We open on Philadelphia socialite C.K. Dexter Haven (Cary Grant) as he’s being tossed out of his palatial home by his wife, Tracy Lord (Katharine Hepburn). Adding insult to injury, Tracy breaks one of C.K.’s precious golf clubs. He gallantly responds by knocking her down on her million-dollar keester. A couple of years after the breakup, Tracy is about to marry George Kittridge (John Howard), a wealthy stuffed shirt whose principal recommendation is that he’s not a Philadelphia “mainliner,” as C.K. was. Still holding a torch for Tracy, C.K. is galvanized into action when he learns that Sidney Kidd (Henry Daniell), the publisher of Spy Magazine, plans to publish an expose concerning Tracy’s philandering father (John Halliday). To keep Kidd from spilling the beans, C.K. agrees to smuggle Spy reporter Macauley Connor (James Stewart) and photographer Elizabeth Imbrie (Ruth Hussey) into the exclusive Lord-Kittridge wedding ceremony. How could C.K. have foreseen that Connor would fall in love with Tracy, thereby nearly lousing up the nuptials? As it turns out, of course, it is C.K. himself who pulls the “louse-up,” reclaiming Tracy as his bride. A consistently bright, bubbly, witty delight, The Philadelphia Story could just as well have been titled “The Revenge of Katharine Hepburn.” Source: Rialto Cinemas

The showing is on February 9th, at 7pm. All seats are $8. Getting to the theater early is always a good idea–for a choice of seating and to order freshly-made food and drinks. You are strongly advised to buy tickets in advance at the box office or online.

Saturday, February 4

“THE NEW METROPOLIS: Building a Sustainable and Healthy Bay Area in the Age of Global Warming” will bring together policy makers and community members to discuss strategies for urban and suburban revitalization and environmental sustainability in the Bay Area. The forum is being presented by the City of El Cerrito Environmental Quality Committee and co-sponsored by the West Contra Costa County League of Women Voters and Torrice Productions.

Panel discussion and screening of The New Metropolis from 10:00 A.M-2:00 P.M. at Rialto Cinemas Cerrito, 10070 San Pablo Avenue, El Cerrito, CA 94530.

Ticket table/Doors Open at 9:30 a.m. — Pre-Registration is strongly encouraged as space is limited.

Jazz vocalist Jennifer Johns will provide a spirited opening to the day.  Award-winning filmmaker Andrea Torrice will show segments from her recent PBS series, The New Metropolis, as well as premiere a new segment about the Bay Area.

Following the screening, community dialog groups continue from 12:30 P.M-2:00 P.M. next door at Nong Thon Vietnamese restaurant in El Cerrito, with complimentary appetizers provided by the City of El Cerrito. Group discussions will focus on themes such as Food and Water; Housing and Transportation; Health and Air Quality; Climate Change Adaptation; the Role of Education, Arts and Media; and Economic Development.

The event is free and open to the public.  Both venues are wheelchair accessible.

Tickets: Free, but registration is strongly encouraged. Register by sending your name and number of tickets to 510-215-4350 or green@ci.el-cerrito.ca.us

The City of El Cerrito Environmental Quality Committee‘s Eco-Film series was developed to educate, inspire and encourage community participation in a wide range of environmental quality and sustainability issues.

The Muppet Movie will be shown at 7 PM on January 12, and at 11:30 AM on January 13 through 16. Our apologies for any inconvenience we caused.

To kick off the new year with a special teat, there is a one-time only showing of two Cerrito Classics in January.  To keep your holiday mood going, the delightful “Muppet Movie” from 1979 will have five showings, from Thursday, January 12 through Monday, January 16 — all showings at 7 p.m.  at 7 PM on January 12, and at 11:30 AM on January 13 through 16. Tickets are $8.00

Then, for something completely different, we have the acclaimed Bogart-Bacall noir hit, “The Big Sleep,” from 1946.  “The Big Sleep” shows only once, on Thursday, January 19, at 7 p.m.  Don’t miss it!  Buying tickets in advance at the box office or online is strongly advised. Tickets are $8.00

The Muppet Movie (1979)

Kermit the Frog and Fozzie Bear have embarked on a quest for stardom. They take a trip to Hollywood, beginning their journey on a bicycle pedalled by Kermit, but friends accumulate along the way. There is also the challenge of fending off the entreaties of the heartless Doc Hopper (Charles Durning), who wants Kermit to make some advertisements promoting fried frog legs. Kermit must also cope with his amorous feelings for Miss Piggy, and hers for him. This appealing children’s adventure movie has numerous scenes which do homage to classic films, and features a huge cast of Hollywood greats, from Edgar Bergen to Orson Welles, in cameo roles. A great box-office success, this movie paved the way for a number of sequels. Source: Yahoo! Movie Info. Rialto website information.

