The Best of the Best at the Best: this summer the Michigan Theater is proud to present our summer classic film series. Come enjoy these wonderful classics on the big screen! There are two shows weekly, check below for dates and times. Film listings are subject to change.

John Ford’s last great masterpiece is a dark tribute to western pioneers such as Tom Doniphon (John Wayne) who packed a gun and tamed the wilderness so that civilized, thinking men such as Ranse Stoddard (James Stewart) could bring to it law and order and transpose the wilderness into a garden. Also starring Vera Miles and Lee Marvin. Not rated. 123 minutes. Black & white. 1962.

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George Roy Hill's adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut's whimsical antiwar black comedy stars Michael Sacks as the placid Billy Pilgrim. He's become "unstuck in time," as the author describes him, or more prosaically, he's had a nervous breakdown as a result of a recurrence of the trauma of witnessing the horrific Allied firebombing of Dresden in 1945. The desultory narrative has Billy jumping from his war experience to his future on the planet Tralfamadore with the buxom Montana Wildhack (Valerie Perrine), then to an episode of shock therapy, then to an episode in his childhood, and then to his life as a relatively unhappy suburban optometrist. Throughout, the naive Billy remains a curious mixture of kindness and detachment, the best combination of qualities one could have, the author seems to imply, for surviving in a world of meaningless suffering. Rated R. 104 minutes. 1972.

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Once again, the Coen brothers roll out a fun-packed adventure – this time based on Homer’s epic, The Odyssey.  Chain-gang escapees led by George Clooney take vagrancy to high art in this musical comedy/fantasy set in the Depression-era Deep South. John Turturro and Tim Blake Nelson head a stellar supporting cast of sincere but misguided loved ones and a host of rapscallions including John Goodman. Indescribably delicious. Oscar nominated. Rated PG-13. 106 minutes. 2000.

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Romantic musical comedy stars Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in perhaps their best all singing-all dancing outing undertaken with the help of Edward Everett Horton’s classic fussbudget. Four Oscar Nominations including Best Picture and Best Song for Irving Berlin’s “Cheek to Cheek.” The plot is pure fluff – but who cares when the sets, songs, cast and dancing are this good? Not rated. 86 minutes. Black & white. 1935.

Suave William Powell and sophisticated Myrna Loy star in arguably the most stylish and scathingly witty detective film ever. Powell’s Nick Charles has retired from detecting thanks to wife Nora’s wealth, but crime marches on and murder will out – an irresistible combination for actors and viewers alike. Oscar-nominated in four categories including Best Picture. Not rated. 93 minutes. Black & white. 1934.

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A seven-year-old boy, tricked into thinking he’s killed his older brother, takes refuge in Coney Island’s old-fashioned fun world.  Hailed as “an underseen indie landmark” by the Village Voice, it garnered an Oscar nomination for Best Writing.  The film offers a glimpse of an urban landscape now nearly lost; it reportedly inspired both Truffaut and Cassavetes. Not rated. 80 minutes. Black & white. 1953.

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Joey Evans (Frank Sinatra) is charming, handsome, funny, talented, and a first class, A-number-one heel. When Joey meets the former chorus girl and now rich widow Vera Simpson (Rita Hayworth), the two lecherous souls seem made for each other. That is, until Linda English (Kim Novak) comes along. Linda is a "mouse on the line" and built like there's no tomorrow. But she's the typical good little girl from a good little home -- just the right ingredient to louse up Joey's cushy set up.  Sinatra won the Golden Globe for Best Actor and the film was nominated for 4 Oscars. Not rated. 111 minutes. Black & white. 1957.

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Silent film with live organ accompaniment! Country boy (Harold Lloyd) heads to the big city to seek success. While working as a clerk in a department store, he talks the manager into offering $1000 to anyone who can bring more customers to the store. He then arranges for a friend, a "human fly," (Bill Strother) to climb the face of the store building as a publicity stunt. Unfortunatly the "human fly" is a wanted man, and when "The Law" (Noah Young) shows, our hero must make the climb himself. At each ledge he encounters new difficulties, climaxing in the famous 'clock scene.' Not rated. 73 minutes. 1923.

