George Lucas Among Speakers at WWII Fall Film Series at N-Y Historical Society

Join us for the New-York Historical Society's inaugural Bernard and Irene Schwartz Classic Film Series, World War II and Its Legacy in Film, featuring opening remarks by notable directors, writers, actors, and historians. Produced in conjunction with New-York Historical's exhibition WWII & NYC, this selection of classic films will show a broad scope of life during and after the war and reflect many of the exhibition's themes, including life on the home front, the dispatch of troops and the struggle to readapt to postwar life.

A screening of the documentary Double Victory (2012) about the legendary Tuskegee Airmen of WWII, the first African-American aerial unit, will feature opening remarks by George Lucas, Tuskegee Airman Roscoe Brown, and Brent Staples. Among other special guests who will deliver opening remarks before film screenings are Adam Gopnik of The New Yorker on I Was A Male War Bride (1949); Ron Simon, Curator of Television and Radio at the Paley Center of Media, with author Ian W. Toll on From Here to Eternity (1953) Catherine Wyler discussing her father William Wyler's film Mrs. Miniver (1942); and Stanley Donen on On the Town (1949) which he directed and co-choreographed with Gene Kelly.
Entrance to the film series is included with Museum Admission during New-York Historical's Pay-as-you-wish Friday Nights. All films will start at 7 pm at the Robert H. Smith Auditorium.

When World War II broke out, New York was a cosmopolitan, heavily immigrant city, whose people had real stakes in the war and strongly held opinions. WWII & NYC will explore the impact of the war on the metropolis, which played a critical role in the national war effort, and how the city was forever changed.

The exhibition will draw upon extensive collections at New-York Historical and on important loans from the US Navy, the Smithsonian Institution, the Mariners' Museum and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, among other institutions. This exhibit will be open from October 5, 2012 – May 27, 2013.

Bernard and Irene Schwartz Classic Film Series World War II and Its Legacy in Film 2012-13 Schedule & Speakers

· October 19 – Mrs. Miniver (1942) Speakers: Catherine Wyler, Lesley Stahl
· October 26 – Double Victory (2012) Speakers: George Lucas, Roscoe Brown, Brent Staples
· November 2 – The Clock (1945) Speakers: Adam Gopnik
· November 9 – Onoe of Our Aircraft Is Missing (1942) Speakers: Michael Korda
· December 7 – From Here to Eternity (1953) Speakers: Ian W. toll, Ron Simon
· December 14 – Twelve O'Clock High (1949) Speakers: Gordon S. Wood
· December 28 – It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
· January 11 – The Search (1948) Speakers: Lee Grant, Susan Lacy
· January 18 – On the Town (1949) Speakers: Stanley Donen
· January 25 – I Was a Male War Bride (1949) Speakers: Adam Gopnik
· February 1 – Casablanca (1942) Speakers: Kati Marton, David Denby
· February 8 – The Third Man (1949) Speakers: Kati Marton, David Denby

Mrs. Miniver:
Friday, October 19, 2012 7 pm
Catherine Wyler discusses her father's award-winning tale of strength and resilience on the British home front, with Lesley Stahl. Winner of six Academy Awards, including Best Picture. Directed by William Wyler. Starring Greer Garson, Walter Pidgeon, Teresa Wright, and Dame Mae Whitty. Catherine Wyler's career spans the worlds of film, television, and live theater. She has been a studio executive, an independent producer, and she has held leadership positions at major American cultural institutions. In the 1980s, she was Senior Vice President of Production at Columbia Pictures and Director of Cultural and Children's Programming at PBS. Lesley Stahl (moderator) has been a correspondent for "60 Minutes" since 1991.

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