The Afternoon Classic Film series at the Peter White Public Library screens two older films per month on the library's large projection screen. Many of the featured films are from the library's extensive VHS collection donated by the family of the late David Goldsmith.

Well known titles such as The Quiet Man, You Can't Take It With You and On the Waterfront showcase the talents of John Wayne, Lionel Barrymore, Marlon Brando, Maureen O'Hara, Claudette Colbert and other great actors of Hollywood's golden age.

A new twist on the old classics is their availability on DVD. Peter White Public Library boasts a growing collection of these classic American films to be viewed anytime by all generations. The following is a sampling of the growing collection of films can be found by a title search in the DVD section on the main floor of the library. Rent one to watch at home or come to the Afternoon Classic film series at the library to see these well loved favorites on the big screen. Visit www.pwpl.info or call 228-9510 for upcoming film screening dates.

Life With Father starring William Powell and Irene Dunne premiered in 1947 and is based on the writings of Clarence Day Jr. about growing up with his stern father attempting to manage a chaotic household. This comedy earned four Academy Award nominations including best actor for Powell.

Premiering in 1943, Lassie Come Home stars a young Roddy McDowell and 11-year-old Elizabeth Taylor. Heartwarming and moving, this is the original Lassie adventure based on the Eric Knight novel. McDowell and Taylor head an outstanding cast in this story of a poor family forced to sell their beloved dog. The real star is Lassie, who undertakes a courageous journey to rejoin the family.

For western buffs, High Noon starring Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly will fit the bill. This winner of four Academy Awards tells the story of Marshal Will Kane (Cooper) who stands alone to defend a town of cowardly citizens against a revenge-seeking enemy in a classic western showdown. This movie was the first starring role for a young Grace Kelly.

Winner of six Academy Awards, the film that stunned America in 1966, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? brought together the nation's most electrifying cinema personalities, Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, with the country's most important dramatist, Edward Albee and famed stage director Mike Nichols. It is the story of Martha and George and their embittered, embattled marriage on the campus of a New England college. The film's incredible power and unflinching truth made it a pivotal picture in American cinema.

The Hollywood masterpiece Singin' In the Rain premiered in 1952 and stars Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor and Debbie Reynolds. Considered by many to be the finest musical comedy of all time, Betty Comden and Adolph Green wrote this screenplay about the time when movies were changing from silent to talkies. Songs range from the hilarious "Make 'Em Laugh" performed by O'Connor, to the delicate "You Were Meant for Me" and the classic "Singin' in the Rain" solo by Gene Kelly.

Henry Fonda and Claudette Colbert star in the 1939 film Drums Along the Mohawk, based on the best-selling novel by Walter D. Edmonds. Fonda stars as farmer Gil Martin, who moves his new bride out west into the yet unsettled Mohawk Valley. This sweeping piece of cinema celebrates the strength of frontier men and women in the time of the American Revolution. Nominated for two Academy Awards, this film is the work of director John Ford.

- Margaret Boyle

Programming coordinator