This colorful adventure, inspired by the Greek myth, begins when the fearless explorer Jason (Todd Armstrong) returns to the kingdom of Thessaly to make his rightful claim to the throne, but the gods proclaim that he must first find the magical Golden Fleece. Consulting Hera, the queen of gods, Jason recruits the brave Argonauts to crew his ship, and they embark on their eventful journey. Along the way they encounter a variety of mythic creatures, including the 100-foot bronze god Talos, the batlike Harpies, the seven-headed reptilian Hydra, and an army of skeletons wielding sword and sheild. Rated G . 104 minutes. 1963.

Steven Spielberg's extraordinary film about a man named Roy Neary (Richard Dreyfuss) who becomes obsessed with meeting extraterrestrials after encountering a UFO on an abandoned road one night. Against the wishes of his wife (Teri Garr) and children, Neary, along with another witness to the sighting (Melinda Dillon), travels to a mysterious mountain where the government has built a landing strip hoping to attract the aliens.  8 Oscar nominations, including one win. Rated PG . 132 minutes. 1977.

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Sidney Poitier heads a fine cast in the story of an African American family in Chicago who are struggling with mixed aspirations, not enough money, conflicts over religion, and institutional racism.  Walter Lee Younger (Poitier) is a young man struggling with his station in life. Sharing a tiny apartment with his wife, son, sister and mother, he seems like an imprisoned man. Until, that is, the family gets an unexpected financial windfall.  2 Golden Globe nominations. Rated PG . 128 minutes. Black & white. 1961.

Robert Altman's brilliant, sprawling masterpiece paints a detailed portrait of the people and music industry of Nashville, Tennessee. Altman's roaming camera follows a group of disparate individuals as the city prepares for an upcoming political rally for "Replacement" party candidate Hal Philip Walker. They include a ditzy Californian, a philandering rock star and his bandmates, a country singer on the verge of a nervous breakdown, a tone-deaf waitress with dreams of superstardom, a mother with two deaf children, and a British journalist who is out to capture the "true" Nashville. The characters intersect at the beginning of the film after a highway accident, and again at the end when an act of violence tarnishes the political rally. Altman's improvisational approach adds a satirical humor and brave honesty to the film, making it one of American cinema's crowning achievements. Rated R. 159 minutes. 1975.

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A laugh-out-loud spectacle of politics gone haywire, capturing some of the Marx Brothers’ zaniest routines and funniest quips. Backed by wealthy widow Mrs. Teasdale (regular Marx straightwoman Margaret Dumont), Groucho becomes the leader of Freedonia, quickly frustrating his cabinet and offending the aggressive neighboring country to the point of war. Chico and Harpo, sent by the rival country, spy on Groucho and try to steal his battle plans, but when war does come, loyalties become muddled all around. Rated PG . 72 minutes. Black & white. 1933.

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Filmed in Paris and Nice during the Nazi occupation, this epic big-budget French-language classic traces the interconnected lives of four major characters: Baptiste (Jean-Louis Barrault), a mime; Lemaitre (Pierre Brasseur), an actor; Lacenaire (Marcel Herrand), a criminal who is also a writer; and Garance (Arletty), a free-spirited woman who lives off her good looks and skills as a courtesan. The intersecting paths of these four characters lead to a volatile mix of love, jealousy, and heartbreak that results in murder and bittersweet love-making. Presented with a newly restored print in its original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.33:1. Not rated. 190 minutes. Black & white. French with subtitles. 1945.

In 1960, Alfred Hitchcock was already famous as the screen's master of suspense when he released PSYCHO and forever changed the shape and tone of horror movies. Marion Crane (Janet Leigh) is unhappy in her job at a Phoenix, Arizona real estate office and frustrated in her romance with Sam. One afternoon, Marion is given 40,000 in cash to be deposited in the bank and on impulse, she takes off with the cash, hoping to start a new life. 36 hours later, paranoia and exhaustion have started to set in, and Marion decides to stop for the night at the Bates Motel, where nervous but personable innkeeper Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) cheerfully mentions that she's the first guest in weeks, before he regales her with curious stories about his mother. There's hardly a film fan alive who doesn't know what happens next, but while the shower scene is justifiably the film's most famous sequence, there are dozens of memorable bits. (Synopsis by Mark Deming, All Movie Guide) Rated R. 109 minutes. Black & white. 1960.

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