Proctors kicking off new film series

SCHENECTADY, N.Y. (NEWS10) — Proctors is kicking off a new film series, "Hollywood's Golden Age," to be screened in the GE and Addy Theatre at Proctors in Schenectady. The series will be divided into four smaller series, one of which will partner with the Union College Film Studies program.

The four series are "Women's (Film) History Month," "Breaking the Rules: Great Women of the Pre-Code Era," "Focus on the Cinema of Marlene Dietrich and Josef von Sternberg," and "Focus on Director Preston Sturges."

The "Women's (Film) History Month" series will celebrate the portrayal of women in early film history as fully fleshed-out characters with "agency," as opposed to being lesser than men. Next, "Breaking the Rules: Great Women of the Pre-Code Era," will feature films before motion pictures had to abide by the Hays Code, which prohibited profanity, suggestive nudity, and the like. The "Breaking the Rules" series is a Proctors and Union College collaboration.

The “Focus on the Cinema of Marlene Dietrich and Josef von Sternberg” and the “Focus on Director Preston Sturges” series will center on Marlene Dietrich’s collaborations with Josef von Sternberg as well as the sharp comedies of director Preston Sturges.

Tickets are available through the Box Office at Proctors, in person, or via phone at (518) 346-6204, Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., or Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. They are also available now on the Proctors website.

Full series calendar:

• Thursday, March 2: “Baby Face” (1933) with Union College’s Lori J. Marso, Doris Zemurray Stone professor of modern literary and historical studies/director of American studies
• Thursday, March 9: “His Girl Friday” (1940)
• Thursday, March 16: Cinema’s First Nasty Women Vol. 1: Queens of Destruction (2022)
• Thursday, March 23: “Red-Headed Woman” (1932) with Union College’s Krisanna Scheiter, associate professor and chair of philosophy
• Thursday, April 6: “Shanghai Express” (1932) with Union College’s Megan M. Ferry, professor of Chinese
• Thursday, April 13: “The Scarlet Empress” (1934)
• Thursday, April 20: “Blonde Venus” (1932) with Union College’s Erika Nelson Mukherjee, professor of German/director of gender, sexuality and women’s studies
• Thursday, April 27: “The Devil Is a Woman” (1935)
• Thursday, May 11: “The Lady Eve” (1941)
• Thursday, May 18: “Dance, Girl, Dance” (1940) with Union College’s Çigdem Çidam, associate professor of political science
• Thursday, May 25: “Sullivan’s Travels” (1941)
• Thursday, June 1: “Zouzou” (1934) with Union College’s Michelle Chilcoat, associate professor of French/co-director of film studies
• Thursday, June 8: “The Palm Beach Story” (1942)
• Thursday, June 15: “Hail the Conquering Hero” (1944)