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Centennial Summer (1946)

Discussion Date

July 6, 2023

Discussion Time

8:00 am

Location

Virtual Event

on the event date, use the button below to join the discussion

movie details

starring

Jeanne Crain, Cornell Wilde, Walter Brennan

run time

1h 42m

Film Introductions

by Bill Rudman

Another Americana musical, released just after World War II – and a summertime musical to boot, set during the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition of 1876.

Nothing momentous here – mostly just sisters Jeanne Crain and Linda Darnell competing for the romantic attention of a visiting Frenchman played by Cornell Wilde. But it’s charming. And Walter Brennan – yep, later Pa in The Real McCoys – is priceless as a railroad man who doubles as the inventor of a clock that everybody thinks is a stupid idea. But we’ll see about that…

The real hero of the film, though, is composer Jerome Kern, who died just before Centennial Summer was released. But in his final months he wrote several of his most beautiful melodies, aided by lyricists Leo Robin, Oscar Hammerstein and Yip Harburg.

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How the Program Works

Join the Mailing list

On the appropriate Thursday, email list subscribers will receive an email with a video introduction from Bill Rudman. This video introduction gives an inside look at what to expect before viewing the film.

Watch the Film at Home

TMTP will provide a list of sites from which that month's film can be rented or purchased.

Join the Live Discussion

The following Thursday, Bill Rudman will host a live discussion via Zoom to discuss the film in real time!