Quick Snaps: Paramount's Summer Movie Series

Look, it's a post that isn't about Alamo Drafthouse at all!

I realized this week that I haven't posted anything this year about Paramount's Summer Classic Film Series, which has been going on since late May. The above photo is from one of the first nights of the series, which traditionally opens with a double-feature that includes Casablanca. My husband and I were downtown that night and ended up seeing Casablanca again on a whim, despite the fact that we own the DVD. You can't go wrong with Casablanca.

It was a good print and we enjoyed ourselves very much ... except we could have done without watching The Shadow, a 1940s serial to which time has not been at all kind. I believe these are the same episodes of The Shadow that The Paramount showed several years ago, and the audience reaction ranged from bored to mocking. I'd rather watch a short cartoon or even nothing at all -- I know The Paramount is working hard to offer us good value for money, but this serial is a waste of time. I'd love to see the theater show locally filmed shorts beforehand (or maybe work with SXSW to show the SXSWclick finalists?), even if they're not "classic."

Last week, we returned for Brewster McCloud, which I was happy The Paramount was showing since it's not yet on DVD. As much as I like watching classics like Casablanca again, I'm especially fond of the chance to watch movies that I'd otherwise be unable to see. Brewster McCloud is a very very strange movie but lots of fun to watch, especially on a big screen where you can see every detail of the shots in the Astrodome.

Check out the remaining Paramount schedule for this summer. Next week's pre-Code double-feature of Baby Face and Bombshell sounds tempting to me, but you might prefer double-features devoted to Newman/Redford films, Peter O'Toole, Spielberg, Truffaut ... and as usual, the series ends with Gone with the Wind. We bought the Flix-Tix book of tickets (a good bargain) so you might see me there. The schedule sometimes changes and movies are cancelled or added, so don't rely only on the printed schedule -- double-check the website.