100 Nights at the Movies:
The Films of “Sundown Cinema”
For ten years, beginning in the Spring of 2006, the Webmaster presented film-related courses through the Lifelong Learning program of Miami University. The first was a conventional lecture/discussion on the history of the Academy Awards and the remarkable films of 1939. It included discussion of and film clips from the ten nominees for Best Picture and the four nominees for Best Song in 1939.
Beginning in the Fall of 2006, the format changed and the courses became known as “Sundown Cinema” (so named because of the starting time of the classes). Each semester was keyed to a central theme and each session included a screening of one or more complete films with a discussion of the history and trivia about each film. Listed below are the films that were shown in each series.
The
symbol appears next to each film nominated for an Academy Award. (While this was not a requirement for inclusion in a series, it, not surprisingly, reflects the obsession of the instructor.) Click on the name of one of those films to display more information about it. You can also click on the IMDb link to to open a new browser window showing information about the film from the Internet Movie Database.
Spring 2006: The Academy Awards and the Golden Year of 1939
| 03/20 | A Brief History of the Academy Awards |
| Why 1939 Was So Remarkable | |
| 03/27 | The Nominees – Part I: |
| Song: “Faithful Forever” from Gulliver’s Travels IMDb | |
| Dark Victory IMDb | |
| Goodbye, Mr. Chips IMDb | |
| Love Affair IMDb | |
| 04/03 | The Nominees – Part II: |
| Song: “I Poured My Heart into a Song” from Second Fiddle IMDb | |
| Mr. Smith Goes to Washington IMDb | |
| Ninotchka IMDb | |
| Of Mice and Men IMDb | |
| 04/10 | The Nominees – Part III: |
| Song: “Wishing (Will Make It So)” from Love Affair IMDb | |
| Stagecoach IMDb | |
| The Wizard of Oz IMDb | |
| Wuthering Heights IMDb | |
| 04/17 | The Winners: |
| Song: “Over the Rainbow” from The Wizard of Oz IMDb | |
| Gone with the Wind IMDb |
Fall 2006: The History of the Movies – Part I
| 10/18 | The 1900s: |  The Great Train Robbery (1904) IMDb |
| Shadow Magic (Chinese, 2000) IMDb | ||
| 10/25 | The 1910s: | The Birth of a Nation (1915) IMDb |
| 11/01 | The 1920s: | Sunrise—A Song of Two Humans (1927) IMDb |
| 11/08 | The 1930s: | All Quiet on the Western Front (1932) IMDb |
| 11/15 | The 1940s: | Citizen Kane (1941) IMDb |
Spring 2007: The History of the Movies – Part II
| 03/20 | The 1950s: | Rebel Without a Cause (1955) IMDb |
| 03/27 | The 1960s: | In the Heat of the Night (1967) IMDb |
| 04/03 | The 1970s: | The Last Picture Show (1971) IMDb |
| 04/10 | The 1980s: | The Big Chill (1983) IMDb |
| 04/17 | The 1990s: | Jurassic Park (1993) IMDb |
Fall 2007: Movies Based on Novels
| 10/17 | Tom Jones (1963) IMDb |
| 10/24 | 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954) IMDb |
| 10/31 | The Grapes of Wrath (1940) IMDb |
| 11/07 | To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) IMDb |
| 11/14 | The Devil Wears Prada (2006) IMDb |
Spring 2008: Movies Based on Short Stories – Part I
| 03/26 | Stagecoach (1939) IMDb |
| 04/02 | Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948) IMDb |
| 04/09 | Rashomon (Japanese, 1950) IMDb |
| 04/16 | A Face in the Crowd (1957) IMDb |
| 04/23 | Field of Dreams (1989) IMDb |
Fall 2008: Movies Based on Short Stories – Part II
| 10/14 | All About Eve (1950) IMDb |
| 10/21 | Smoke Signals (1998) IMDb |
| 10/28 | Minority Report (2002) IMDb |
| 11/04 | Bringing Up Baby (1938) IMDb |
| 11/11 | Rear Window (1954) IMDb |
Spring 2009: Movies Based on Movies (“Remakes”)
| 03/17 | The Philadelphia Story (1940) IMDb |
| 03/19 | High Society (1956) IMDb |
| 03/24 | Yojimbo (Japanese, 1961) IMDb |
| 03/26 | A Fistful of Dollars (1964) IMDb |
| 03/31 | Cyrano de Bergerac (1950) IMDb |
| 04/02 | Roxanne (1987) IMDb |
| 04/07 | Double Indemnity (1944) IMDb |
| 04/09 | The Maltese Falcon (1941) IMDb[substitute for Body Heat (1981) IMDb] |
