The ritual of Daylight Saving Time has recently ushered in its yearly sense of renewal, lightening the mood—if you’ll pardon the pun—of just about everyone. People are talking about the fresh beauty of the annual Spring Bulb Show at Smith College, linen pants are beginning to make an appearance, and street musicians are beginning to pack away their fingerless gloves. In short, it’s a rebirth.
For me it was also a reminder of how much my schedule has changed in the last few years. Today, that extra hour of sun means that it’s still light out when I leave work. But for most of the last decade—my years as a movie-house projectionist—I rarely went to bed before 3 a.m.
Of course, finding ways to unwind at that hour isn’t always easy, but there was always Sinatra. My friend Brion and I usually worked the same hours, and we’d often cap off a shift by repairing to his place for a nightcap and an episode of The Frank Sinatra Show, recorded on a well-worn VHS tape.
Today’s talk shows can’t hold a candle to it: in one episode, Frank might have Bob Hope, Kim Novak, and Peggy Lee, and—here’s the kicker—everyone performs, instead of just nattering away on a couch. Even the commercials (often for cigarettes) were skits.
This week, you can have the full experience without the late hours when West Springfield’s Showcase Cinemas screens a two-hour slate of classics in its Vintage TV Variety Shows series. Showing on March 29 at 1 p.m., the collection includes episodes of General Electric Theater, The Red Skelton Show, and Groucho Marx’s You Bet Your Life, all in addition to Ol’ Blue Eyes.
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Hampshire and Franklin counties also play host to some special events this week. First up is Shelburne Falls’ Memorial Hall, which continues its live high-definition simulcasts of the Metropolitan Opera in New York. On Saturday, the theater brings Ambroise Thomas’ acclaimed version of Hamlet, with Simon Keenlyside and Marlis Petersen starring. The show starts at 1 p.m.; for more information call (413) 625-3052.
On Sunday, Amherst Cinema welcomes Cameroonian filmmaker Jean-Marie Teno and his film Sacred Places for a 7 p.m. show and discussion. Currently a visiting assistant professor at Hampshire College, Teno, in his film, turns his lens on a modest neighborhood in Burkina Faso, home to a biennial film festival but paradoxically a place where African films are noticeably absent.
Jack Brown can be reached at cinemadope@gmail.com.
