Thursdays, August 7, 14, 21 & 28, 2025
Doors & wine open at 7:30 PM
Film begins at 8 PM
The Athenaeum's outdoor movie series, Flicks on the Bricks, invites you to enjoy classic movies on our patio during beautiful summer nights. In August, KPBS film critic, arts reporter, and Cinema Junkie podcast host Beth Accomando returns to host the 19th annual Flicks on the Bricks series. This year, she has chosen four timeless comedies celebrating witty women.
Laughter is always a good thing, and movies have a gift for making us laugh. This summer let’s laugh with some of the brightest, wittiest, most glamorous women of the silver screen. The powerful actresses we see now owe a great debt to some of the women who came before them and blazed a trail. Mae West was 40—the age many actresses found themselves being retired from the screen—when she made her first movie, plus she wrote her own material. Norma Shearer ruled as Queen of MGM for decades, while Carole Lombard and Jean Arthur came to define the effervescent energy of screwball comedies. Join us in celebrating the legacy of these stellar women with a quartet of delightful films.
Series tickets for the open-air theater include four memorable films: She Done Him Wrong (1933), My Man Godfrey (1936), Private Lives (1931), and Easy Living (1937).
Popcorn is included with your ticket. Beverages (alcoholic and non-alcoholic) will be available for purchase. Plus, enjoy weekly trivia and prizes throughout the series. Join the Athenaeum for its 19th year of hot summer fun!
Thursday, August 7, 2025 » She Done Him Wrong (1933)
Cast: starring Mae West, Cary Grant, Owen Moore; director, Lowell Sherman
Runtime: 1 hr. 6 min.
Tagline: Mae West gives a "HOT TIME" to the Nation
In the Gay Nineties, a seductive nightclub singer contends with several suitors, including a jealous escaped convict and a handsome temperance league member.
Academy Awards, USA: Nominee: Best Picture
Memorable Quote: Lady Lou: “I always did like a man in a uniform. That one fits you grand. Why don't you come up some time and see me?”
Fun Trivia: Mae West was sewn into most of her costumes.
Genre: Comedy
Thursday, August 14, 2025 » My Man Godfrey (1936)
Cast: starring William Powell, Carole Lombard, Alice Brady; director, Gregory La Cava
Runtime: 1 hr. 34 min.
Tagline: Butler! FOR THE COCK-EYEDEST FAMILY in the WHOLE WORLD!...and the butler-blonde battle was on!
A scatterbrained socialite hires a vagrant as a family butler, much to the dismay of her father—but there's more to Godfrey than meets the eye.
Academy Awards, USA: Nominee: Best Actor in a Leading Role, William Powell; Best Actress in a Leading Role, Carole Lombard; Best Actor in a Supporting Role, Mischa Auer; Best Actress in a Supporting Role, Alice Brady; Best Director, Gregory La Cava; Best Writing, Screenplay, Eric Hatch and Morrie Ryskind
Memorable Quote: Alexander Bullock: “All you need to start an asylum is an empty room and the right kind of people.”
Fun Trivia: William Powell suggested his ex-wife Carole Lombard for the leading role with the explanation that his real-life romance with her had been much the same as it was for the characters of Godfrey and Irene.
Genre: Comedy
Thursday, August 21, 2025 » Private Lives (1931)
Cast: starring Norma Shearer, Robert Montgomery, Reginald Denny; director,
Sidney Franklin; writer, Noël Coward
Runtime: 1 hr. 24 min.
Tagline: THEY FOUGHT LIKE WILD-CATS! BUT COOED LIKE TURTLE DOVES!
A divorced couple, each honeymooning with a new mate, unexpectedly meet each other in adjoining suites and rekindle their love (and hate).
Memorable Quote: Elyot: “Certain women should be struck regularly, like gongs.”
Fun Trivia: Robert Montgomery was accidentally knocked unconscious during the fight scene with Norma Shearer.
Genre: Comedy
Thursday, August 28, 2025 » Easy Living (1937)
Cast: starring Jean Arthur, Edward Arnold, Ray Milland; director, Mitchell Leisen; writer, Preston Sturges
Runtime: 1 hr. 28 min.
Tagline: IT HAS NO RHYME...IT HAS NO REASON...IT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE...IT MAKES LAUGHS!
When a wealthy banker throws his wife's expensive fur coat off a roof and it lands on the head of a stenographer, everyone assumes she is his mistress and has access to his millions.
Memorable Quote: Mary Smith: “You don't have to get mad just because you're so stupid.”
Fun Trivia: $58,000, the price of the sable coat in 1937, would equate to over $1.28 million in 2025.
Genre: Comedy
INDIVIDUAL FILMS:
$22 member / $27 nonmember
SERIES OF 4 FILMS:
$80 member / $100 nonmember
The films will be shown in person and outdoors on the Athenaeum Music & Arts Library patio. There are no physical tickets for these events. Your name will be on an attendee list at the front door. Doors open at 7:30 p.m. Seating is first-come; first-served. Priority seating will be given to Donor level members and above.
Ticket Confirmation Notice:
Your reservation is not complete until you receive an email confirmation. If you do not receive a confirmation email, your tickets have not been reserved. Please check your inbox and spam/junk folder or contact us at info@ljathenaeum.org or (858) 454-5872 to ensure your booking is finalized.
Thank you!