Evening film series at the Elsinore returns

The Wednesday Evening Film Series presents a classic program of seven sound-era film staring on January 6 and likewise begins the silent program on January 27.

Calling the series "Intrigue and Romance, 1938-1949," the series recalls the filmmaking era during the second World War.

According to the Chemeketa Film Studies Program to sponsor the series, "The Hollywood moguls were Eastern European Jewish immigrants and their studios were populated with newly arrived European film artists and technicians who had fled the escalating danger."

Imaginative movies were their answer to the raging turmoil with many story ideas pulled from the headlines.

"Casablanca" opens the series on Jan. 6. Following this critically acclaimed classic is Hitchcock's "The Lady Vanishes" on Jan. 13. This thriller is also a romantic comedy set on the eve of WWII.

Following these classics is the digitally restored 1927 Clarence Badger film, "It" kicks off the silent film screenings.

All films begin at 7 p.m. with doors opened at 6 p.m. Tickets are $5 and can be purchased at the Historic Elsinore Theatre and at all Tickets West locations.

Our sordid past

While our pioneers blazed a trail firmly etched in history, a film screening takes a look back at the inequalities firmly in place during the early 20th century.

On January 20, Willamette University and the Salem Human Right and Relations Advisory Commission sponsor a showing of the 2009 film "The Ku Klux Klan in Oregon: 1920-1923."

This event is part of the series of events planned by the Willamette University College of Law's Martin Luther King Celebration 2010 and is held at the Salem Public Library.

The screening, which features a discussion led by four panelists, begins at 7 p.m.

"Leading the talk are film director Thomas Couter, John Ritter, Salem historian and community members Willie Richardson and Benny Williams," Sonja Sommerville, the library's Community Relations Coordinator, said.