From the basement of PBS Fort Wayne, Subterranean Cinema is the place to enjoy classic Hollywood movies. This weekly film series is hand-picked to be enjoyed by film fans of every generation. They are broadcast on:
Once they premiere on-air, these movies are also available through the PBS app on your smartphone, tablet or smart TV, at pbs.org, and on the PBS Fort Wayne YouTube channel.
Weekend of January 18-19
Deceased gangster Eddie Kage (Paul Muni) is an-exact double for very much alive, well-respected judge, Frederick Parker. The Devil, aka Nick (Claude Rains), arranges for a body swap. Eddie agrees to having his soul transferred to the judge's body, as it will give him a chance to avenge his death.
Weekend of January 25-26
The film follows the private life of the infamous 16th century British monarch, King Henry the VIII, and his misadventures in his various marriages. Henry is wonderfully portrayed by the highly talented and entertaining Charles Laughton, a masterful one-of-a-kind character actor who managed to land many plum roles. Laughton portrays the Henry as a rollicking, impetuous, boozing lover of women; A man equal parts charming, childish and dangerous.
Now Streaming
G.W. McLintock would have enjoyed his success a lot more if his wife hadn’t left him...and returned. John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara play the warring couple in a marriage run joyfully amuck. Top ten box-office winner of 1963, based (loosely) on Shakespeare’s "Taming Of the Shrew."
Now Streaming
The dream is unusually vivid: Bank employee Vince Grayson (DeForest Kelley, Dr. McCoy, Star Trek, in his film debut) finds himself murdering a man in a sinister octagonal-shaped room lined with mirrors while a mysterious woman breaks into a safe. It is so vivid, in fact, that Vince suspects it may have really happened. To get the dream off his mind, he goes on a picnic with some relatives. When a thunderstorm forces his party into a nearby mansion, Vince discovers that the bizarre room does exist, and it means nothing but trouble.
Now Streaming
A holiday milestone, being the first sound version of the novel "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens, and also the only adaptation of the story with an invisible Marley's ghost. Seymour Hicks plays the title role in this timeless tale about the miser who's visited by three ghosts on Christmas Eve and when he wakes up on Christmas morning, he’s a changed man.
Now Streaming
Jimmy (Jimmy Stewart) goes to work with his uncle, the owner of a food factory. Before he gets there, he befriends an Irish family who happens to be his uncle's worst enemy because of their love for music and in-house band who constantly practices.
Now Streaming
In advance of a presidential visit to the small town of Suddenly, California, a trio of FBI agents enters the Benson family's home to assess potential security risks. Once inside, leader John Baron (Frank Sinatra) reveals himself as a psychopathic assassin, and he kidnaps the family in order to use their house as his vantage point in his plot to kill the president. Sheriff Tod Shaw (Sterling Hayden) matches wits with the assassin and his gang in an attempt to save the day.
.png)
Now Streaming
In Algiers, Algeria, notorious thief Pepe le Moko (Charles Boyer) evades police capture by hiding within the maze-like Casbah district. Pepe's renown makes him a popular target not only with policeman Javier but also sympathetic Inspector Slimane (Joseph Calleia) and jealous thief Regis. Through Slimane, Pepe meets the beautiful American Gaby (Hedy Lamarr) and becomes obsessed with her. Regis' plan to lure Pepe out into the open falls apart, until Pepe learns that he may never see Gaby again.
Now Streaming
After the death of her mother, young Mary (Maureen O'Hara) travels to the Cornish coast seeking her Aunt Patience (Marie Ney). Stranded on a windswept, isolated road, Mary meets Humphrey Pengallan (Charles Laughton), who kindly escorts her to the Jamaica Inn. There, Mary meets her aunt and bullying uncle, Merlyn Joss (Leslie Banks) -- who secretly leads a band of pirates that pilfers the goods from wrecked ships. Suspicious, Mary turns to Pengallan for help, only to discover another dark secret.
Now Streaming
A young soldier on a pass in New York City visits the famed Stage Door Canteen, where famous stars of the theater and films appear and host a recreational center for servicemen during the war. The soldier meets a pretty young hostess and they enjoy the many entertainers — and a growing romance.