The Castro Theatre provides holiday treats throughout December, kicking off with a day of rarely seen silent features, several of which are gay-themed. It's followed by a program that is literally out of this world.
"Beauty and the Beast" Disney's 1991 animated film, an adaptation of Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont's 18th-century fairy tale. (12/1, 3)
San Francisco Silent Film Festival presents "A Day of Silents" (12/2), live music by Philip Carli and others (next 6 films):
"The Adventures of Prince Achmed" Lotte Reigniger directed this first full-length (72 minutes) animated feature, loosely based on tales from "The Arabian Nights." It uses cut-paper silhouettes against tinted backdrops.
"The Last Man on Earth" Director J.G. Blystone's gender-bending 1924 comedy is set in 1954, when an outbreak of "masculitus" has wiped out the male population, except for one sad sack, Elmer Smith (Earle Foxe). Gertie the Gangster (Grace Cunard) finds the hermit Elmer and sells him to the state, where his fate will be decided in a boxing match on the floor of the US Senate.
"Tol'able David" Richard Barthelmess is the sensitive young David forced to confront brutal Goliaths in Henry King's American coming-of-age tale. David's serene Appalachian childhood comes to an end when a trio of outlaws terrorizes his town, crippling his brother and causing the death of his father.
"The Rat" Set in the criminal underworld of Paris, this 1925 English box-office hit stars Ivor Novello as the apache Pierre Boucheron, aka The Rat.
"Lady Windermere's Fan" Billy Wilder's mentor, Ernst Lubitsch, translates the wit of Oscar Wilde in purely visual terms. May McAvoy is Lady Windermere, Ronald Colman is Lord Darlington, and Irene Rich is the notorious Mrs. Erlynne.
"Sex in Chains" A film about the human cost of imprisonment argues for prison reform. Its depiction of prison homosexuality that could even lead to love was far ahead of its time.
"Close Encounters of the Third Kind" (1977) Steven Spielberg directs Richard Dreyfuss as a telephone lineman who detects a ship from outer space. Highlight is Dreyfuss' playful noodling with a plate of mash potatoes as he imagines how the aliens might behave.
"Uforia" (1986) John Binder directs Cindy Williams as a grocery clerk who thinks she's getting signals from beyond our planet. With help from Harry Dean Stanton, Fred Ward, and Beverly Hope Atlinson. (both 12/3)
"Clue" (1985) Director Jonathan Lynn offers a playful whodunit based on the board game. A terrific 80s ensemble gathers in a creepy Victorian mansion, including Eileen Brennan, Tim Curry, Madeline Kahn, Christopher Lloyd, Michael McKean, Martin Mull, Lesley Ann Warren, and Howard Hesseman.
"The Rocky Horror Picture Show" (1975) Jim Sharman is the very unknown director of this classic Midnight movie fare that virtually defined 70s cinema camp. Tim Curry steals the madcap proceedings, hosting a pair of stranded motorists: a very young Susan Sarandon and Barry Bostick. Richard O'Brien provides music and lyrics. (both 12/8)
"The Wizard of Oz" (1939) Child star Judy Garland was never better than in this fantasy opus that was a virtual origin-myth story for a pre-Stonewall gay community. Directed by Victor Fleming, music & lyrics by Harold Arlen & E.Y. Harburg. The unforgettable Ray Bolger, Bert Lahr, Jack Haley, Billie Burke, and Margaret Hamilton as the Wicked Witch.
"Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory" (1971) Gene Wilder steals this kids' holiday treat as the candymaker who gives youngsters tours along his assembly line. Based on Roald Dahl's book, with Jack Albertson and Roy Kinnear. (both 12/10)
"Harold and Maude" (1971) Hal Ashby's offers timeless intergenerational love story between 20-year-old Harold (Bud Cort) and feisty, 79-year-old Maude (Ruth Gordon). Perhaps the definitive early-70s cult movie, with a memorable score from Cat Stevens.
"Being There" (1979) One of Peter Sellers' last great comic turns, as a mysterious seer who catches the ear of presidents with homilies. With Shirley MacLaine, an Oscar for Melvyn Douglas, Richard Dreyfuss, Jack Warden and Richard Basehart. (both 12/14)
"Bullitt" (1968) Steve McQueen's definitive role, as fiercely independent SF police detective Frank Bullitt, who drives a cool car, dresses like a hipster and butts heads with Robert Vaughn's power-hungry Senate crime-fighter. Sensational car chases up and down the streets of San Fran work brilliantly despite obvious violations of geography. Climaxes at a still-recognizable 60s-era SFO airport. With Jacqueline Bisset, Norman Fell and a sprightly cameo by a taxi-driving, pre-"Godfather" Robert Duvall.
"48 Hours" (1982) Walter Hill directs this buddy adventure with Nick Nolte as a veteran cop who releases felon Eddie Murphy in order to apprehend his dangerous partner-in-crime. (both 12/15)
"The Shining" (1980) Stanley Kubrick provides Jack Nicholson the opportunity to give his most over-the-top performance as a writer who loses his mind as a caretaker for a remote mountain hotel.
"Misery" (1990) Director Rob Reiner displayed his dark side with this adaptation of a Stephen King novel that has a demented, Oscar-winning) Kathy Bates torturing a mild-mannered romance writer (James Caan). (both 12/16)
"Casablanca" (1942) Humphrey Bogart's best-loved role is the North African club owner Rick, torn between an old flame (Ingrid Bergman) and thwarting Nazi rule in WWII-era Morocco. With an astonishing ensemble: Claude Rains ("Round up the usual suspects,") Conrad Veidt, Peter Lorre, Sydney Greenstreet.
"Dark Passage" (1947) Delmer Daves directs this post-war melodrama with Bogart and his real-life lover, Lauren Bacall. Bogey is an escaped convict recovering from plastic surgery at Bacall's city flat. (both 12/17)
"Singin' in the Rain" (1952) Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen co-direct this rhapsody of showstoppers, the misadventures of two refugees from silent movies who fight their way into the new talking-pictures era with songs in their hearts and a banana peel under each foot. Kelly, Donald O'Connor, Debbie Reynolds and Jean Hagen give career-topping performances. (12/21)
"It's a Wonderful Life" (1946) Yes, this Frank Capra tree-trimming classic is on TV, but the Castro's 40-foot screen can restore the glitter to almost any overviewed holiday story. Jimmy Stewart, married to Donna Reed, works for the Scrooge-like Lionel Barrymore. His suicide attempt is thwarted by his guardian angel. (12/22)
Christmas Eve concerts by the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus. (12/24)
Sing-Along version "Sound of Music" (1965) The hills are still alive in one of the most popular Broadway-to-Hollywood adaptations. Based on true-life story of the Von Trapp family, forced to flee their Austrian homeland after the Nazi invasion. With Julie Andrews, a youthful Christopher Plummer, Eleanor Parker and Marni Nixon. (12/26-1/1)
"The Adventures of Prince Achmed" is part of San Francisco Silent Film Festival's "A Day of Silents."