lives and works at his home in Altadena, and continues to focus on honing his craft and speaking to his audience directly through his arresting images.

– Joshua Elias, curator

It’s Time for Our Annual Predict the Oscars Contest!

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With the 91st Academy Awards right around the corner, it’s time for our annual Predict the Oscars Contest! The person who most accurately predicts the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science’s choices in all 24 categories, from the shorts to Best Picture, will win fabulous prizes (free movies and concessions at Laemmle)!

First place wins a Laemmle Premiere Card worth $150. Second place wins a Laemmle Premiere Card worth $100. Third place wins a Laemmle Premiere Card worth $50. Entries are due by 10AM the morning of the awards ceremony on February 24th.

prem-blogNot sure what a Laemmle Premiere Card is? Think of it like a prepaid gift card for yourself! Use it to pay for movie tickets and concessions. Plus, Premiere Card holders receive $3 off movie tickets and 20% off concessions. To find out more, visit www.laemmle.com/premiere-cards.

We’ve got some smart cookies for customers so we have a tie-breaker question: you also have to guess the show’s running time. Take the tie-breaker seriously! In 2016, the running time question broke a tie between five entrants who correctly predicted 19 out of 24 categories!

We’ll announce the winners right here on our blog by February 26th. Good luck!

*One entry per person. One winner per household.

Click Here to Enter

 

 

 

 

LAEMMLE LIVE presents Samohi Chamber Orchestra and Rich Capparela February 24

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This is a Free Event
RSVP on Eventbrite

LAEMMLE LIVE is delighted to welcome back the talented musicians of the Samohi Chamber Orchestra. Repertoire will include Der Tod Und Das Mädehen (Death and the Maiden) by Franz Schubert, arranged for string Orchestra by Gustav Mahler and Concerto Grosso for String Orchestra with Piano Obbligato by Ernest Bloch. Joni Swenson and Jason Aiello, Directors. Guest Host, KUSC Radio Announcer Rich Capparela.

Samohi has a long tradition of musical excellence. Several factors contribute to the strength of the Samoni music program including strong elementary and middle school programs, a supportive community, an outstanding music faculty and fine arts coordinator, enthusiastic administrative support, and most important, dedicated parents and students. The Samohi orchestra program offers opportunities to all musicians, ranging from entry to advanced levels. Courses offered are the Beginning Orchestra, String Orchestra, Concert Orchestra, Sinfonia Orchestra, Philharmonic Orchestra, Symphony Orchestra, and Chamber Orchestra. Students receive one hour per week of sectional small group instruction taught by paid coaches funded by the Samohi Orchestra Parents Association.

Sunday, February 24, 2019
Monica Film Center
1332 Second Street
Santa Monica, CA
11am – 12pm