The Mid-Atlantic Nostalgia Convention also doubles as a film festival, providing rare films you will not see anywhere else. After all, why go to a convention and watch movies that you can see at the convenience of your own home? In many cases the films we offer are being screened exclusively for MANC. Look over the schedule and make plans to enjoy some of these rare gems. And there will be late-night horror movies after Midnight!
This year we pay tribute to film noir, a style or genre of cinematographic film marked by a mood of pessimism, fatalism, and menace. Deadly females who smoked and drank, innocent children suffering in the slums, and private detectives who are forced to do the dirty work that drives them to drink. We also pay tribute to jazz, a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, having developed from blues and ragtime. This musical expression crept into a large number of movies during the 1950s and 1960s, all of which are worthy of viewing even if you are not a fan of the music.
Movie times are approximate.
All movies scheduled for screening are subject to change.
You are allowed to eat and drink in the movie room but we ask that you pick up any wrappers and garbage before you leave. Please exercise the same courtesy to your neighbors as you would in a major movie theater.
WEDNESDAY
6 pm SERGEANT PRESTON OF THE YUKON (1956)
Canadian Mountie Sgt. Preston patrols the wilds of the Yukon with his horse Rex and his faithful dog Yukon King, battling both the elements and criminals. In the episode "Cry Wolf," weekend guest Kathy Garver plays the role of young Annabelle. Ruthless gold thieves target a rich claim that was reportedly staked by "Windy" Brown, a man with an understanding wife and a reputation as an incurable teller of tall tales.
6:30 am HAVE GUN, WILL TRAVEL (1959)
In the episode "Black Sheep," weekend guest Patrick Wayne plays the role of Ben Huttner. Paladin is hired to bring back from Mexico an heir to a sizable fortune (Wayne). One catch -- the heir may have to spend several years in jail for crimes he committed. But is it jail Paladin is leading him to or something else?
7 pm 1950s TV WRESTLING MATCHES
Known as the Friday Night Fights, following the advent of television, professional wrestling matches began to be aired nationally during the 1950s, reaching a larger fanbase than ever before. This was a time of enormous growth for professional wrestling, as rising demand and national expansion made it a much more popular and lucrative form of entertainment than in decades previous. This was called a "Golden Age" for the wrestling industry so we will present a number of those vintage telecasts from the 1950s, with all the excitement, flamboyancy and battle royal of legends.
8 pm HOUDINI DOCUMENTARY
This hour-long 1971 television documentary about the life and career of Harry Houdini is fascinating. He was known as the handcuff king, who could escape any straight-jacket. No prison could hold him. Through memories from those who worked with Houdini, to rare archival footage of Houdini in action, this is a great documentary.
9:00 pm TO BE ANNOUNCED
To Be Announced
10:00 pm SINBAD AND THE EYE OF THE TIGER (1977)
Sinbad must deliver a prince transformed into a monkey to the lands of the Ademaspai to restore him to his human form in time for his coronation. On the way he must contend with the evil witch Zenobia, her son and their magic, and several nasty-looking Ray Harryhausen beasties. The starring role is played by weekend guest Patrick Wayne, who works alongside Jane Seymour, Taryn Power and Doctor Who veteran Patrick Troughton. A fun film worth staying up to watch if you have never seen it before.
12 Midnight ALL-NIGHT HORROR MOVIES
Titles to be announced
THURSDAY
9 am TO BE ANNOUNCED
To Be Announced.
9:30 am THE ADVENTURES OF JIM BOWIE (1957)
The adventures of frontier hero Jim Bowie (played by Scott Forbes) are brought to life in this popular children's television series. In the episode "German George," Jim's friend and partner is cheated out of money by a gambler, who then kills him. Naturally, Jim sets out after the killer. Weekend guest Kathy Garver plays the role of Simone De Lances in this episode.
10 am A MAN CALLED SHENANDOAH (1966)
Starring Robert Horton in the lead role. A man shot and left for dead on the trail is found and revived. He has no recollection of his past and, calling himself Shenandoah, roams the West in search of his identity. In this episode, "Impostor," Shenandoah is following up on a lead from yet another photograph from his time in the army. According to one source his name is Timothy O'Rourke. Apparently, he is the long lost son of wealthy cattleman Andrew O'Rourke. The two had a major falling out, and now the dying father wants to see his son one more time. Shenandoah suspects all of this is too good to be true (we know he never did find out his identity as the television program went off the air before a conclusion could be dramatized) but in this episode also meets his supposed sister, Paula, played by weekend guest Juliet Mills.
