Get out of the house on the third Wednesday evening of each month and enjoy films on the big screen with us!

The Drill Hall Film Society screens classic films at an affordable price in comfortable tiered seating in our air-conditioned theatre. Grab a delicious snack and beverage from the bar, and be part of our lively film discussions after each show.

Become a Film Society subscriber for just $75 and gain entry to 11 films/year (or $60 if you’re a Drill Hall Theatre Company associate member). Casual guest rates cost $10/film.

Renewals due in July.

Contact Peter on [email protected] for more information or to become a member.

Wednesday 20th August @ 7pm

In the late fifties, during the height of the Cold War, Tom Lehrer wrote his great satirical song We Will All Go Together When We Go and by 1962 Stanley Kubrick had bought the film rights to the thriller Red Alert, by the retired RAF navigator Peter George. He meant to direct an action film about a nuclear war triggered by a solitary madman, but some way into his work on the script he realised the story was too appalling for serious treatment and decided to recast it as an out-and-out satire. It has become, without doubt, the fiercest, political, satirical farce of all times.

Dr. Strangelove and 2001: A Space Odyssey are Kubrick’s masterpieces and share a common theme: Humans design machinery that functions with perfect logic to bring about a disastrous outcome. The U.S. nuclear deterrent and the Russian “doomsday machine” function exactly as they are intended and so destroy life on earth. The computer HAL 9000 serves the space mission by attacking the astronauts.

In real life in 1962 a Russian submarine officer, Vasili Arkhipov, is credited with averting a nuclear catastrophe during the Cuban Missile Crisis, when he refused to authorise the launch of a nuclear torpedo when the submarine was under attack by U.S. ships. His decision to surface the submarine and await orders from Moscow is widely seen as having prevented a nuclear war.

Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove could hardly be more appropriate to screen today as madmen from all sides continue to hold the world to ransom with their fingers on the button.

Wednesday 24th September @ 7pm

A tremendous central duo breathe life into Paul McGuigan’s endearing retelling of the real-life romance between a struggling young actor and Oscar-winner Gloria Grahame.

Gloria Grahame (Annette Bening) played the Femme Fatale in many Noir films and even the kooky Ado Annie in Oklahoma! Sadly, she passed away of stomach cancer at the early age of 57 in Liverpool while on a theatrical tour of Britain. This film focuses on her rather melancholy final days and real-life romance with Peter Turner, a young actor 30 years her junior (Jamie Bell).

Director Paul McGuigan finds the balance between pathos and humour, working from Matt Greenhalgh’s screen adaptation of Peter Turner’s memoir.

Peter and Gloria have a yearning to play Romeo and Juliet, and there is a Capulet/Montague tribal division: Britain and American, young and not-young, famous and not-famous. There is an interesting scene when Peter takes Gloria down to the local pub for a couple of pints of beer. Gloria goes off to the loo while Peter pays for the drinks, and the barman asks, with an air of disbelief: “Isn’t that Gloria Grahame …?”

There is a real spark between Bell and Bening, who give wonderfully relaxed performances and are tremendous as the star-crossed lovers. Also, great performances from Julie Walters and Stephen Graham. Oh, and you may need to bring a tissue.