The Big Sleep (1946)

The definitive Humphrey Bogart/Lauren Bacall vehicle, The Big Sleep casts Bogart as Raymond Chandler’s cynical private eye Philip Marlowe. Summoned to the home of the fabulously wealthy General Sternwood (Charles Waldron), Marlowe is hired to deal with a blackmailer shaking down the General’s sensuous, thumb-sucking daughter Carmen (Martha Vickers). This earns Marlowe the displeasure of Carmen’s sloe-eyed, seemingly straight-laced older sister Vivian (Bacall), who is fiercely protective of her somewhat addled sibling. As he pursues the case at hand, Marlowe gets mixed up in the murder of Arthur Geiger (Theodore von Eltz), a dealer in pornography. He also runs afoul of gambling-house proprietor Eddie Mars (John Ridgely), who has some sort of hold over the enigmatic Vivian.  Source: Yahoo! Movie Info. Rialto website information.

An error appeared in our last mailing on the date of the showing of this film. Our apologies for the confusion.

CORRECTION: The film showing is on Dec 8, not 7th. The magic of “Miracle on 34th St.” (1947) is bound to touch your heart. Natalie Wood plays a little girl who has lost her faith in Santa Claus. Her mother, played by Maureen O’Hara, takes her to Macy’s department store in Manhattan. There the little girl encounters a kindly but perhaps slightly demented old man who has taken a job playing Santa Claus–but there are complications. Edmund Gwenn won the Oscar for his role. “Miracle on 34th St.” is a priceless and unforgettable movie–what Christmas is all about.

Film starts at 7 pm Thursday,  December 8 . All seats are $8. Getting to the theater early is always a good idea–for a choice of seating and to order freshly-made food and drinks. You are strongly advised to buy tickets in advance at the box office or online.

Hollywood’s legendary “woman’s director,” George Cukor (The Women, The Philadelphia Story), transformed Audrey Hepburn into street-urchin-turned-proper-lady Eliza Doolittle in this film version of the Lerner and Loewe musical. Based on George Bernard Shaw’s play Pygmalion, My Fair Lady stars Rex Harrison as linguist Henry Higgins (Harrison also played the role, opposite Julie Andrews, on stage), who draws Eliza into a social experiment that works almost too well. Star wattage that keeps this film exciting, that and such great songs as “On the Street Where You Live” and “I Could Have Danced All Night.” Actor Jeremy Brett, who gained a huge following later in life portraying Sherlock Holmes, is quite electric as Eliza’s determined suitor. Source: Yahoo Movie Information

“My Fair Lady” will be very popular. You are strongly advised to buy tickets in advance at the box office or online.

Film starts at 7 pm Thursday, November 10. All seats are $8. Getting to the theater early is always a good idea–for a choice of seating and to order freshly-made food and drinks.

Demand to see this film is so great that Rialto has added one more showing of this film on Oct 27, at 9:30 p.m.. All seats are still $8.00. Buy your tickets now at the box office or online to avoid being shut out!

Due to sold out showing on Oct 13th, the Cerrito Theater will be playing again “Young Frankenstein” on Thursday, October 27 at 7 p.m. If you missed the last show, here’s your chance to see it!  All seats are $8.00. Buy your tickets now at the box office or online to avoid being shut out! See last post for movie details.

Spoofing classic horror in the way that Mel Brooks’s previous film Blazing Saddles sent up classic Westerns, Young Frankenstein is both a loving tribute and a raucous, rreverent parody. Filming in glorious black and white, Brooks re-created the Frankenstein laboratory using the same equipment from the original Frankenstein (courtesy of designer Kenneth Strickfaden), and this loving attention to physical and stylistic detail creates a solid foundation for nonstop comedy. The story, of course, involves Frederick Frankenstein (Gene Wilder) and his effort to resume experiments in re-animation pioneered by his late father. (He’s got some help, since dad left behind a book titled How I Did It.) Assisting him is the hapless hunchback Igor (Marty Feldman) and the buxom but none-too-bright maiden Inga (Teri Garr), and when Frankenstein succeeds in creating his monster (Peter Boyle), the stage is set for an outrageous revision of the Frankenstein legend. With comedy highlights too numerous to mention, Brooks guides his brilliant cast (also including Cloris Leachman, Madeline Kahn, Kenneth Mars, and Gene Hackman in a classic cameo role) through scene after scene of inspired hilarity. Indeed, Young Frankenstein is a charmed film, nothing less than a comedy classic, representing the finest work from everyone involved. Not one joke has lost its payoff, and none of the countless gags have lost their zany appeal. From a career that includes some of the best comedies ever made, this is the film for which Mel Brooks will be most fondly remembered. Source: Yahoo! Movie.  

Film starts at 7 pm Thursday, October 13. All seats are $8. Get to the Classics early as they are popular — or buy tickets in advance at the box office or online (see right column on the Rialto website).  Getting to the theater early is always a good idea–for a choice of seating and to order freshly-made food and drinks.