“Bugsy malone movie poster”. Via Wikipedia –

Santa Barbara Center for the Performing Arts (SBCPA) recently announced the launch of MONDAY AT THE MOVIES!, a special series of films to be screened throughout the year in the Granada Theatre. The first in the film series will be Bugsy Malone on  on Monday, September 8 at 7 p.m.

Bugsy Malone is a 1976 British musical gangster film, directed by Alan Parker. Set in Chicago, the film is loosely based on Chicago events from the early 1920s to 1931 in the Prohibition era, specifically the exploits of gangsters like Al Capone and Bugs Moran, as dramatized in cinema.

This season’s filmed entertainment programming features the Elmer Bernstein Memorial Film Series, established by the SBCPA to honor the life and work of noted film composer and Santa Barbara resident Elmer Bernstein. The series presents an annual selection of films noteworthy for the importance of their musical scores to the telling of each film’s unique story.

Dates and film titles for the inaugural Elmer Bernstein Memorial Film Series are:

9/8/14 Bugsy Malone

11/24/14 To Kill a Mockingbird

1/26/15 Magnificent Seven

3/30/15 The Great Escape

“Elmer’s greatest passion was creating music for the arts, and it is truly an honor to have his legacy in film be memorialized in Santa Barbara, a city he called home,” says Elmer Bernstein’s widow, Eve Bernstein.

The inaugural series features selections by guest curator Paul Williams, an Oscar, Grammy and Golden Globe award-winning lyricist and composer.

“I’m thrilled at the opportunity to be the first guest curator for this extraordinary cinematic series,” says Williams. “The first film BUGSY MALONE holds a special place in my heart as I wrote many of the lyrics in the original film. This program will be a fantastic collaboration of impressive musical scores with the most advanced level of technology in the 21^st Century.”

Screenings will be preceded by a conversation with Williams and other special guests about each film and its musical score.

Tickets range in price from $9 – $20, and are available through The Granada Theatre’s Box Office—please click here to purchase or call the Box Office at 805/899-2222.  The Granada Theatre is located at 1214 State St. For more information,  visit www.granadasb.org.

—Leslie Dinaberg

Originally published in Santa Barbara Seasons on September 4, 2014.