Seniors: Cinema 114 — Finian’s Rainbow & The Quiet Man

We salute “the Auld Sod” this month with two Celtic classics.

On Wednesday, March 7, we’ll feature “Finian’s Rainbow,” a 1968 American musical film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, starring Fred Astaire and Petula Clark. In this film, Astaire, at age 69, returns to the screen to play the lovable rascal, Finian McLonergan, who leaves Ireland with his daughter Sharon (Petula Clark) and a stolen pot of gold.

Running time: 2 hours and 25 minutes.

On Wednesday, March 21, director John Ford’s “The Quiet Man” moves front and center on our large screen TV.

The film stars John Wayne as Sean Thornton, an Irish American from Pittsburgh and a former heavyweight boxer, who returns to  his family’s farm in Innisfree. He meets and falls in love with Mary Kate Danaher, played by a fiery Maureen O’Hara. Her loud-mouth bully of a brother, Will Danaher (Victor McLaglen), adds the inevitable complications to the course of “true love.”

Running time: 2 hours and 9 minutes.

Showtime is at 2:30 p.m. sharp at the Senior Activity Center. Maggie, our lovely video technician, and I will be there to serve refreshments. DVDs are donated by Geo-Jo Video. Hope to see you; bring a friend. Erin go bragh!