The Humboldt County Library Based on the Book film series for April is underway with a focus on classic films by director John Ford. Wynston Jones serves as host for a Tuesday, April 12, screening of How Green Was My Valley, winner of the 1941 Best Picture and Best Director Oscar, starring Walter Pidgeon, Roddy McDowell, Sara Allgood and Maureen O'Hara in a story about a turn-of-the-century Welsh coal mining community, based on a novel by Richard Llewellyn.
Tuesday, April 19, yours truly introduces My Darling Clementine, a 1946 Western about the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, a shootout between the Earps and the Clantons, starring Henry Fonda as Wyatt Earp, Victor Mature as Doc Holliday and Walter Brennan as the cattleman Old Man Clanton. The film is loosely based on the book Wyatt Earp: Frontier Marshal, by Stuart N. Lake, but Ford takes some liberties with actual history.
Wynston Jones, who once taught a full course on Westerns, returns April 26 for The Searchers, based on the novel by Alan Le May. The Ford classic from 1956, deemed the "Greatest American Western" of all time by the American Film Institute, stars John Wayne as a Confederate veteran searching through Indian country for his kidnapped niece (Lana Wood), with help from the girl's adopted brother (Jeffrey Hunter).
All Based on the Book screenings begin at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesdays at the Humboldt County Library Eureka branch, 1313 3rd St. A short introduction precedes each film; discussion follows. There is no charge for admission. For more details call 269-1962 or go to co.humboldt.ca.us/library.