10:30 am FURY (1957)
Before he played the lead on Mission: Impossible, Peter Graves was the star of his own television western for five seasons, alongside Bobby Diamond and William Fawcett. Rarely seen today and often talked about, the television western focused on a delinquent who ultimately straightened out through adoption, but focused on the story of a boy and his love for his horse. In the episode "Community Chest," Jim becomes chairman of the Community Chest and Joey's teacher appoints him to be the chairman of Junior Community Chest. Everyone pitches in to make the Community Chest a success. Ken Osmond and weekend guest Kathy Garver are featured in this episode.
11 am THE PATTY DUKE SHOW (1966)
Teenager Patty Lane (played by Patty Duke) and her worldly identical cousin Cathy, try to navigate through family and high school life. The comical situations add to the fun. Weekend guest Kathy Garver played the recurring role of Monica Robinson for three episodes of The Patty Duke Show. We will be featuring two of those episodes back-to-back.
12 noon TO BE ANNOUNCED
To Be Announced.
2 pm ALIAS SMITH AND JONES (1971)
Stars Pete Duel and Ben Murphy as Hannibal Heyes and Kid Curry, two of the most wanted outlaws in the history of the West, popular "with everyone except the railroads and the banks." In this episode, "The Man Who Murdered Himself," Hannibal and Kid Currey got 2 jobs. The Kid lost the coin toss (as usual), and is to deliver a wagon-load of high explosives to a mining operation. Hannibal gets the job of playing tour guide for a group of archaeologists looking for a long lost tribe of Indians. Hannibal begins to realize that no one on the expedition are what they seem -- except, for the lovely Julia Finney (played by weekend guest Juliet Mills), and someone has murder in mind.
3 pm THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E. (1965)
In this episode, titled "The Adriatic Express Affair," Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryakin are on board the Adriatic Express from Vienna to Venice, seeking a T.H.R.U.S.H. chemical that can end the reproductive process in life forms. (What a mastermind criminal organization could get out of creating such a chemical beyond holding the world at ransom is beyond comprehension...) Anyway, along the way Solo and Kuryakin meet Madame Nemirovitch, who claims to be the founder of T.H.R.U.S.H., and a beautiful damsel in distress played by weekend guest Juliet Mills.
4 pm HAZEL (1961)
Since we are highlighting the film career of Don DeFore this weekend, who played the role of George Baxter on Hazel, we are screening two episodes of the series, with Shirley Booth in the title role. George Baxter was a highly successful corporation lawyer who was always in control of everything at the office, but almost nothing at home. When he returned from the office at day's end, to his wife Dorothy, and his young son Harold, he entered the world of Hazel. Hazel was the maid and housekeeper who ran the Baxter household more efficiently than George ran his office. She was always right, knew exactly what needed doing, and pre-empted his authority with alarming, though, justified regularity.
5 pm MAN-EATER (1959)
Rhodes Reason starred as John Hunter, an African safari guide who found himself battling crooked head-hunters, diamond seekers and villainous tribesmen. The TV series was titled WHITE HUNTER and aired for one season beginning in 1957. Filmed in England, the short-lived TV series featured such celebrity guests as Christopher Lee, Barbara Shelley, John Loder and Robert Shaw. Few have ever heard of the TV series and today WHITE HUNTER remains elusive among film buffs. Never televised since the initial 1957-1958 broadcasts, we are finally treated to an example of what the series was like. In 1959, two half-hour episodes were edited together (along with stock footage of jungle natives and an African safari trek) to create this motion-picture, MAN-EATER, with Rhodes Reason, Lee Patterson and Patrick Holt in the cast.
