Around the Island

Movies at the Library: A lighthearted satire opens film season

In the 1930s and early 1940s, with the economy in the doldrums and the war drums of Europe getting louder, Americans turned to Hollywood to lighten their lives. Director Preston Sturges was there to provide light and joy in the form of his “screwball” films and social comedies, and among the best of these was his “Sullivan’s Travels.”

Movies at the Library will inaugurate its delayed winter season next Tuesday, January 17 with “Sullivan’s Travels,” at the temporary cinema in the Center firehouse, which, like the library’s cinema, features a big screen, surround-sound setting.

But the most important feature is the brilliant film itself, a movie listed in “One of the 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die.”

Sturges’s pure genius produced this social comedy, a witty and knowing spoof of Hollywood, where a famous film director decides to find out what life outside the Tinseltown fantasy land is really like. The cast, with Joel McCrea, Veronica Lake and William Demarest, among a happy group of character actors, is excellent.

Don’t miss “Sullivan’s Travels,” a genuine Hollywood classic, next Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the Center firehouse. Park and enter from the rear and either use the elevator or climb the stairs. As always, bottled water and popcorn for all!

See you at the movies.