General Info

What: Fundraiser for Cinema St. Louis
When: Begins at noon Saturday, April 3 (doors open at 11:30 a.m.); concludes at approximately 1:30 a.m. Sunday, April 4
Where: Washington University's Brown Hall Auditorium, Forsyth Boulevard and Chaplin Drive (two blocks west of Skinker)
How much: Minimum pledge total of $50 for one admission, $75 for two admissions
More info: www.cinemastlouis.org, 314-289-4153, brian@cinemastlouis.org

To download a printable version of this information, click (here). To download a printable pledge form, click (here).

"Make 'em laugh/Make 'em laugh/Don't you know everyone wants to laugh?" Donald O'Connor shared that wisdom with Gene Kelly and Debbie Reynolds in "Singin' in the Rain," and Cinema St. Louis is taking his comedy advice seriously. These recessionary times are tough, but instead of moping, we prefer laughing - and we want you to join in.

Our First Annual Movie Marathon - an almost 14-hour feast for cinephiles with insatiable appetites for film - features eight classic American comedies, one from each decade from the 1920s-1990s.

The Films

Noon: Buster Keaton's The General (1927), 78 min.
1:25 p.m.: Leo McCarey's Duck Soup (1933), with the Marx Bros., 70 min.
2:40 p.m.: Howard Hawks' His Girl Friday (1940), 92 min.
4:20 p.m.: Billy Wilder's Some Like It Hot (1959), 121 min.
6:30 p.m.: Stanley Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove (1964), 93 min.
8:15 p.m.: Mel Brooks' Blazing Saddles (1974), 93 min.
9:55 p.m.: Albert Brooks' Lost in America (1985), 91 min.
11:35 p.m.: The Coen Bros.' The Big Lebowski (1998), 117 min.

How it Works

We're asking our supporters to gather pledges in support of their attending the Movie Marathon. A minimum pledge total of $50 gets you access to the full day of screenings; if you'd like to bring a guest, the minimum pledge total is $75. If you prefer simply to pay the minimum amount for admission, that's fine, too.

Of course, we encourage you to go well beyond the minimum in pledges and secure support from as many friends, family members, and colleagues as you can. All proceeds will benefit the work of the nonprofit Cinema St. Louis, which annually presents the St. Louis International Film Festival, St. Louis Filmmakers Showcase, QFest, French Film Festival, and CinemaSpoke screenwriting competition. The three attendees with the highest dollar totals in pledges will receive prize packages, including passes to Cinema St. Louis events.

We'd love for participants to spend all 13-plus hours in the dark, but you can attend as many or few films as you'd like and arrive at any time during the Marathon's run (start times for each film are approximate). Wristbands will allow attendees to enter and exit throughout the event. For example, if you have a hankerin' for beans after "Blazing Saddles," you can leave, have dinner and/or a drink (we recommend a White Russian), and still return for "The Big Lebowski."

The Movie Marathon is a Cinema St. Louis presentation, in partnership with Washington University's Program in Film and Media Studies, which is generously donating the venue and projection services.

To download a printable version of this information, click (here). To download a printable pledge form, click (here).