Fox Tucson hosts classic Hollywood films in July

Back in its 1930s infancy, Fox Tucson Theatre served a dual purpose as a vaudeville/movie house.

One night, you’d have live entertainment and the next, they’d show the latest “talkie” out of Hollywood.

The theatre, which has weathered a 25-year shutdown, a multimillion-dollar renovation, economic slumps and a global pandemic, has never really forgotten its roots.

This month, the Fox is screening five classic films spanning the golden age of Hollywood, from 1939’s “Wizard of Oz” shown earlier this week to the 2021 Disney musical “Encanto” on Sunday, July 20.

Tickets for the screenings at the Fox, 17 W. Congress St., are $10; it’s $12 for the sing-along version of “Encanto” through foxtucson.com.

There is just one live show on the July lineup, the critically-acclaimed Queen tribute band Gary Mullen & The Works performing “One Night of Queen” on July 26.

‘Harvey’

There’s eccentric and then there’s Elwood P. Dowd (James Stewart), a man who goes around town introducing his best friend, Harvey, to friends and strangers, most of whom give him a quizzical look. See, Harvey is a 6-foot-tall white rabbit that no one except Elwood can see.

This 1950 comedy-drama about an eccentric man living in a large estate with his niece and sister, who have all become outcasts courtesy of Elwood’s obsession with his invisible friend, earned Stewart a Best Actor Academy Award nomination and Josephine Hull the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress.

The story is centered around Elwood’s sister Vera’s efforts to have her brother committed to a local sanatorium after he ruined her party.

“Harvey” will screen at 7:30 p.m. Friday, July 18.

Disney’s ‘Encanto Sing-Along’

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The audience can sing along to “We Don’t Talk About Bruno,” “Waiting on a Miracle,” “All of You,” “What Else Can I Do,” and the half dozen other songs. They were composed by Lin-Manuel Miranda (“Hamilton, “In the Heights,” “Moana”), who won a Grammy and was nominated for an Academy Award for his soundtrack to the animated film about a multigenerational Colombian family protected by a magical candle.

The candle grants special powers to children once they turn 5, but when Mirabel wakes up on her fifth birthday and has no special powers or talents, she sets out for answers that could save her magical village.

“Encanto Sing-Along” begins at 2 p.m. Sunday, July 20.

‘All About Eve’

Joseph L. Mankiewicz’s 1950 black-and-white masterpiece explores the theater world’s sometimes dark underbelly through the ambitions of the ruthlessly manipulative fan Eve Harrington (Anne Baxter).

Eve inserts herself into the life and career of the aging star Margo Channing (Bette Davis), threatening her career and her personal relationships. The film also features George Sanders, Celeste Holm, Gary Merrill, Hugh Marlowe and a young Marilyn Monroe in one of her earliest roles.

You can see it at 7:30 p.m. July 25.

‘The Goonies’

A band of adventurous kids who don’t blip their peers’ popularity radar discover a pirate map to a hidden treasure that could save their idyllic “Goon Docks” neighborhood in Astoria, Oregon, from becoming part of a country club.

The Steven Spielberg film stars Sean Astin, Josh Brolin, Jeff Cohen, Corey Feldman, Kerri Green, Martha Plimpton and Ke Huy Quan in breakout roles. Only one of them, Cohen, didn’t go on to pursue acting as an adult. Cohen appeared in small roles in three other films through 1991 and had guest appearances on several television shows through 1987 before he left acting to pursue a career as a lawyer.

Fun fact: Cohen negotiated the casting deal for his fellow “Goonies” costar Quan for 2022’s “Everything Everywhere All At Once” and was in the audience when Quan won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar at the 95th Academy Awards.

“The Goonies” will screen at 2 p.m. July 27.