FOCUS
Films: Old, Classic & Unknown on Saturdays
" ... classic American films,
distinguished foreign films,
films you've missed,
films you want to see again,
and films
you may never have had the opportunity to see."
An informal group dedicated to reviving and sharing vintage and classic motion pictures with the folks in Milwaukee and the surrounding region.
Film showings are scheduled at 7:00 p.m. on the 2nd and 4th Saturdays of each month (usually*), but not on the 4th Saturday in December.
*On occasion, there are conflicts with events in the church which,
of course, take precedence over FOCUS operations.
Our Location:
Showings are at The Church in the City at 2648 North Hackett Avenue (a one-way street, going north), Milwaukee (the east side, 53202) which is one block east of Downer Avenue and actually intersects with Downer Avenue at East Belleview Avenue (There's a traffic light at this corner.)
We suggest entering Hackett at Belleview and proceeding north (It's a one-way street); there's parking on Hackett and around the corner on Park Place, heading east.
Admission is $3 .....Note the new starting time is at 7 p.m.
March 13th: Citizen Kane (1941)
Some people wonder what all the fuss is about regarding Citizen Kane. They think it interesting and, well, that's that. But then they realize something suddenly: the movie was made by a 25 year old kid ... and then its greatness becomes apparent.
FOCUS is proud to be showing what many consider to be one of the finest movies ever made.
Starring:
Orson Welles,
Dorothy Commingore,
Ray Collins,
Joseph Cotten,
Agnes Moorehead.
Screenplay by Herman Mankiewicz. [Welles claimed ownership but much evidence disputes that.]
Photographed by Gregg Toland.
Art Direction by Van Nest Polglase.
Edited by Robert Wise.
Music by Bernard Herrmann.
Directed by Orson Welles.
Welles became famous (or, infamous) for his indecisiveness and profligacy [in wasting a lot of time and money] in making his later films. An incident occurred in the making of The Lady from Shanghai where the aggressive production manager, Jack Fier, was in constant combat with Welles over money.
As production was coming to a close, a great banner appeared on the set: "The only thing we have to fear is Fier himself." (A send-up on the inaugural speech by FDR.)
The next day, Fier countered with his own sign: "All's well that ends Welles."
March 27th: Hangover Square (1944)
While this film has very little to do with the original book by Patrick Hamilton, it is nevertheless a well done melodrama very much in the tradition of The Lodger: in 1903 London, a psychopathic composer murders pretty women. Rich atmosphere of gaslit London, excellent performances, plenty of suspense and a brilliant music score by Bernard Herrmann.
Starring
Laird Cregar,
Linda Darnell,
George Sanders,
Faye Marlowe.
Screenplay by Barre Lyndon.
Art Direction by Lyle Wheeler and Maurice Ransford.
Photographed by Joe LaShelle.
Music by Bernard Herrman.
Directed by John Brahm.
A 20th Century-Fox Picture.
The role of a film society has several elements:
to revive well-known but little-seen classics;
to provide some historical background related to motion pictures;
to introduce a new audience to films that are little-known to most followers of films;
and, most of all,
to provide first-rate entertainment suitable for mature taste.
In 1948, in Madison, Wisconsin at the University of Wisconsin, the Wisconsin Film Society was founded with similar aims but with a broader vision: to bring back not only the classics, but also important foreign films. These efforts were replicated, mainly on college campuses ("campi" ?) all over the country.
In the 1950s, in Washington, D.C., a group of cinephiles founded "Friends of Old Films", "Foofs", to revive the old classics.
FOCUS was founded in 1965 and with an uneven history has reemerged on or about February 2007.
For additional information, call Hank Landa at (414) 258-6492
To be placed on our e-mail reminder list, go to ficoa@milwpc.com and drop off your e-mail address
(which we share with no one!)
This web page is donated by The Film Instruction Company of America (FICOA, since 1960), 5928 W. Michigan St., Wauwatosa, WI 53213; ficoa@milwpc.com;
small press publishers of
The Political Handbook for Student Government Operations,
The On-the-Job-Training Handbook,
The Solar Energy Handbook,
The Automotive aerodynamics Handbook,
&
Waste Materials Management - an Approach to the General Theory of
*On occasion, there are local and church events that conflict with the normal schedule.