Outdoor movie season in East Kendall Park!

Stills from The Old Gold Follies of 1938 and Masters and Servants, two classics both screening in East Kendall Park this month (and don't worry -- the rebel leader on the right in Masters and Servants makes it out alive, but just barely!)

My goodness, I'm so sorry for not writing lately! It's been so busy here in the office lately, and perhaps you've noticed that spring is finally here! We've been having such nice 70 degree days in the last few weeks, I'm sure you've all been outside enjoying some our great neighborhood outdoor activities -- the annual Dr. Lyman "Rawhide" McKenzie Memorial Barbecue Symposium at the that the cultural studies program at the University of Mishipeshu puts on every second weekend in April, or the weekly farmers market at Armitage Square (love those squashes from Craze, Junkyard and the whole rest of the crew at the Starshine Manor Cosmic Love Farms!).

Of course, the Kendall Park Film Society will be hosting their popular annual East Kendall Twofer series of double feature movie presentations, every Thursday night beginning April 26 at 7:00 PM at the Danforth Ampitheater in East Kendall Park, located off of 34th Avenue at Schofield Parkway in Kendall Park, right on Lake Mishipeshu.

This year, it's a whole series of films by Armitage Heights natives Mel Caldwell and Richard R. Caldwell. Both brothers were born in south Armitage Heights in 1918 and 1925 respectively, to a streetcar conductor and school teacher. The brothers made a name for themselves on the then-thriving Armitage Heights theater scene as writers and directors (Mel in the old Armitage Avenue music halls, Richard in the small WPA-funded stages of south Hanley). Having had a taste of success here, set off for Hollywood in the 1930s to pursue careers in the movies. Of course, from there, their paths took wildly divergent paths. Mel Caldwell became known for his lush, sentimental MGM musicals, birthing an entire sub-genre, the so-called "Dancing Cigarette Girl" picture: in these films, many of which followed a similar plot, a young, leggy singer or dancer would typically take a seemingly dead-end job as a dancing carton of cigarettes in a stage show, fall in love with her handsome director, and finally through spunk and hard work, become a star. Richard, of course, did not find immediate success in the industry, drifting into the Hollywood demimonde and joining the Communist party, where he made a series of incredibly hard-hitting films for fledgling Key Studios dealing with labor and poverty issues. He became estranged from his brother at this time they rarely spoke after 1940, the lone exception being when Mel testified against Richard in his 1951 HUAC investigation hearings. Richard was blacklisted and became an alcoholic, but re-emerged in middle age to make a series of violent, anti-establishment small-budget war films that would become benchmarks for so-called "New Hollywood" generation. The brothers never reconciled, and Mel died of lung cancer in 1963. His brother died five years later in a mysterious and still-unsolved murder at his home in West Hollywood.

However, the Kendall Park Film Society will reunite these two legends this summer by showing some of their best-loved films back-to-back! The schedule is great fun indeed:

April 26: The Old Gold Follies of 1938 (1938) and They Shall Inherit The Earth (1939)
May 3: Roll Me Another, Sister! (1939) and The Life and Death of Leon Trotsky (1940)
May 10: Holy Smokes! (1940) and Death Train (1957)
May 17: Golden Leaves (1940) and Gentlemen, I Give You Colonel Tran (1959)
May 24: Say, That's Rich! (1941) and Masters and Servants (1960)
May 31: Golden Leaves Goes Overseas (1941) and Our Hour of Darkness (1961)

University of Mishipeshu film historian Dr. Kathleen Carter-Anderson will make a few short remarks before each screening, putting each film into historic context, and pointing out the many strange similarities that the brothers might have denied while still living!

You can visit the Film Society here on the web, or their offices can be reached at (436) 242-2209.

All screenings are all free and open to the public.