Classic Films for Valentine's Day at Montauk Library

In honor of Valentine’s Day, throughout February the Montauk Library’s Fridays at Five Classic Film Series will feature four of Hollywood’s best loved romantic comedies. All films will screen on Fridays at 5 p.m. and admission is free:

February 3: “It Happened One Night,” 1932, director Frank Capra

After pampered debutante Ellie Andrews (Claudette Colbert) elopes with a fortune-hunter, her wealthy father insists that the marriage be annulled. Running away to reunite with her new husband, Ellie boards a Greyhound bus heading to New York. When reporter Peter Warne (Clark Gable), recognizes her, he threatens to contact her father about her whereabouts unless she lets him write an exclusive story about her. As they deal with misadventures on the road, Ellie gradually loses her disdain for Peter and vice versa.

Reflecting conditions most Americans faced during the Depression, “It Happened One Night” is regarded as one of the greatest films ever made. Directed by Frank Capra, it was the first film to win all five major Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Adapted Screenplay. In 1993, it was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress as “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”

February 10: “Bringing Up Baby,” 1938, director Howard Hawks

“Bringing Up Baby” is a screwball comedy starring Katharine Hepburn as the scatter-brained Susan Vance and Cary Grant as the eccentric paleontologist David Huxley. The romantic comedy has gained acclaim from critics and audiences for its zany antics and pratfalls, absurd situations, miscommunication, perfect comic timing and zany characters. It appears on numerous greatest-films lists, including the American Film Institute’s 100 greatest American films of all time list. In 1990, “Bringing Up Baby” was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress as “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”

February 17: “Ninotchka,” 1939, director Ernst Lubitsch

“Ninotchka” is a romantic comedy starring Greta Garbo as Nina Ivanovna “Ninotchka” Yakushova, and Melvyn Douglas as Count Léon d’Algout. One of the first American films to satirize Bolshevist Russia, “Ninotchka” received four Academy Award nominations including Garbo’s third nomination for Best Actress, as well as Best Picture, Best Original Story and Best Screenplay. In 1990, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”

February 24: “The Lady Eve,” 1941, director Preston Sturges

The Lady Eve is a screwball comedy written and directed by Preston Sturges starring Barbara Stanwyck as Jean Harrington, aka “Lady Eve Sidwich” and Henry Fonda as Charles “Hopsie” Pike. A mismatched couple meet on board an ocean liner where Jean and her father, “Colonel” Harrington (Charles Coburn) are a father-daughter tag team of professional gamblers. They set their sights on the wealthy but unworldly Charles Pike. Though Jean and “Hopsie” — as she dubs him — fall in love, on their honeymoon Charles is unforgiving when he learns the truth about Jean’s past. Heartbroken and angry, Jean finds a brilliant way to take revenge.

“The Lady Eve” was nominated for awards for Best Original Story and Best Picture by the National Board of Review. The New York Times named it the Best Film of 1941. In 1994, “The Lady Eve” was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Film Registry as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”

Montauk Library is at 871 Montauk Highway in Montauk. To register for the screenings, call 631-668-337. Visit montauklibrary.org/calendar for more information.