Magic Lantern film series opens Friday with “The Outsiders”

Cameron University’s Magic Lantern Film Society will launch a new year of classic films Friday with Francis Ford Coppola’s “The Outsiders.”

The long-running series is the society’s homage to film, giving students, faculty, staff and anyone in the community a chance to enjoy great films free of charge (although donations are welcome).

John Morris, professor of English at Cameron University, said the series typically attracts a mixture of Cameron students and community members. While some faculty offer students extra credit for attending certain films, other students are film buffs, Morris said. Upward Bound students often come to the movies, and Morris said some have never heard of the films being shown or the actors starring in them, “but end up loving them.”

Morris remembers one of last year’s films, the 2000 remake of “Ocean’s Eleven.” UpWard Bound Director Sarah Stroud said she was trying to sell her students on the movie, highlighting the fact it starred George Clooney, Brad Pitt and Matt Damon.

“And the students replied: ‘Who are they?’ They ended up loving it nonetheless,” Morris said.

He remembers screening the 1959 classic “Some Like It Hot” many years ago, and one of Upward Bound’s young students asked if the film was in color (the answer is no).

“Even though he wrinkled his nose at the prospect, he ended up loving that film,” Morris said, adding Cameron’s student body president also attended that year because she had never seen a movie starring Marilyn Monroe.

Magic Lantern Society members say that is part of the magic of movies: drawing in people. Attendance is on the rise, after the COVID-19 pandemic forced cancellation of the film series in 2020-2021, before the society began rebuilding the program in 2021-2022. Organizers have sweetened the appeal by offering drawings for gift cards at screenings, and offering popcorn for a true movie theater experience (the snack is free, but donations are accepted).

“Quite a few people stick around after the screenings and chat with us about the movies,” Morris said.

Morris said films typically are selected in the Spring semester before the series launches the following Fall semester.

The work is done by Morris and student officers of the Magic Lantern Society, who meet to discuss classic films that are at least 10 years old and have received critical acclaim of some kind. Acclaim doesn’t mean stuffy: in past years, Magic Lantern has screened cult classics such as “Plan Nine From Outer Space” and “The Night of the Living Dead.”

Members look for films in different genres while also providing movies specific to a particular holiday (this year, “When Harry Met Sally” for Valentine’s Day). In recent years, the Magic Lantern Film Society has begun showing films in February that pertain to Black History Month (this year’s film is the historical drama “Selma”).