Lectures For Lifelong Learners!

As the forefather of modern cinema, Alfred Hitchcock is often referred to as the quintessential auteur. Many people take for granted that Hitchcock is the singular vision behind his movies. Yet, his films show (more plainly than most) that film is a collaborative medium. And many of Hitchcock’s greatest and most influential collaborators were women — from writers to producers to costume designers to art directors. Through a discussion of a range of Hitchcock movies, this illustrated lecture will introduce you to Hitchcock’s many female collaborators and show you why films such as Rebecca, Shadow of a Doubt, Rear Window, and North by Northwest had so much to say about relationships between men and women.

Women have been pioneers in filmmaking from its earliest days, innovating technologies, shaping conventions, and dramatically shaping the US industry. Yet women’s contributions go largely forgotten or obscured. Some classic Hollywood era stars such as Bette Davis and Carole Lombard made powerful changes in the industry that were barely known then and have nearly been lost to history. At the same time, the stories of less familiar women, such as screenwriters, producers, and directors, are so fascinating they would make for great movies in their own right. This lecture will include clips and images to shed light on the triumphs and struggles of these powerhouses and expand our perspective on today’s contemporary media landscape.

When Susan Seidelman, one of the most successful independent filmmakers of the 1980s, was looking to make a comeback in the age of streaming and emerging technologies, she realized her best prospects were in her own backyard. Well, actually, the backyard of her mother’s 55+ South Florida retirement community. The result was Boynton Beach Club (2005), a story of the romantic exploits of recently widowed and divorced senior citizens living in a South Florida retirement community, starring Dyan Cannon, Brenda Viccaro, Sally Kellerman, and Joseph Bologna. This lecture goes behind the scenes of this low-budget movie, detailing all the creative, savvy – and risky – choices that Seidelman and her mother Florence made as they achieved critical success and ultimately new paradigm in cinema.

Psycho is widely considered Alfred Hitchcock’s most successful and influential film. Not even Hitchcock could have predicted that he would be forever changed by making this movie, and so would American audiences. Going behind the scenes of the making of Psycho, this lecture offers insight into the director’s unique style as well as how this film forever changed the industry. Note: Communities are encouraged (but not required) to screen the film for its residents in advance of the lecture.

Who can resist the heartwarming moment in It’s a Wonderful Life when Jimmy Stewart hugs his daughter as she adorably tells him, “Teacher says every time a bell rings, an angel gets its wings”? Or the romantic embrace between Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr on Christmas Eve at the end of An Affair to Remember? And who could forget the final spectacular number in White Christmas featuring Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, and Rosemary Clooney delivering a show-stopping performance of “White Christmas”? These films, with their joyous affirmations of the holiday spirit, have become cherished traditions in their own right. In a celebration of Hollywood’s finest, this presentation offers a dazzling toast to an enchanting selection of classic film scenes that capture the essence of Christmas, Hanukkah, New Year’s, and the entire festive season. Delving behind the scenes of beloved movies like After the Thin Man, The Apartment, Avalon, Christmas in Connecticut, Fiddler on the Roof, Holiday Inn, It Happened on Fifth Avenue, and Young at Heart, this lecture will explore how distinct stars, directors, and genres have shaped these films and why they continue to resonate in our collective imagination.

A close look at memorable movie moments between on-screen pairings such as Hepburn and Tracey, Gable and Crawford, Powell and Loy, and Doris Day and Rock Hudson, loaded with behind the scenes details. Include clips from: Adam’s Rib, Bringing up Baby, His Girl Friday, Pillow Talk and The Thin Man.

Who can forget the moment in Jerry McGuire when Renee Zellweger tells Tom Cruise, “You had me at hello”? Or, when Julia Roberts explains to Hugh Grant in Notting Hill, “I’m just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her”? Paying tribute to some of the most romantic couples on the movie and television screens over the past several decades, this presentation looks closely at a series of iconic pairings.

With a focus on such beloved figures as Diane Keaton, Sally Field, Burt Reynolds, Meg Ryan, Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, George Clooney as well as performances in such shows asCheers, Outlander, Friends, and Grey’s Anatomy, this talk explores how certain scenes prevail in popular memory and why specific stars take hold. Going behind-the-scenes of production and considering on-screen as well as off-screen star couples, “Love Struck” celebrates romance in the modern era.