| 04/14 | Romeo and Juliet (1968) IMDb |
| 04/16 | West Side Story (1961) IMDb |
Fall 2009: Movies Based on Stage Plays
| 10/13 | Same Time, Next Year (1978) IMDb |
| 10/20 | The Rainmaker (1956) IMDb |
| 10/27 | Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean(1982) IMDb |
| 11/03 | Mister Roberts (1955) IMDb |
| 11/10 | Inherit the Wind (1960) IMDb |
Spring 2010: Movies Based on Original Screenplays
| 03/17 | Sunset Boulevard (1950) IMDb |
| 03/24 | The Red Balloon (French, 1956) IMDb[plus Academy Award-winning short subjects] |
| 03/31 | The Defiant Ones (1958) IMDb |
| 04/07 | Network (1976) IMDb |
| 04/21 | Moonstruck (1987) IMDb[rescheduled from 04/14] |
Fall 2010: Movies About Time Travel
| 10/12 | The Time Machine (1960) IMDb |
| 10/19 | Time After Time (1979) IMDb |
| 10/26 | Peggy Sue Got Married (1986) IMDb |
| 11/02 | Back to the Future (1985) IMDb |
| 11/09 | Somewhere in Time (1980) IMDb |
Spring 2011: The Films of Frank Capra
| 03/15 | The Strong Man (1926) IMDb |
| The Matinee Idol (1928) IMDb | |
| 03/22 | Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936) IMDb |
| 03/29 | Hemo the Magnificent (1957) IMDb |
| Prelude to War (1943) IMDb | |
| 04/05 | Lost Horizon (1937) IMDb |
| 04/12 | Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) IMDb |
Fall 2011: The Films of Sidney Lumet
| 10/11 | 12 Angry Men (1957) IMDb |
| 10/18 | The Pawnbroker (1965) IMDb |
| 10/25 | Fail-Safe (1964) IMDb |
| 11/01 | Dog Day Afternoon (1975) IMDb |
| 11/08 | The Verdict (1980) IMDb |
Spring 2012: Guilty Pleasures – Part I
| 03/13 | Singin’ in the Rain (1952) IMDb |
| 03/20 | Airport (1970) IMDb |
| 03/27 | The King of Masks (Chinese, 1997) IMDb |
| 04/03 | A Big Hand for the Little Lady (1966) IMDb |
| 04/10 | Big (1988) IMDb |
Fall 2012: Guilty Pleasures – Part II
| 10/09 | The China Syndrome (1979) IMDb |
| 10/16 | 7 Faces of Dr. Lao (1964) IMDb |
| 10/23 | Cinema Paradiso (Italian, 1989) IMDb |
| 10/30 | A Thousand Clowns (1965) IMDb |
| 11/06 | That Thing You Do! (1996) IMDb |
Spring 2013: Those Great B-Movie Detectives
| 03/19 | The Thin Man (1934) IMDb |
| plus Dick Tracy – Chapter 1: The Spider Strikes Back (1937) IMDb | |
| 03/26 | Charlie Chan at the Opera (1936) IMDb |
| plus Dick Tracy – Chapter 2: The Bridge of Terror | |
| 04/02 | The Saint Strikes Back (1939) IMDb |
| plus Dick Tracy – Chapter 3: The Fur Pirates | |
| 04/09 | Mysterious Mr. Moto (1938) IMDb |
| plus Dick Tracy – Chapter 4: Death Rides the Sky | |
| 04/16 | The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1939) IMDb |
| plus Dick Tracy – Chapter 5: Brother Against Brother |
Fall 2013: The Films of Alfred Hitchcock
| 10/09 | The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog (1927) IMDb |
| 10/16 | Rebecca (1940) IMDb |
| 10/23 | Vertigo (1958) IMDb |
| 10/30 | North by Northwest (1959) IMDb |
| 11/06 | Psycho (1960) IMDb |
Spring 2014: Movies Based on a True Story
| 04/02 | The General (1926) IMDb |
| 04/09 | Mask (1985) IMDb |
| 04/16 | Bernie (2011) IMDb |
| 04/23 | Finding Neverland (2004) IMDb |
| 04/30 | Apollo 13 (1995) IMDb |
Fall 2014: Quirky Characters
| 10/08 | Harvey (1950) IMDb |
| 10/15 | Blast from the Past (1999) IMDb |
| 10/22 | Tootsie (1982) IMDb |
| 10/29 | Benny & Joon (1993) IMDb[substitute for A Fish Called Wanda (1988) IMDb] |
| 11/12 | Steel Magnolias (1989) IMDb[rescheduled from 11/5] |
Spring 2015: Back to School
| 04/01 | Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1939) IMDb |
| 04/08 | Stand and Deliver (1988) IMDb |
| 04/15 | Grease (1978) IMDb |
| 04/22 | The Breakfast Club (1985) IMDb |
| 04/29 | The Emperor’s Club (2002) IMDb |
Fall 2015: Something to Think About
| 10/07 | The Seventh Seal (1957) IMDb |
| 10/14 | Up (2009) IMDb |
| 10/21 | Koyaanisqatsi (1983) IMDb |
| 10/28 | Seven Pounds (2008) IMDb |
| 11/04 | Pleasantville (1998) IMDb |
After ten years and “100 nights at the movies”, the Webmaster decided to step down from teaching. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of the organization that sponsored his classes.