Ross begins classic movies series

Rest assured - the Movies on the Green series is shorter due to scheduling conflicts with the Special Olympics, not because it is about to disappear anytime soon for a lack of funding or public enthusiasm.
Movies on the Green, a series of films shown on the grass in front of Kimball Recital Hall, has existed under that name for about 10 years, but the tradition of outdoor films presented by the Ross and University Program Council is not new.
"It really took off," said Danny Ladely, director of the Mary Riepma Ross Media Arts Center, upon recalling the first outdoors movies shown on campus over 20 years ago, "and we've been doing it ever since."
The series has a different theme each summer, with this year's line-up made of comedies, a clear contrast to last year's bill of Depression-era cinema.
The series will run four weeks, two shorter than usual due to the timing of the 2010 Special Olympics USA National Games, and begins tonight with one of Frank Capra's earliest classics, "It Happened One Night," and a short Charlie Chaplin film, "The Floorwalker".
Movies on the Green runs with the films provided by a donation from Jerry Jensen's Cinema 16 Collection of over 1000 film prints spanning from the silent era to the 1980s.
Though the movies aren't the most recent blockbusters, they always attract patrons of all ages, Ladely said, even young people.
"They don't necessarily get exposed to older films as much," he said.
There will be popcorn, cold drinks and candy for sale, and people usually bring sleeping bags, blankets and lawn chairs. The event is free and open to the public. The films start around dusk, at about 9 p.m.
emilywalkenhorst@dailynebraskan.com