Before it closes: Last month for free Saturday afternoon matinees in the Victory Theater
By Staff Writer
BROWARD COUNTY, FL – The Fabulous Forties on the Avenue exhibit and the Victory Theater within the exhibit will be permanently closing in January. The time to enjoy these historic and fascinating experiences is right now! Once again, in honor of the 10th Anniversary of the African-American Research Library and Cultural Center, four more free matinees are planned for Saturday afternoons in December, starting at 1 p.m.
Here is the movie schedule:
Dec. 8, 2012 – The Preacher’s Wife – 1996, a Penny Marshall film featuring Denzel Washington, Whitney Houston and Courtney B. Vance. The Rev. Henry Biggs finds his commitment to their deprived neighborhood is cooling his marriage to Choir Mistress Julia; and his church is in jeopardy from a real estate tycoon. God answers his prayer for help with an angel named Dudley.
Dec. 15, 2012– It’s a Wonderful Life – 1946, a Frank Capra film featuring James Stewart and Donna Reed. Contemplating suicide after a life filled with financial frustrations and shattered dreams, George Bailey is visited by Clarence his guardian angel, and discovers what the world would be like if he hadn’t been born. “It’s a Wonderful Life” was nominated for five Oscars without winning any, although the film has since been recognized by the American Film Institute as one of the 100 best American films ever made.
Dec. 22, 2012 – A Christmas Carol – 1951. Alastair Sim’s performance as Ebenezer Scrooge in this faithful adaptation of Charles Dickens’ story makes this one of the best-loved Christmas films of all time.
Dec. 29, 2012 – Stormy Weather – 1943 musical features dancing great Bill “Bo-jangles” Robinson. Nearly every famous African-American entertainer of the 1940s performs in “Stormy Weather,” including Cab Calloway, Fats Waller, the Nicholas Brothers, Ada Brown and Katherine Dunham and her dancers.
Throughout the year, the Victory Theater has shown movies on demand to anyone who makes a request, as well as scheduled selections of films. The theater also has a 20-minute sampler of 1940s film clips, cartoons, and movie pre-views that is readily available at all times.
The Victory Theater is one of the featured exhibits of the Fabulous Forties on the Avenue. This yearlong exhibition—ending in December 2012—cele-brates the era of the late 1940s and the neighborhood of Northwest Fifth Avenue in Fort Lauderdale, the historically Black section of town. The exhibit pays tribute to an iconic stretch of road that motivated generations of Black families to push through the boundaries of segregation and form lasting bonds that led to survival, entrepreneurship and cultural reformation.
The African-American Research Library and Cultural Center is located at 2650 Sistrunk Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale, phone (954) 357-6282.
