Don Murray & Keir Dullea hosting 'The Hoodlum Priest' & 'Bus Stop' November 18, 2012

Don Murray & Keir Dullea In Person
To Host "Hoodlum Priest"
& "Bus Stop"

Sunday, November 18

At The Landmark Loew’s Jersey Theatre
54 Journal Square, Jersey City, NJ 07306
Tel. (201) 798-6055 Fax: (201) 798-4020 Web: www.loewsjersey.org

A Not-For-Profit Arts Center in a Landmark Movie Palace

On our BIG 50ft Wide Screen

Don Murray burst upon the Hollywood scene with his first movie role playing opposite Marilyn Monroe in "Bus Stop". He went on to star in, produce, direct and write dozens of other productions. In later years, he was a star on TV in "Knot's Landing". Mr. Murray will be at the Loew's to introduce and discuss his favorite film, "Hoodlum Priest", a critically acclaimed movie he co-wrote and produced in addition to starring in. He will be joined by his co-star from that film, Keir Dullea.
Mr. Murray will also introduce the movie that started his career -- "Bus Stop".

Sunday, November 18 2PM
"The Hoodlum Priest"Starring Don Murray, Larry Gates, Cindi Wood, Keir Dullea. Directed by Irvin Kershner. 101mins. 1961
Hosted by Don Murray & Keir Dullea

Don Murray was a young rising star in Hollywood when he was buttonholed by a Catholic priest from St. Louis. After just one sentence Murray was intrigued: "Listen Kid, I ain't no square priest." "I was instantly intrigued by the dichotomy," Murray recalled. "He was dressed like a priest, but he spoke like a character out of Guys and Dolls." It turned out that the priest had been doing pioneering work for years to help convicts turn their lives around. He'd opened what was probably the nation's first half-way house for ex-cons, and was struggling for support. The priest had decided he wanted somebody to make a TV show about his work, and Don Murray was to be that somebody. For his part, Murray had been thinking about following the lead of several other Hollywood stars by developing his own independent films. After hearing the priest's story, Murray decided that he'd found his subject. The result is an excellent film with a gritty, real feel that packs a surprisingly effective emotional punch as it tells an unabashedly moral tale. The film lays out the general story of the priest, played by Murray, and his work against long odds, but centers the drama around one troubled ex-con played very effectively by Keir Dullea, some eight years before 2001: A Space Odyssey. Great acting from Murray, Dullea and the whole cast was supported by a tight, very effective script co-written by Murray. A young Haskell Wexler, who would go on to become a legendary cinematographer, gave the film a look that belied its small budget. And the direction of Irvin Kershner, better known as the only man other than George Lucas to direct a Star Wars film, was adroit and effective. Making the movie was a herculean task according to Murray, but it won high praise on its premiere, acclaimed by Time and Newsweek among others, and did fairly well at the box office. But some controversy soon developed out of a disagreement between Murray and director Kershner, along with some deliberate bad press from the editor of a St. Louis newspaper who was offended by the production. The film's distributors seemed to back away, and the movie faded from the public's mind. And that's a shame because it is a superb precursor to such big hits as "Dead Man Walking" and "Capote". It's a message movie, but make no mistake, you will definitely be entertained even as you reflect. Don't miss the chance to rediscover it.

$7 for Adults, $5 for Seniors (65+) and Children (12 & younger).

Sunday, November 18 4:30PM
"Bus Stop" Starring Marilyn Monroe, Don Murray, Arthur O'Connell, Betty Field. Directed by Joshua Logan. 1956.96mins. Color
Hosted by Don Murray

Marilyn Monroe was already a huge star by the mid 1950s, known around the world as Hollywood's most luminous sex symbol in movies such as "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes". But many critics dismissed any thought that she was a serious actress, even though she had actually turned in good performances in a number of dramatic roles such as in "Niagara". Monroe desperately wanted to be taken seriously as an actress, and eventually walked out of her contract with 20th Century Fox to study under Lee Strasberg at the Actors Studio in New York. To woo her back, Fox eventually offered her a good degree of creative control. She took the offer, and for her first "serious" project chose to work on a film version of a hit Broadway play called "Bus Stop". The story seems frothy verging on silly: A fifth-rate female lounge singer who dreams of making it big even as she sings in backwater bars meets a hayseed-type who's never even kissed a girl but decides on the spot that she's his "angel". When he literally tries to kidnap her they both wind up marooned in a roadside diner/bus stop where each eventually learns something about themselves, the other, love and life. What makes this work so wonderfully well is Monroe -- she more than proved how well she could act by playing a clever parody of her screen persona: very sexy but shop-worn, vulnerable but jaded. The critics were impressed. Even the legendarily grumpy Bosley Crowther of The New York Times who wrote "Hold onto your chairs, everybody, and get set for a rattling surprise. Marilyn Monroe has finally proved herself an actress in 'Bus Stop.' She and the picture are swell!" But make no mistake, the movie certainly does not diminish Monroe's image as a sex symbol. Her sexy rendition of "That Old Black Magic," while lit by red flames is one of the spotlight moments in her career. For his part, Don Murray was pitch-perfect in his first film role as the hayseed; he plays a deliberately cartoon-like character with just enough humanity that the audience feels it understands and likes him. Murray was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his work. And though Monroe and Murray playing off each other's characters is the filling that gives this confection its shape and taste, the supporting cast all contribute nice icing on the cake. "Bus Stop" is perhaps the perfect Marilyn Monroe film because it not only displays her luminous physical charms but also her considerable acting talents.

$7 for Adults, $5 for Seniors (65+) and Children (12 & younger).

- - - Combo discounts available for multiple screenings in a weekend. - - -
**Film descriptions are compiled from various sources.

The Loew's Is Easy To Get To: The Loew's Jersey Theatre, at 54 Journal Square, Jersey City, NJ, is directly across JFK Boulevard from the JSQ PATH Center with trains to and from Lower and Midtown Manhattan and Newark's Penn Station, and is minutes from the NJ Turnpike, Rts. 3 and 1&9 and the Holland & Lincoln Tunnels. We're easy to reach by car or mass transit from throughout the Metro Region.

Discount off-street parking is available in Square Ramp Garage adjoining the Loew's at the foot of Magnolia Avenue off of Tonnelle Avenue, behind the Loew's. Patrons must validate their parking ticket before leaving the Theatre.

What’s Special About Seeing A Movie At The Loew’s? The Landmark Loew’s Jersey Theatre is one of America’s grandest surviving Movie Palaces. We show movies the way they were meant to be seen: in a grandly ornate setting – on our BIG 50 ft wide screen! The Loew’s runs reel-to-reel -- not platter -- projection, which often allows us to screen an archival or studio vault print that is the best available copy of a movie title.

PLUS – Live organ entrance music (from the Loew’s magnificently restored pipe organ) before most screenings.
The Loew’s Jersey is managed by Friends of the Loew’s, Inc. as a non-profit, multi-discipline performing arts center.

Classic Film Weekends are presented by Friends of the Loew’s, Inc.