Films on the Hill

About Films on the Hill

Classic Films from the Capitol Hill Arts Workshop.

Films on the Hill is a volunteer-run film society, and the only venue in the Washington, D.C. area showing exclusively “old” films (i.e. films from the 1910s to the 1950s). All films are 16mm and most are original prints. We provide a combination of well-known classics and also more unique fare, some of which have seldom if ever been shown in our area in any format.

Films on the Hill shows approximately three films per month, both sound and silent films. Some silent films have live piano accompaniment by Ray Brubacher; others have recorded music. Most shows begin with a short film or cartoon and we are the only theater in the area doing this on a regular basis. Programs during the past years have included Dodsworth, Alexander’s Ragtime Band, Trouble in Paradise, The Masquerader, Blackmail, Anthony Adverse, The Scarlet Pimpernel, The Hatchet Man, They Came to Blow Up America, the technicolor version of The Black Pirate and Toll of the Sea. In the summer of 2001 we had a mini-Zorro series. Some of our more unusual films have included those by F.W. Murnau, Maurice Tourneur and Fritz Lang and films starring Pola Negri, Lon Chaney, William S. Hart, Tom Mix and Buck Jones. When Robert Altman’s Gosford Park was shown, our audiences saw a film with the real Ivor Novello (The Rat) and Charlie Chan in London. Accompanying the new film by Peter Bogdanovich (The Cat’s Meow), we had an evening of films produced by Thomas H. Ince. Some of our short films have included cartoons with Felix the Cat, and 2-reel comedies with Charley Chase and Laurel and Hardy.

Concessions are available at all our film shows: freshly made popcorn, candy bars and sodas. We have the best prices in town on concessions: everything is $1.00.

We participate in other D.C. film events and took part in the Environmental Film Festival in March of 2001-2006. In October 2001 we hosted the Cary Grant fan club. During November and December 2001 we took part in the Marlene Dietrich Centennial film series with five films, each demonstrating a different aspect of her career. In January 2002 when the National Gallery of Art’s Fritz Lang series of films was presented, we had guest accompanist from California, Robert Israel, playing his own arrangement for Four Around the Woman (1921) a rare film omitted from the other Fritz Lang retrospectives in other cities of the U.S. and Canada. In July 2003 we took part in the Slapsticon Festival of early comedy.

Admission for all films is $5; discount passes are available. We welcome feedback from our theater patrons. Please join our e-mail list or contact us by e-mail.

Be sure to check out the official Films on the Hill website for more details about each film, searchable archives, and more!

Film Schedule

AUGUST 2006

Wednesday, August 9, 2006- 7:00 p.m
Two Fisted Law & Texas Cyclone(1932)
Directed by D. Ross Lederman

Wednesday, August 16, 2006- 7:00 p.m
Powdersmoke Range (1935)
Directed by Wallace Fox

Friday, August 18, 2006- 7:00 p.m
Bugles in the Afternoon (1952)
Directed by Roy Rowland

SEPTEMBER 2006

Wednesday, September 13, 2006- 7:00 p.m
Twinkletoes (1926)
Directed by Charles Brabin

Saturday, September 16, 2006- 7:00 p.m
Arséne Lupin (1931)
Directed by Jack Conway

Wednesday, September 20, 2006- 7:00 p.m
Die Andre Seite (The Other Side) (1931)
Directed by Heinz Paul

General Information

• All films are shown at 7:00 p.m. (unless otherwise noted) at the
  Capitol Hill Arts Workshop
  545 7th Street SE
  Washington, DC 20003
  202-547-6839
• All films are 16mm.
• Tickets are $5 which helps support the Capitol Hill Arts Workshop.
• NEW! A discount pass--$25 for 6 films.

For more information e-mail filmsonthehill@yahoo.com.

Program Coordinator

John Stone