This Saturday, May 12th, Cinespia presents its first film of the summer season at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery. And in celebration of its 10th anniversary the film society is going back to its roots with the first film they ever screened, Alfred Hitchcock’s Strangers on a Train.
It was more than ten years ago when Cinespia began their annual summer fun of screening classic films under, and above the stars (get it, because so many movie stars are buried in the famed cemetery). It all began with the Hitchcock favorite, and after a decade it's still draws the fans in. After all, this is Hitchcock at his peak with an ample amount of his signature mix of wit and suspense. And the beloved film features a very sympathetic and handsome leading man in the form of the devastatingly good looking, Farley Granger, as well as one of the most charming (albeit creepy) villains ever to cross the richness of a black and white screen: Robert Walker.
Walker (Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo, The Clock) often played likable young men with awkward social skills before Hitchcock decide to cast him against type as a psychotic socialite who purely by chance encounters Granger (Rope, They Live by Night) on an East coast commuter train. Over lunch Walker concocts a supposedly theoretical plan on how two complete strangers can get away with murder. What Granger innocently assumes to be just a twisted joke becomes all too real when Walker actually kills Granger’s estranged wife and then expects the shocked athlete to reciprocate. This is when Hitchcock takes the audience and the main character on an out of control ride as the hero tries to free himself from a nightmare situation, culminating with a show down only the master of suspense could possible imagine.
Be sure to bring someone to cling to during the screening. Being that you’ll be sitting amongst grave sites might prove to be a little too atmospheric. Blankets, drinks and picnic dinners are also a good idea for this summer evening screening. But please, as a courtesy to other moviegoers: refrain from bringing any tall chairs. And know that this may be the start of a whole new summer tradition. With the fun and frolic of a small town carnival this is the kind of fun that can be shared with the whole family.
Gates open at 7:00pm and the movie starts at 8:30pm. The cost of the show is a suggested $10 donation. Reservation are not necessary, but recommended. Tickets are also available at the gate, and if you plan ahead you can get one of the limited parking spaces for another $10.