New ‘Monday Night at the Movies’ lineup announced

The Acadia Parish Library has announced its latest Monday Night at the Movies lineup, with this selection spanning the 10 year period 1944 through 1954.

All movies begin at 6 p.m. and are hosted by Dr. C. Richard Bier.

• April 13: “Jane Eyre,” 1944, 96 minutes, b/w. Directed by Robert Stevenson, this movie is based on the renowned Charlotte Brontë novel of the same name. The drama depicts the trials and tribulations of young English woman Jane Eyre (Joan Fontaine). Orphaned and raised in an abusive home, Jane eventually becomes a governess at Thornfield Hall, where she falls for its older aristocrat owner, Edward Rochester (Orson Welles). However, numerous obstacles stand in the way of Jane and Edward’s romance, and their love may not survive a series of dramatic and unfortunate events.

• April 20: “They Were Expendable,” 1945, 136 minutes, b/w. This fictional account of World War II events is based on actual events relating to the exploits of Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Three, a PT boat unit defending the Philippines against Japanese invasion during the Battle of the Philippines (1941–42). The movie was directed by John Fodd and stars Robert Montgomery, John Wayne and Donna Reed.

• April 27: “Gentleman’s Agreement,” 1947, 118 minutes, b/w. When journalist Phil Green (Gregory Peck) moves to New York City, he takes on a high-profile magazine assignment about anti-Semitism. In order to truly view things from an empathetic perspective, he pretends to be a Jew and begins to experience many forms of bigotry, both firsthand and through a Jewish friend. The film also stars Dorothy McGuire and Celeste Holm and was directed by Elia Kazan.

•  May 4: “The African Queen,” 1951, 103 minutes, color. Starring Humphrey Bogart and Katherine Hepburn, this movie is set in Africa during WWI and tells the tale of a gin-swilling riverboat captain who is persuaded by a strait-laced missionary to use his boat to attack an enemy warship. Directed by John Huston.

• May 11: “Johnny Guitar,” 1954, 110 minutes, color. A strong willed female saloon owner (Joan Crawford) is wrongly suspected of murder and bank robbery by a lynch mob when she helps a wounded gang member. The movie also stars Sterling Hayden and Mercedes McCambridge and was directed by Nicholas Ray.

The Acadia Parish Library is located at 1125 N. Parkerson Ave. For more information, contact the library at 788-1880 or visit acadiaparishlibrary.org.