Masterpieces to hit the big screen (From Borehamwood Times)

Masterpieces to hit the big screen

6:37pm Thursday 18th May 2006

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A decade ago we used to run an Elstree Film Festival at the old Venue and the idea is being rekindled thanks to the Elstree Film & Television Heritage Group and our local Reel Cinema.

They are joining in the fun of the 50th anniversary of the annual Town Festival by showing four classic Borehamwood-made movies early next month.

We hope you will come along to help raise funds for the heritage group and the St Nicholas Church rewiring appeal while wallowing in movie magic.

You will get a free glass of wine or soft drink and listen to me introduce each film with a star guest, provided they can join me, so come along and support us but remember tickets are limited.

We start the film festival with a very rare screening of the first ever Star Wars which now has the extra title of A New Hope, marking the 30th anniversary of it going into production at Elstree Studios.

LucasFilm has given us special permission to screen the movie and actor Dave Prowse, who played Darth Vader, hopes to join me for a question and answer session at the beginning of the evening.

I find it hard to believe that it is three decades since that hot summer and I still remember the unit publicist trying to stimulate my interest in this new science fiction epic.

The sets were excellent but until the music and special effects were added it was hard to believe it would make much impact. However, George Lucas had the vision and the talent to create a masterpiece that has enthralled two generations of moviegoers. This is your chance to see it on the big screen.

Then we will screen that classic 1950s supernatural thriller called Night of the Demon which co-starred Peggy Cummins and Dana Andrews.

It went into production at Elstree in 1956 in the same year as the Town Festival was launched.

Today, the film is considered a classic and is shown around the world recently opening the Australian Film Festival and Sony Columbia has given us permission to show it.

You might think an old black and white movie cannot compete with the blood and technicolor gore of today but come along and be proved wrong.

When we screened it to a teenage audience at Elstree Studios in 1986 it had them on the edge of their seats, so be there if you dare. Peggy Cummins has agreed to join us to introduce the film.

MGM British Studios, once based in Elstree Way, Borehamwood, will be acknowledged by kind permission of the estate of the late Stanley Kubrick and Warner Bros with the screening of 2001: A Space Odyssey.

This set the movie world alight in the late 1960s and no doubt inspired George Lucas. There is no doubt, like Star Wars, you have never seen this film until you have seen it on the big screen.

Finally, we hope veteran actress Sylvia Syms will be with us to help introduce that classic 1950s war movie Ice Cold In Alex in which she co-starred with the late Sir John Mills.

You may have seen some or all of these films on television but until you have seen them on a big screen, with a glass of wine in your hand and in the company of others, you have never experienced the way they were meant to be viewed.

Ticket details are available from Fairway Hall or the cinema, and if successful this could be the start of showing other film classics and meeting stars from Elstree's past.

Finally, if you enjoy movie nostalgia then you have another opportunity to overdose even more by joining me at the Town Council's 22nd annual Elstree Film Evening, which will be held at the BBC Elstree Centre on Saturday June, 24.

The BBC Elstree Band plays film music in the first half and then we watch film clips after the interval.

I never really know which celebrities will be available to join in the fun but several have indicated a hope to attend, ranging from much-loved veteran comedy actress Liz Fraser to that young television hearthrob Gary Lucy but I am not sure if there is room for two of us babe magnets at the same event.

Sadly, 44 of our previous star guests over the past 22 years have subsequently died after attending, giving me the reputation of the grim reaper of showbiz!

Among others, I was responsible for the final visits to Borehamwood of Adam Faith, Ann Todd, Russ Conway, Nigel Hawthorne, Lew Grade, Doug Fairbanks Jr, John Mills, Trevor Howard, Anna Neagle, Hughie Green and Ernie Wise, so no wonder some are reluctant to accept the invite nowadays.

Still, I don't think it applies to the audience so come along and support these local events and we look forward to the pleasure of your company.

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