6:30 pm TONIGHT FOR SURE (1962)
An early film of Francis Ford Coppola, this obscurity is being presented for the first time in decades. A short 69 minute low-budget flick featuring weekend guest Marli Renfro. On the Las Vegas strip, two unlikely men rendezvous: Samuel Hill, an ill-kempt desert miner, and Benjamin Jabowski, a John Birch Society dandy from the city. Intent on some sort of mayhem, they enter the Herald Club before the burlesque show starts, and they wire something to the electrical box, set to blow at midnight. They sit at the back of the club to get to know each other. As they drink and glance at the stage, Sam tells of a partner driven mad by visions of naked women in the sagebrush; Ben tells a tale of trying to rid his neighborhood of a pin-up studio. As they get drunker and the clock ticks toward midnight, they pull their chairs closer to the women on stage. (Small note: this film does contain nudity.)
8 pm CORONET BLUE (1967)
An intriguing premise for a series that lasted a mere 13 episodes. Michael Alden is an amnesiac, who must discover his real identity before the operatives of a mysterious group locate him and kill him. As he dodges the man hunters, he finds himself tracking down one clue after another and in the process, helping others with their domestic situations. The key to his past might be "Coronet Blue", a meaningless phrase he for some reason remembers. Possibly the inspiration for the recent Jason Bourne movies, Coronet Blue went off the air before the producers could provide us with a closer to answer the big question. In the episode "Man Running," a marked man, a refugee from a South American revolution, needs Alden's help, to hide out in his apartment and find his daughter at an American university. The beautiful daughter is played by weekend guest Juliet Mills.
9 pm LET'S KILL UNCLE (1966)
A 12-year-old orphan who has just inherited a fortune is trapped on an island with his uncle, a former British intelligence commander who intends to kill him. A young girl is the boy's only ally against the sarcastic uncle, who uses hypnotism, a pool of sharks, fire, and poisonous mushrooms as weapons. Stars weekend guest Mary Badham. Fans of William Castle (the Godfather of movie gimmicks) will enjoy watching this bizarre horror flick.
11 pm THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E. (1966)
The two top Agents of the United Network Command for Law and Enforcement (U.N.C.L.E.) fight the enemies of peace, particularly the forces of T.H.R.U.S.H. By special request we are screening this episode, "The Bat Cave Affair," in which Count Zark, a Thrush agent, operates out of Transylvania and has developed a worldwide menace involving bats. Meanwhile, UNCLE is checking out a young woman who seems capable of reading the minds of others. Solo and Kuryakin discover how both events are related. Stars Martin Landau as the Count, who plays his role with inspiration from screen legend Bela Lugosi.
12 Midnight ALL-NIGHT HORROR MOVIES
12 midnight The Silent House (1929)
1:30 am The Phantom Wagon (1939)
3:00 am To Be Announced
FRIDAY
9:00 am THE BEST OF THE LITTLE RASCALS
Three classic comedy film shorts! Titles to be announced.
10:00 am THE ADVENTURES OF OZZIE AND HARRIET
They never televise this series anymore and it is a darn shame. One of the best situation comedies ever produced, Ozzie Nelson and Harriet Hilliard, along with sons Ricky and David, stars as the average American family. What Ozzie's job was remains to be seen, but his half-digested schemes often involve comedic situations that require his wife and children bailing him out. In the later episodes, Ricky and David took the spotlight with their musical careers, going to college and getting married. But it was those early episodes from the early 1950s that are truly gems. Since we are highlighting the film career of Don DeFore over the weekend, we will highlight two half-hour episodes with Don DeFore in the cast, who played the recurring role of Thorny. Keep an eye out for weekend guest Jerry Mathers as one of the trick-or-treat children one of the two episodes!
11:00 am STUDIO 57: IT'S A SMALL WORLD (1957)
This half-hour weekly anthology offered the producers (and the film studio) an opportunity to present us with a different story every week, with different writers and actors. In 1957, the program offered us with a comedy titled "It's A Small World," starring Barbara Billingsley, Richard Devon and weekend guest Jerry Mathers. This served as a pilot for a proposed series that would soon become Leave It To Beaver. Sneaky Frankie Bennett tells Beaver that he can win a new bicycle by entering a popular television show's Franklin Milk bottle cap contest; but Beaver and big brother, Wally, cause quite a commotion at the milk company's office when no one there seems to know anything about a contest after the boys show up to claim their prize pulling a wagon loaded with a thousand bottle caps.
