Theater closed for Memorial Day

The Library of Congress Mount Pony Theater in Culpeper will be closed this weekend in observance of Memorial Day.

The theater continues its free screenings Tuesday, May 26 with acclaimed director John Huston’s “The Man Who Would Be King” (Allied Artists, 1975) at 7 p.m. An adaptation of the short story by Rudyard Kipling, the Oscar-nominated movie (best screenplay) traces the adventures of two British soldiers in India (Sean Connery and Michael Kaine).

The two men – one of which has “a god complex” – have quit the Army in search of adventure and royalty.

A bloody ending awaits. With Christopher Plummer as Kipling.

Next weekend, the Mount Pony Theater presents a full schedule of free classic movies, including a special tribute on Sunday to legendary actress Mary Pickford (1982-1979), known as the most popular woman of her day.

But first, Friday night, May 29, at 7:30 “Three Came Home” (20th Century Fox, 1950) screens in black and white. Part of the Library’s homage to “Women in Wartime: The World War II Years,” the film is the true story of prisoner of war Agnes Newton Keith and her imprisonment in a Japanese camp. With Claudette Colbert, Patric Knowles, Sessue Hayakawa and Florence Desmond.

Next Saturday’s 2 p.m. matinee is the Rodgers & Hammerstein jewel, “The Sound of Music” (20th Century Fox, 1965) starring the unrivaled actor and songstress Julie Andrews and all the lovely Von Trapp children. With Christopher Plummer as the dashing dad who risks all for freedom.

Finally, a special presentation of Mary Pickford’s “Sparrows” (United Artists, 1926) screens next Sunday, May 31 at 2 p.m. in the 200-seat Mount Pony Theater. A silent film about a bunch of mistreated orphans also seeking freedom, it is just one of the 205 movies Pickford starred in during her noted career as a film pioneer. It’s said she was just as famous and made as lasting an impact on the industry as Charlie Chaplin.

The expansive Library of Congress in D.C. certainly recognizes the actress’ significance as evidenced by the tiny, 60-something-seat theater named for Mary Pickford inside the motion picture and television reading room.

And as this year marks the 100th anniversary of Pickford’s film debut in 1909, the LOC’s Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division is taking her movies on the road with stops in L.A., San Francisco, New York, Toronto — Pickford’s home-town — and Culpeper.

LOC writer, editor and Pickford scholar, Christel Schmidt, introduces the movie in the Mount Pony Theater next Sunday and will talk about the lady who was not only an actress but a savvy business woman.

Make reservations for any of the above-mentioned movies coming soon to the Mount Pony Theater inside the LOC National Audio Visual Conservation Center Packard Campus in Culpeper by calling (540) 827-1079 ext. 7994.

— Allison Brophy Champion