Doc-steady

shop-little.jpg

Doc Films has a Web site and an e-mail list. Last fall the nation’s longest continuously running student film society even tried selling season passes online. This fall, however, it was back to old-school cash boxes and pen-and-paper sign-up sheets, as local cinema fans lined up Monday night to see Passport to Pimlico and to plunk down $26 ($24 with a Spring 2007 pass) for the chance to see a film a night (two on Thursdays, except Thanksgiving) through the first Saturday in December.

"Is there any way you could mark it and give it back?" a gray-haired patron asked as she held out her Spring 2007 pass. "Because the number was 007, and I'm loath to give it up."

"I think I remember you buying it," the Doc volunteer responded. She then handed over a new, less auspiciously numbered bit of yellow cardboard with a shot of Margaret Sullavan—the subject of the Tuesday-night series—as she appeared in The Shop Around the Corner.

Like the membership cards, the Doc schedule follows a tried-and-true format. Each weekday night is devoted to a different genre. Sunday nights show William S. Hart, aka "Badass of the West," with films from England's Ealing Studios on Mondays. Tuesdays are Sullavan, Wednesdays are Kurosawa, and African director Ousmane Sembène and Mormon cinema, 1905-2007, share Thursday evenings. On the weekends, it’s time for "Doc’ed Up," billed as "a sampling of the latest releases, including summer blockbusters and lesser known gems," beginning with Judd Apatow's Knocked Up.

This reporter will be there, the proud holder of Autumn 2007 pass No. 030.

M.R.Y.

The Doc Around the Corner: Margaret Sullavan graces the film society’s Autumn 2007 pass.

September 25, 2007