Our new series is called To Serve Man and its subject is class, which has always been a favorite subject of Hollywood movies, and a relatively simple one to exploit through the use of costumes and exaggerated behavior. The great movies last and are still relevant, perhaps even more insightful as time passes. It’s startling to see in older films the prevalence of servants, maids, and butlers being part of the plot and an integral part of families’ lives – even those under financial pressure and not considered wealthy. In this series we have 3 comedies and 3 dramas ranging from the 1930’s to the 2000’s.

Although each class officially begins at 3pm, some participants choose to come early at 2:30pm to watch bonus material such as scenes from related movies and extra content related to the series or each particular screening.

January 31 – Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day (Released 3/7/2008) directed by Bharat Nalluri, 92 minutes. Miss Pettigrew is an unemployable governess in pre-war London and Delysia Lafosse is a self-made, flamboyant American singer/actress who needs a social secretary. Frances McDormand and Amy Adams star in this affectionately made screwball comedy homage based on a 1938 novel of the same name by Winifred Watson.

February 7 – Gosford Park (Released 12/26/2001) directed by Robert Altman, 137 minutes. The well-to-do gather at an English country house with their servants for a shooting weekend and after an extravagant dinner party, a murder takes place. Altman’s second highest grossing film after M*A*S*H was also a critical success, garnering seven Oscar nominations and winning for Best Screenplay. There is so much to enjoy in this ensemble piece, the meticulous attention to detail of the 1932 English countryside, the wonderful performances both upstairs and downstairs, and the subtle but biting social commentary which was the impetus for this series.

February 21 – Remains of the Day (Released 11/5/1993) directed by James Ivory, 134 minutes. James Stevens is a proper English butler and is unquestionably selflessly devoted to his Lord Darlington. Anthony Hopkins as Stevens is challenged by a beautiful and emotional Emma Thompson as Miss Kenton, a housekeeper who joins service on the estate in the mid 1930’s. She tries in vain to demonstrate to Stevens that there are some things in life that may supersede his blind devotion. Merchant-Ivory scored hits two years in a row with this film in 1993 and 1992’s Howard’s End for which Thompson won a Best Actress Oscar. As a result, both films may have collapsed in our collective memory, so we shall isolate this extraordinary film and see it in the context of our series. Christopher Reeve, Hugh Grant, and James Fox (of whom we shall see later in the series) give exceptional supporting performances.

February 28 – Arthur (Released 7/17/1981) directed by Steve Gordon, 97 minutes. Arthur Bach is a drunken NYC millionaire who must marry into another wealthy family to secure his 750-million-dollar inheritance, but he puts it all in jeopardy by falling for a waitress from Queens, Linda Marolla. This movie is a time capsule and the main reason for its inclusion in this series is the fact that Sir John Gielgud won a Best Supporting Oscar for his unforgettable role as Arthur’s truth-telling butler/servant, Hobson. Although we may ponder why and how Dudley Moore was a leading box-office draw for so many years playing his version of a drunk, we can appreciate the many fine supporting roles and the above average quality of this solo effort from writer/director Steve Gordon who died of a heart attack shortly after the film’s success at the age of 44.

March 14 – The Servant (Released 11/14/1963) directed by Joseph Losey, 115 minutes. Tony is a wealthy Londoner who fancies he needs a manservant. Barrett is hired and quickly provides everything that Tony desires and more. James Fox and Dirk Bogarde star in this complex psychological thriller that delves into the master/servant relationship. Joseph Losey studied with Bertolt Brecht in the 1930’s and was a blacklisted Hollywood director who found freedom of expression in Europe and made three great films partnering with Harold Pinter, the other two being Accident (1967) and The Go-Between (1971). This film is a master class in mise-en-scene and camera movement to demonstrate mood and character relationship. Harold Pinter adapted the novella from Robin Maugham, W Somerset Maugham’s nephew and along with Losey produced a savage indictment of what is possible as a result of the English class system.

March 21st – My Man Godfrey (Released 9/6/1936) directed by Gregory La Cava, 95 minutes. A beautiful socialite hires a distinguished homeless man as her family’s butler and then falls in love with him. William Powell and Carole Lombard (who were married from 1931-1933) star in this quintessential screwball comedy that endures to this day.