Halloween is one week away — scary close to the date of the US presidential election. Still undecided? About a Halloween costume that is?
Come on out to The Westdale theatre in Hamilton Saturday afternoon for inspiration. The folks at this elegant, circa 1935 neighbourhood cinema have asked me to program an afternoon of 16mm Halloween-themed shorts and cartoons. It is all part of this month’s TV on Film Party.
The fun start at 1 p.m. with some classic cartoons including a 1929 gem featuring skeletons dancing! This 95-year-old film is still a marvel, especially considering the entire film was animated by one man. Other cartoons feature a certain spinach-eating sailor as well as a colour gem starring a mouse, a duck and a talking dog that may have been the inspiration for the Bill Murray-Dan Aykroyd-Harold Ramis classic “Ghostbusters” (below).
Speaking of that 1984 feature, The Westdale will celebrate the 40th anniversary of the original “Ghostbusters” with a fully-restored, digitally-enhanced, screening right after my 16mm shorts and cartoons — all for the same general admission price.
Beforehand, I’ll also be sharing some 16mm classic horror trailers from my personnal collection of films, including the extra-long, theatrical trailer for Alfred Hitchcock’s 1960 classic “Psycho.” As they say on the Universal Studios tour, how do you find the Psycho house? Just follow the Psycho-path!
Abbott & Costello (Meet the Mummy), Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing, Joan Crawford (“Berserk”) and George Hamilton and Susan Saint James (“Love at First Bite”) will also be part of the trailer reel fun.
advertisement
Almost forgot: I’m in one of the 16mm films I’ll be showing. It is called “Second Banana.” It co-stars Pat Bullock and the late, great Dave Kerwin and shows us trying to rescue a damsel in distress. The poor lass has been taken up the CN Tower by a giant ape that looks suspiciously like King Kong from the Aurora model kit. This film was made back when we were all in high school in the ’70s, so go easy on us, okay? Piano music by fellow classmate Stephen Dudley. You won’t see this anywhere else folks.
Between the 16mm films and “Ghostbusters,” stick around for a special, Halloween-themed TV on Film Party trivia round. Winners will receive cool prizes generously donated by RetroFestive, the locally-owned store next door in Oakville which is packed with novelty cards, games, figures and especially cool pop culture-themed Christmas decorations. From Peanuts to “A Christmas Story” to “Elf” sweaters and hats, you’ll find it all in person or on-line at RetroFestive.
Located near McMaster University, The Westdale is surrounded by some great eateries and also pops some tastey popcorn. The snack bar is also licenced. For tickets and more information on the screening, go to thewestdale.ca.
