Pickford Film Center and Rocket Donuts present...

Rocket Sci-Fi Matinees: A Monthly Series of Classic Science Fiction at 50’s Prices

As the folks at Rocket Donuts say, “Donuts just ain’t serious business,” and sometimes film shouldn’t be either. Our features may be an unintentionally hilarious B-Movie (Queen from Outer Space, for instance), a semi-serious commentary on our fear of nuclear holocaust or Alien invasions (such as Invasion of the Body Snatchers), special effects extravaganza’s of the day (Forbidden Planet) or our grand series of Jack Arnold 3D spectaculars.

Frankly, there is never a dull moment as each month’s edition of Rocket Sci-Fi unspools. Always featured at noon on a Saturday (usually the 2nd or 3rd Saturday of the month), admission is $2.00—impossible to beat for a classic on the big screen! Don’t forget to buy your real-buttered popcorn and soft drinks for the complete experience.

Village of the Damned

 Showing at Pickford Pickford
  • Sat. 6/16 12:00 PM

77 minutes • 1960 • UK • In English • Unrated

Film Trailer

Rocket Sci-Fi Matinee: $2 admission

"The atmosphere and pace are superbly handled, and the performances of the sinister, inhumanly intelligent 'children' never falter." Time Out

Something is seriously amiss in the tiny British village of Midwich. At 11 a.m. one morning, every village resident suddenly falls asleep -- and then, just as suddenly, everyone wakes up, completely unaffected by the phenomenon. Well, not completely: virtually every woman of childbearing years has become pregnant. All the babies are born on the same night, at precisely the same moment. All look the same, weigh the same, and even have the same curious cross-hatched hair and underdeveloped fingernails. Four years later, the children have all prematurely reached the age of nine or so -- and all behave in a weird, conspiratorial manner, comporting themselves more like adults than kids. Resident scientist George Sanders, one of the fathers, surmises that the bizarre manner of the children -- from their zombie-like movements to their cold, staring eyes -- is the result of radioactivity, possibly extraterrestrial in nature. One thing is certain: the children possess powers far beyond those of ordinary mortals. And they must be stopped. One of the most influential science fiction films of the 1960s, Village of the Damned was based on the equally eerie John Wyndham novel The Midwich Cuckoos. The more explicit 1995 remake was widely panned in comparison.

Children of the Damned

 Showing at Pickford Pickford
  • Sat. 7/14 12:00 PM

90 minutes • 1963 • UK • In English • Unrated

Film Trailer

Rocket Sci-Fi Matinee: $2 admission

"This follow-up to 1960′s classic horror film Village of the Damned takes the original story’s essential concept — children with superhuman intelligence who pose a threat to humanity — and shifts it into an entirely different context. This time, the children (though still mysteriously born to virginal mothers) live in various countries around the world, look different (rather than wearing the same blonde wig, they’re a veritable multicultural crew), and aren’t posited as inherently evil or alien — indeed, they only band together once they realize that they’re about to be used as pawns by governments eager to exploit their extraordinary talents for military purposes. The second half of the film basically features a show-down between the children and British military forces, with additional drama generated through a quibbling pair of scientists (Ian Hendry and Alan Badel) who disagree about whether the children should be destroyed or protected." FilmFanatic.org