11:30 am LEAVE IT TO BEAVER (The "Special" Episode)
Believe it or not, there was one episode filmed but never telecast. We will be presenting that special episode.
12 noon SOLE SURVIVOR (1970)
This made for TV movie was loosely based on the discovery of the B-24 "Liberator" bomber the "Lady Be Good" that was found in the Libyan desert after the crew got lost on their 1st bombing mission to Italy. In 1960, Rod Serling wrote a ghost story episode of The Twilight Zone based on the recent discovery of the "Lady Be Good." Fans of that television program may find this movie of interest as Serling wrote the teleplay with a different take on the same story. When a bomber believed to have crashed in the ocean 17 years ago is found in the Libyan desert, a Colonel and Major accompany the only surviving member of the crew, who is now a General to figure out what happened. The General claims that he and the other members of the crew jumped over the ocean when in reality he bailed out leaving the others to fend for themselves. And while the Colonel just wants the whole thing closed, the Major insists on finding the truth. And watching them are the ghosts of the crew. Stars Vince Edwards, William Shatner, Richard Basehart and weekend guest Patrick Wayne.
2:00 pm DEATH VALLEY DAYS (1965)
Ask anyone what was the longest running television western and they can easily answer Gunsmoke (for a total of 20 seasons). Ask them what was the second-longest running television western and few can remember Death Valley Days, which ran a total of 18 seasons. The series dramatized wholesome stories based, and filmed, in and around Death Valley, California. In the episode "Magic Locket," Librarian and part-time poet Ina Coolbrith takes precocious but intelligent young street waif Dorita under her wing. As their relationship grows Ina finds that a locket means more to her fulfillment than any literary renown. Weekend guest Kathy Garver plays the role of Dorita Duncan, sharing screen time with June Lockhart and Sean McClory.
2:30 pm THE TWILIGHT ZONE (1964)
Considered the worst episode of the series, "The Bewitchin' Pool" tells the story of two children who escape their bickering parents through a portal in the bottom of their swimming pool to a magical land watched over by a kindly old woman the children call Aunt T. To be fair, this is a whimsical fantasy worth watching. Both children speak with Southern accents while their urbane parents have generic American accents. The writer, Earl Hamner, Jr., (who later created The Waltons) hearkened back to the children in the film To Kill a Mockingbird (1962). In the film, the children were named Scout and Jem. In this episode, the children are Sport and Jeb. The casting of weekend guest Mary Badham was not intended when the script was first written, but adds a little legend and lore to the production.
3:00 pm HI-YO, SILVER! (1940)
This motion-picture features Lee Powell as The Lone Ranger, and Chief Thundercloud as Tonto. A rag-tag band of Confederate Army deserters led by Captain Mark Smith captures, then murders Colonel Marcus Jeffries after discovering that he's a newly appointed Commissioner of Finance sent by the U.S. Treasury Department to Texas to collect taxes. Smith then assumes Jeffries identity and over time sets into play his plan to conquer Texas and rule it as a dictator. The Texas Rangers sent to investigate are ambushed, but one survives. He is nursed back to health by Tonto and swears to avenge the massacre. For those who do not want to watch the entire four-hour serial from 1938, this movie rendition featuring the highlights of what is considered one of the best cliffhanger serials is a novel way to enjoy the story in 70 minutes.
4:30 pm SCREEN DIRECTOR'S PLAYHOUSE (1955)
For one season, this television anthology presented some of the most intriguing productions. Presented by Eastman Kodak, this show offered original scripts directed by acclaimed directors and featuring well-known performers. The stories ranged from musicals to comedies and dramas. In the episode "Rookie of the Year," directed by John Ford, stars John Wayne, Vera Miles, Ward Bond and weekend guest Patrick Wayne. An entertaining story about a reporter who recognizes a hot young baseball player as the son of a former famous - and infamous - ballplayer who was accused of throwing the World Series.
5:00 pm TO BE ANNOUNCED
To Be Announced.
