When I was in grammar school and high school, I loved movies. I estimate that I saw hundreds and hundreds of films. Those were the days of the double feature, so there seemed to be an unlimited number of films available. I did not see all the films that were available, but I suspect I saw most of them.
When I got to college, I think I became something of a snob, suspecting that films were not intellectually challenging. This was around the time that I became interested in theater. This attitude changed dramatically when I was studying at Marquette University in Milwaukee.
The bishop had sent me to Marquette to get a doctorate in philosophy so that I could eventually teach at the four-year college seminary he was planning to build in Douglaston. At Marquette, I attended some truly excellent films that the university presented. This experience dramatically changed my view of films.
When I returned to the Brooklyn Diocese in 1967 to teach at the newly opened Cathedral College Seminary in Douglaston, I started, with the aid of the college seminarians, to present film festivals, and I did that for 20 years. The festivals became very popular not only with the college seminarians but with many of their relatives, friends, and others. I think I presented more than 200 films, many of which are considered classics.
I have a vivid memory of the evening we screened the first film, Ingmar Bergman’s “The Seventh Seal.” The college auditorium in which we were going to show the films seated about 400 people. About 800 people arrived to see the film, which was scheduled to be shown at 8 o’clock. Trying to find extra seating, we delayed the screening until nine o’clock. At 9 o’clock, we still could not accommodate the crowd, and so we had to turn away many and show the film at twelve o’clock and then again the next day at noon. We never duplicated that attendance, but we often had at least 200.
I was more convinced than ever that great films could be a powerful source to help people reflect on important themes and ideas, especially religious ones. When Father Peter Rayder and Deacon Stan Galazin invited me to revive the film festival program and present it at American Martyrs in Bayside, I became immediately interested.
American Martyrs has a huge parking lot and a gigantic screen on which films can be projected. We held the first festival last fall and screened four films: “The Mortal Storm,” “Casablanca,” “A Man for All Seasons,” and my favorite, “On the Waterfront.” There is no admission charge. The spring festival starts on Friday, May 8, at 7:30 in the evening and continues for three consecutive Fridays. The first film is Orson Welles’ “Citizen Kane,” and the next three films are Alfred Hitchcock’s “Notorious,” William Wyler’s “Detective Story,” and Robert Benton’s “Places in the Heart,” which I think has the greatest ending of any Hollywood film.
About 60 people attended last spring’s festival. Those attending really loved the films and pleaded with me to continue the program. They did not have to plead. Running the festival was a labor of love for me. I enjoyed the films, all of which I have seen many times, and I very much enjoyed the questions and comments that followed a screening. As I think about this spring’s festival, I find myself eagerly looking forward to it. I believe that watching films is not just a pleasant way to waste time. Just as there are great paintings, great sculptures, great novels, great poems, great operas, there are great films.
The first film, “Citizen Kane,” may be the greatest American film ever made. Orson Welles co-authored the script, produced, directed, and starred in the film. The cinematographer, Greg Toland, approached Welles and told him he wanted to work with him on his film. In one weekend, Toland showed Welles everything that a camera could do.
Welles claimed that anyone studying the history of American film would not have to go past 1941, the year in which Kane would be released, because he would incorporate into his film everything that a camera had done and could do. Welles incorporated everything a camera could do, and he did it brilliantly. Any analysis of or favorable commentary on “Citizen Kane” would have to be filled with superlatives. I have carefully selected the films for both festivals at American Martyrs.
I knew I had to pick “Citizen Kane” if I was going to try to pick classics or near-classics for these. I am already thinking of future festivals if people at American Martyrs want more.
Father Lauder is a philosophy professor at St. John’s University, Jamaica. His new book, “The Cosmic Love Story: God and Us,” is available on Amazon.com and at Barnes & Noble.