March 2, 2008     Sunday Silent Movie

The Black Pirate (1926). One of the first Technicolor films and certainly the inspiration for other swashbuckling films that followed, The Black Pirate starring Douglas Fairbanks will keep you on the edge of your seat. Bob Mitchell will do us the honor of playing the organ accompaniment. Join us at the Masonic Temple at 33 East Sierra Madre Blvd in Sierra Madre (map) at 6:30 pm. Tickets are a $20 tax-deductable donation to SMHPS. Free popcorn and soda will be served. Aargh! Call 626 355-4917 or 626 355-3905 for tickets or more information. All proceeds benefit the book project.

October 14, 2007
Sunday Silent Movie

The Iron Horse (1924). Bob Mitchell will play the mighty Wurlitzer organ in accompaniment.

September 14, 2007

Temperance and Townhood, a talk by author Michele Zack at the Sierra Madre Public Library from 7:30 to 8:30 pm.  The Library is located at 440 W. Sierra Madre Blvd. in Sierra Madre.  Come for a sneak preview of the forthcoming history of Sierra Madre.  This is a free event.  Light refreshments will be served.

June 23-24, 2007
Film Festival

2-Day Film Festival sponsored by the Sierra Madre Historical Preservation Society in honor of the Sierra Madre Centennial. The films will be screened in the City Hall Council Chambers on Saturday afternoon, June 23 and Sunday afternoon, June 24.

Tickets will be on sale at City Hall on Saturday beginning at 2 pm and Sunday beginning at noon. The cost of a ticket is $5 for the series of films. Children admitted free. Save your stub and present it at the door to see the the movie features on Sunday. No food or drink is allowed in the Council Chambers.

Saturday, June 23

Time	Film
4:00 pm	Eaton's Water (30 minutes) dramatized acount of Benjamn Eaton's successful efforts to bring a dependable water supply to the Indiana Colony (later named Pasadena). Michelle Zack, script writer for the film and author of the forthcoming Sierra Madre Centennial History will introduce the film.
5:00 pm	Last Drop of Water (13 minutes) The film was made in 1911 when pioneer movie producer, D.W. Griffith was filming in Sierra Madre. It is a brief tale of unrequited love with a wagon train saga, an attack by hostile Indians, a desperate search for water, an unexpected but noble act by a bad guy, and cavalry to the rescue.  Though filmed in this area, are no recognizable landmarks.
5:30 pm	The Search for Billy (45 minutes) For this 1960's documentary. a CBS crew accompanied the Sierra Madre Search and Rescue Team during a frustrating but successful search for a boy named Billy who had become separated from his Boy Scout Troop and was lost for several days in rugged terrain in Ventura County.
6:30 pm	This Was Pacific Electric (60 minutes) This documentary tells the story of the rise and fall of the world's greatest electric railway. It begins in 1872 with L.A.'s first horse car line and continues through to the last red car in 1961.

Sunday, June 24

Time	Film
1:00 pm	The Seven Little Foys (93 minutes) The  fictionalized biography of Eddie Foy, famous Vaudeville era performer, and his 7 children,  was  filmed in 1955 with the Pinney House as one of the locations. There are those in town who fondly remember the filming.
3:00 pm	The Family Plot (121 minutes) Howard Kazanjian, the 1st Assistant Director, will introduce Alfred Hitchcock's last movie made in 1976 and filmed in part in Sierra Madre, the plot of this thriller is a witty and complex combination of comedy and drama. In it, a zany cabbie pairs up with a phony psychic in trying to find and exploit the long lost Rainbird family fortune.
5:30 pm	Invasion of the Body Snatchers (80 minutes) This 1956 movie, filmed in Sierra Madre, is locally famous and has attained an almost cult status. In the small town of Santa Mira, a local physician named Dr. Binnell becomes concerned by increasing visits from townsfolk complaining that their nearest and dearest are simply not themselves. As a sense of alarm gradually spreads, Binnell's investigations reveal that the complaints are not mere delusion, but that the previously peaceful town is being taken over by an alien force – doppelgangers who resemble their earthly counterparts in almost every way, save for lack of human emotion.

 

October 15, 2006
Sunday Silent Movie

The Sierra Madre Historical Preservation Society presents The Temptress starring Greta Garbo, as the latest offering in its Sunday Silent Movie series. This film was Ms. Garbo's second American film and has a mature adult theme of love and lust and a dash of violence thrown in. The movie spans two continents with it's tale of melodramatic love affairs and fortunes won and lost. Again, back by popular demand, Bob Mitchell will play the mighty Wurlitzer organ in accompaniment. The Temptress is a personal favorite of Mr. Mitchell's and was chosen on his recommendation. Mr. Mitchell continues today playing at the "Silent Movie" theatre in Los Angeles and is considered to be one of the last remaining silent movie organists.

The Temptress will be shown at 6:30 pm at the Sierra Madre Masonic Temple at 33 E Sierra Madre Blvd, Sierra Madre, CA. Admission is a $20 tax-deductable donation. Proceeds support the Centennial Book Project.

Tickets may be purchased at Arnold's Hardware or Verland Kelly & Associates.

June 16, 2006
A Night with Sourdough Slim
All hat and no cattle

Totally retro, hilariously entertaining and triumphant from Carnegie Hall and The Lincoln Center to county fairs and cowboy events across the country.

Sierra Madre School Auditorium
141 West Highland Ave
Sierra Madre, CA 91024
7:30 - 9:30 pm
Map

Fundraiser for the Sierra Madre Historical Preservation Society. All proceeds fund the Sierra Madre Centennial History book. Sponsored by Verland Kelly & Associates, Our Town Printing, Sierra Madre Playhouse, and Webb-Martin Realtors.

Tickets are $20 and are available at Savor the Flavor, Arnold's Hardware, Verland Kelly & Associates and online at www.sierramadreplayhouse.org.

October 23, 2005
Sunday Silent Movie

The Gold Rush starring Charlie Chaplin will be shown at 6:30 pm at the Masonic Temple, located at 33 E. Sierra Madre Blvd.  There will be live organ accompaniment by the extraordinary Bob Mitchell.  Tickets are $20 each  (donation is tax dedictible).  Free popcorn and soft drinks will be served at the screening.  

The Gold Rush was last shown in Sierra Madre at the Wistaria Theatre (currently the Sierra Madre Playhouse) in June 1926.  Don't miss this exciting second showing! 

May 15, 2005
Sunday Silent Movie

The 1924 film The Thief of Bagdad starring Douglas Fairbanks will be shown at the Sierra Madre Masonic Temple at 6:30 pm.  The Masonic Temple is located at 33 E. Sierra Madre Blvd.  Silent film organist Bob Mitchell will play a live accompaniment.  Free popcorn and soda will be offered.   

February 13, 2005
Sunday Silent Movie

Please join us for a swashbuckling time!  The Society will be screening the 1920 film The Mark of Zorro starring Douglas Fairbanks at the Masonic Temple at 6:30 pm.  The Masonic temple is located at 33 E. Sierra Madre Blvd.  The amazing Bob Mitchell will provide live organ accompaniment. 

For more information about Historical Preservation Society events, please call (626)355-8129.