Queens Library hosts holiday movie magic

by Michael Gannon qboro contributor

Just about everyone loves the holiday season and great classic movies. So the Queens Central Library in Jamaica decided to combine them, with eight free holiday showings in the month of December.

The Classic Film Friday shows will include the musical “Meet Me in St. Louis” (1944) on Dec. 1; “Fitzwilly” (1967), a romantic comedy, on Dec. 8; the venerated “It’s a Wonderful Life” (1946) and “White Christmas”(1954) on Dec. 15 and 22, respectively; and “Holiday” (1930) on Dec. 29.

Monday Matinee Movies will screen “Enemy of the State” (1998) on Dec. 4 and “This Christmas“ (2007) on Dec. 18.

Liz Keogan, a research librarian with the QPL who selected each of the films for December, settled once and for all the debate over whether “Die Hard” (1988) is a Christmas movie, scheduling it for Dec. 11.

“People enjoy it, so we show it,” said Koegan who, among her other duties, has been selecting and scheduling movies since she joined the QPL back in 2016.

“It’s one of the most fun parts of my job,” she told the Chronicle.

All movies begin at 2 p.m. and end between 4 and 4:30 p.m. No Monday Mat- inee offering will be shown on Dec. 25, as the library will be closed for Christmas. Films at other branches on other days are listed at queenslibrary.org.

Some holiday selections are easy, according to Koegan, others less so. The calendar imposes some limitations.

“There’s always a few that you wish you could get in,” Koegan said. “But there’s always next year. This year I tried to choose movies that I think people would enjoy; and I like some of them, too. I have my personal favorites.”

Perhaps her favorite of all time, not just her favorite holiday movie, is “It’s a Wonderful Life,” which was nominated for five Academy Awards including Best Picture with James Stewart nominated for Best Actor as George Bailey, a man who never really considers himself or his life to be very remarkable until he suddenly has everything to lose.

“I like the story,” Koegan said. “It’s an incredible film. Its well-acted and well-written. Jimmy Stewart’s performance was unforgettable.”

“Meet Me in St. Louis” stars Judy Garland, Mary Astor and Margaret O’Brien, and takes place amid preparations for the 1904 World’s Fair in the city called the Gateway to the West.

“Fitzwilly” features Dick Van Dyke as the butler for an elderly philanthropist. He also happens to be a crook and a con man, but his heart is in the right place.

“White Christmas” is not, in fact, the first musical in which Bing Crosby sings his signature hit. That was 12 years earlier in “Holiday Inn.”

“Holiday” also stars Astor in the story of a man who must consider how he will fit in with his fiancee’s conservative family. It would be remade in 1938 with Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant.

“Enemy of the State” features Will Smith unknowingly stumbling into a government conspiracy and trying to get out — if he can stay alive.

“This Christmas,” with a cast that includes Regina King and Idris Elba, chronicles a family’s first full holiday gathering in four years.

And then there is “Die Hard,” where Alan Rickman and his band of henchmen get on vacationing New York City Det. Bruce Willis’ really, really naughty list in Los Angeles’ Nakatomi Tower.

The Central Library is located at 89-11 Merrick Blvd. in Jamaica. It is wheelchair accessible and can be reached by car, bus or subway.

Yippee-ki-yay and enjoy the show. Q