6:00 pm IT HAPPENED ON FIFTH AVENUE (1947)
Recognizing the film career of Don DeFore over the weekend we present this charming classic. A genial homeless man in New York illegally moves into a millionaire's mansion while the rich businessman is away for the winter, eventually inviting other unfortunates to join him. Naturally, the millionaire owner returns home unexpectedly, and is forced to play along under the guise of a destitute codger after his teenage daughter falls in love with one of the unemployed "idea men" now residing in the estate. This is one of those films you cannot resist recommending to your friends. Charming and entertaining, it stars Don DeFore in a romantic lead, not comedic.
8:00 pm TO BE ANNOUNCED
To be announced.
10:00 pm THE CREEPING UNKNOWN (1956)
One of the creepiest movies ever made, and what launched a series of movies based on the central character. Professor Bernard Quatermass' manned rocket ship returns to Earth, crashing into a farm field, but two of the astronauts are missing and the survivor seems ill and unable to communicate. The weird fungus on the survivor's hand continues to spread and ultimately spawns a new creature that could populate the countryside and ultimately become the demise of the human race.
11:30 pm LIGHTS OUT (1950)
Telecast on the evening of November 13, 1950, from sound stages over "live" television, this half-hour film dramatizes the strange case of "The Invisible Staircase." Not every episode of the weekly horror program is known to exist, due to lack of preservation, but thankfully more than half of them survive. This episode in particular is the earliest surviving episode known to exist. A team of famous historians visit the creepy old home of the Bosworth family to research the letters that passed between American Civil War era general William Tecumseh Sherman and a Bosworth ancestor. During the night, they discover that a simple closet is not what it seems and a passage is found that leads to a mysterious trunk, a bloody dress and a murder!
12 Midnight ALL-NIGHT HORROR MOVIES
Titles to be announced
SATURDAY
9:00 am SATURDAY MORNING CARTOONS
An hour's worth of vintage cartoons that you grew up with on Saturday morning.
10:00 am WESTERN MOVIE
To Be Announced.
11:30 am SERGEANT PRESTON OF THE YUKON
To Be Announced.
12 noon HOLLYWOOD FILM SHORTS
Six, ten-minute film shorts providing a candid look at Hollywood behind-the-scenes with tons of Hollywood celebrities. William S. Hart, retired, offers a tour of his ranch. Lum and Abner open the doors to their home. Bob Hope and Jerry Colonna behind the radio microphone, William Farnum revisits past scenes of his silent movie days, and a party at Pickfair with Buddy Rogers and Mary Pickford as they entertain troops during WWII. Boris Karloff, Rudy Vallee, Basil Rathbone, Claudette Colbert, Dame May Whitty, Joan Davis, Adolphe Menjou, Reginald Denny, Ronald Colman, Loretta Young, Edward Arnold, Joe E. Brown, Jane Withers, Evelyn Keyes, and many others!
1:00 pm MY THREE SONS (1964)
Widower Steve Douglas raises three sons with the help of his father-in-law, and is later aided by the boys' great-uncle. An adopted son, a stepdaughter, wives, and another generation of sons join the loving family in later seasons. In this episode, "Guest in the House," Steve is asked to take in a boy, who is a delinquent. When Steve has to be out of town that week, it is up to Bub and the boys to handle the visit. When someone (weekend guest Tony Dow) comes to the house, they mistakenly assume he is the delinquent.
1:30 pm ADAM-12 (1970)
Starring Kent McCord and Martin Milner, Reed and Malloy work to break up an auto theft ring, where pretty mini-skirted women bait young motorists into giving them a ride, steal their cars and take them to a local chop-shop for disassembly (to sell the parts on the black market). Among the celebrity guest stars in this episode are Hope Summers and weekend guest Tony Dow.
2:00 pm VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA (1966)
Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea chronicled the adventures of the world's first privately owned nuclear submarine, the SSRN Seaview. Designed by Admiral Harriman Nelson, she was a tool of oceanographic research for the Nelson Institute of Marine Research. Though the show is known for its "monster" episodes, many plots were focused on international intrigue such as nuclear doomsday, pollution of natural resources, foreign threat, and theft of American technology are all still relevant today. In the above-average episode "Killers of the Deep," Nelson and Crane pursue a mysterious submarine stealing nuclear missiles. Their craft is shot down and Crane is captured. Nelson, recovered by a Navy destroyer, is bent on destroying the sub, not realizing Crane is on board. Stars weekend guest Patrick Wayne.