On Friday, Sept. 15, the Fargo Theatre announced on their Facebook page the lineup for their upcoming Classic Film Series. In total, six classic films will be shown, one each month from October to March. All shows are $5.
Alfred Hitchcock’s suspenseful thriller ‘Strangers on a Train’ hits the Fargo Theatre’s screen in January.
“The Rocky Horror Picture Show”
Oct. 27, 11 p.m.
This Halloween cult classic returns to the Fargo Theatre in a near-midnight showing.
The film details the crazy night of newly engaged Janet Weiss (Susan Sarandon) and Brad Majors (Barry Bostwick), who get stuck at the strange castle of Dr. Frank-N-Further (Tim Curry), a transvestite from Transexual, Transylvania.
Featuring a host of characters, including Riff Raff (Richard O’Brien), Magenta (Patricia Quinn), Columbia (Nell Campbell) and Rocky (Peter Hinwood), and proliferated with catchy musical numbers, “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” has secured its spot as a recent classic.
As an added bonus, the film is associated with the antics from the crowd, something the Fargo Theatre encourages during its annual screening. For a good Halloween evening, this is a must.
“Double Indemnity”
Nov. 9, 7:30 p.m.
Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck and Edward G. Robinson star in this 1944 crime drama.
The story is primarily told through flashbacks, but the gist is this: insurance salesman Walter Neff (MacMurray) meets beautiful and alluring Phyllis Dietrichson (Stanwyck) when making a regular house call to her husband.
Neff suspects that Dietrichson is planning on murdering her husband to collect insurance. At first, Dietrichson’s plot appalls Neff. However, that is only until he cannot resist her advances anymore. Neff and Dietrichson create the perfect plan … that is, until another insurance salesman, Barton Keyes (Robinson) catches on.
This film-noir is full of suspense and drama, making it truly a classic.
“It’s a Wonderful Life”
Dec. 4, 7:30 p.m.
George Bailey (James Stewart) is a salesman with a seemingly perfect life: he married his high school sweetheart, Mary Hatch (Donna Reed), bought his dream home and is raising a large family. That is, until the stock market crashes in 1929.
Bailey’s life suddenly spirals out of control. It reaches the point where Bailey is prepared to end his life. Then, heaven sends him a guardian angel— literally.
Clarence (Henry Travers) is Bailey’s personal angel who is sent to show him what life would be like had he never existed.
As my mom’s favorite film, I’m a little partial to this 1946 classic, but if you want to believe in the magic of Christmas, this is the film for you.
Toto, we’re not in North Dakota anymore: Judy Garland’s 1939 film ‘The Wizard of Oz’ will be at the Fargo Theatre March 15.
Alfred Hitchcock’s “Strangers on a Train”
Jan. 18, 7:30 p.m.
A masterpiece of suspense and mystery, Alfred Hitchcock’s classic “Strangers on a Train” heads to the Fargo Theatre in January.
Tennis star Guy Haines (Farley Granger) wants to divorce his wife to marry socialite Anne Morton (Ruth Roman). While on a train, Haines meets Bruno Anthony (Robert Walker) who plots the perfect murder: Anthony will kill Haines’s wife, in exchange for Haines killing his father.
Both will kill complete strangers, giving each an alibi and causing confusion for the police.
Anthony holds up his part of the deal, but Haines has trouble following through, causing him to go crazy with the knowledge of his wife’s murder and the strain of his own killer obligations.
“The Princess Bride”
Feb. 14, 7:30 pm.
Date night, anyone? For Valentine’s Day, the Fargo Theatre chose “The Princess Bride,” a love story that has resisted the test of time to become a true classic.
The film revolves around Buttercup (Robin Wright) and Westley (Cary Elwes), young lovers who are tragically torn apart. As the two try to reunite, they are stalled by pirates, annoying princes and a ragtag group of bandits who each have their own agenda.
Full of comedy, action and, of course, romance, “The Princess Bride” will make you laugh, cheer and swoon.
“The Wizard of Oz”
March 15, 5 p.m. & 7:30 p.m.
The film adaptation of “The Wizard of Oz” has worked its way into popular culture since its release in 1939.
Dorothy Gale (Judy Garland) is swept into the magical land of Oz after a tornado rips through her small Kansas town. As Dorothy tries to make her way back home, she encounters a cowardly lion, a tin man and a scarecrow. With her band of friends, Dorothy must dodge the Wicked Witch of the West to get to the man who can grant her wish — the Wizard of Oz.
Coining terms like “We’re not in Kansas anymore,” “Lions and tigers and bears, oh my” and “Somewhere over the rainbow,” the classic status of “The Wizard of Oz” is not just from its age, but from its incredible, uplifting storyline that has maintained its magic through the years.