
On Tuesday, Sept. 18, at 6:30 p.m., the series kicks off with a double feature of two short comedies from 1933: the Marx Brothers in “Duck Soup” and “She Done Him Wrong,” starring Mae West and Cary Grant.
Additional titles over the next 12 weeks include “Sabrina” (1954), “Forrest Gump” (1994), “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance” (1962), and “It’s a Wonderful Life” (1946). There will be a special election night screening on Nov. 6 of Frank Capra’s masterpiece, “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” (1939). For the complete schedule, visit www.patten.lib.me.us.

“Duck Soup” is the Marx Brothers’ purest and most insane film. This pointed political satire contains some of the brothers’ most famous sequences like the Paul Revere parody, the “We’re Going To War” number, a spoof of 1930s musicals, the mirror scene, and, most famous of all, a final battle episode that has since been copied by everyone from Woody Allen to MAD Magazine.
“She Done Him Wrong” is an adaptation of Mae West’s famous stage hit, Diamond Lil. West plays Lady Lou, the reigning chanteuse of the Bowery during the Gay Nineties. She mixes nostalgia and bawdiness to honky-tonk rhythm with songs like “I’m A Fast Moving Girl That Likes ‘Em Slow” and “Frankie and Johnny.” While Mae pits Gilbert Roland and Noah Beery against each other, she settles for her backlot discovery, Cary Grant, as Pete the Duke.
The Fall Film Series continues on Tuesday nights at 6:30 p.m. through Dec. 18.
For more information, call 443-5141 or visit www.patten.lib.me.us.
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