News Summary

MIDDLETOWN — Middletown's Celluloid Society returns this weekend with its second year of cult and classic films shown for free. This year's lineup includes everything from high-gloss soap operas to a French musical.

• "Valley of the Dolls," Sept. 26. Billed by the Society as "the best bad movie ever made" the adaptation of Jacqueline Suzanne's best-selling novel stars Patty Duke and the ill-fated Sharon Tate.

• "Dreams," Oct. 12. The acclaimed Japanese director Akira Kurosawa filmed eight "dreams," including a sequence with director Martin Scorsese playing Vincent Van Gogh.

• "I Know Where I'm Going," Nov. 30. The revered British filmmaking team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger ("The Red Shoes") made this 1946 movie about a young woman who journeys to a Scottish island to marry a wealthy businessman.

• "All That Heaven Allows," Dec. 28 Jane Wyman and Rock Hudson star in this melodrama directed by Douglas Sirk, about a widow who scandalously falls for a much younger Rock Hudson. It heavily inspired the 2002 film "Far From Heaven" with Julianne Moore.

• "The Umbrellas of Cherbourg," Jan. 25. Every line of dialogue is sung in this unabashedly romantic film about the pitfalls of young love. Stars Catherine Deneuve.

• "Gun Crazy," Feb. 22. It didn't get much attention when released in 1950, but its reputation has grown to the point that it was included in the first DVD film noir collection compiled by Warner Bros. It plays like a prototype of "Bonnie and Clyde."

• "Barry Lyndon," March 29. One of Stanley Kubrick's lesser known works stars Ryan O'Neal as a corrupt aristocrat. It's renowned for its cinematography using natural light.

All films start at 2 p.m. except "Barry Lyndon," which will start at 1 p.m. Attendees must be 18 or older.

how to go

WHAT: Celluloid Society films

WHERE: Middletown Public Library, 125 S. Broad St.

WHEN: "Valley of the Dolls" 2 p.m. Sunday Sept. 28.

COST: Free