On weekends we present Irene Dunne, Judy Garland, Doris Day and others. Thursdays and Fridays we present Bob Hope, including the first five "Road" pictures with Bing Crosby and Dorothy Lamour.
Bob Hope first appeared on the big screen at the Stanford Theatre on March 3, 1938 (singing 'Thanks for the Memory'), and his frequent pictures have continued to please audiences ever since. When he turned 100 in 2003, the Stanford Theatre presented a Bob Hope Festival. For the seventeen-day festival, we sold 10,228 tickets, averaging 600 each night.
The non-profit Stanford Theatre Foundation is dedicated to the preservation and public exhibition of films from the Golden Age of Hollywood. This means classic movies in a classic movie palace, complete with Wurlitzer organ rising from the orchestra pit every night before and after the 7:30 show, or providing the accompaniment to “silent” films. The theatre itself was built in 1925, and has been restored to recreate the original experience of going to these movies.
Note: This is an unofficial posting of the Stanford Theatre schedules, from published information. This site is in no way connected with the Stanford Theatre nor the Stanford Theatre Foundation. Please check out the official site at stanfordtheatre.org in case this schedule isn't quite up-to-date! Programs are subject to change. For information, call (650) 324-3700.
(Showtimes in parentheses are for the Saturday and Sunday screenings.)
Irene Dunne, Allan Jones, Helen Morgan, Paul Robeson, Charles Winninger, Hattie McDaniel, Donald Cook, Sammy White.
By far the best film version of America's most celebrated musical play, and one of the greatest musical fims ever made, with the sublime Paul Robeson as Joe (singing Ol' Man River) and Helen Morgan as Julie (singing Bill).
"Perhaps more than any other musical film, Show Boat offers a completely accurate depiction of a bygone period. [Director James] Whale manages to blend perfectly his finely crafted sketch of social mores, architectural and interior decor, costume design, and geographic atmosphere with the inherent conventions of the musical." Miles Kreuger
Helen Morgan and Charles Winninger both appeared in the original Broadway show. The role of Joe had been written especially for Paul Robeson, but schedule conflicts kept him out of the initial Broadway production. He took London by storm when he first played the role in 1928. Irene Dunne played Magnolia in Boston in 1929, and Hattie McDaniel played Queenie in San Francisco in 1933.
first played at the Stanford Theatre June 11, 1936; last played Nov 2023
Irene Dunne (Stephanie), Fred Astaire (Huck Haines), Ginger Rogers ("Countess Scharwenka" / Lizzie Gatz), Randolph Scott (John Kent), Helen Westley (Roberta / Aunt Minnie), Victor Varconi (Ladislaw), Claire Dodd (Sophie), Luis Alberni (Voyda), Torben Meyer (Albert).
Famous Paris dress designer Roberta leaves the business to her American nephew (Randolph Scott), who desperately needs the help (and love) of Roberta's sophisticated assistant (Irene Dunne).
While not top-billed, Ginger and Fred have substantial roles and get plenty of chances to dance with freshness and spontaneity. The film ends with a musical fashion show.
This film, based on a Broadway musical, has an exceptionally fine musical score by Jerome Kern, including Let's Begin, I'll Be Hard to Handle, Yesterdays, Smoke Gets in Your Eyes, and Lovely to Look At. Astaire's tap solo I Won't Dance is one of his very best.
Roberta has been the eighty-fourth most widely
attended film at the Stanford Theatre — 15,009 tickets since 1989.
first played at the Stanford Theatre Mar 24, 1935; last played May 2025
Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Dorothy Lamour, Charles Coburn, Judith Barrett, Anthony Quinn, Jerry Colonna.
The son of a wealthy businessman escapes reponsibility by fleeing to Singapore with his best pal. They become a trio when a beautiful dancer moves in.
The easy chemistry between Bob, Bing, and Dorothy made this, the first "Road" picture, an enormous success and spurred the very popular series of Road films..
first played at the Stanford Theatre March 31, 1940; last played May 2001
Bob Hope, Paulette Goddard, Gale Sondergaard, Douglas Montgomery, John Beal, George Zucco, Nydia Westman, Elizabeth Patterson, John Wray.
When the heirs to a spooky Bayou mansion gather at midnight to read the will, it's up to Bob to protect heiress Paulette Goddard from the sinister goings-on. The Cat and the Canary was such a hit that Hope and Goddard were teamed the following year in The Ghostbreakers, another scary comedy.
first played at the Stanford Theatre Dec 6, 1939; last played Aug 2016
Mickey Rooney, Ann Sothern, Tom Drake, Betty Garrett, Janet Leigh, Cyd Charisse, June Allyson, Judy Garland, Mel Torme, Lena Horne, Gene Kelly, Vera-Ellen, Perry Como.
This time Rodgers and Hart get the musical bio treatment, with lavish musical numbers by MGM's greatest stars, including Judy Garland, Gene Kelly, and Lena Horne.
first played at the Stanford Theatre Jan 16, 1949; last played July 2012
Jose Ferrer, Merle Oberon, Paul Henried, Walter Pidgeon, Helen Traubel, Doe Avedon, Tamara Toumanova, Paul Stewart, Gene Kelly, Fred Kelly, Rosemary Clooney, Jane Powell, Ann Miller, Cyd Charisse, James Mitchell, Howard Keel, Tony Martin, Joan Welden.
The life of Sigmund Romberg, whose operettas contain some of the most beautiful music ever written for the American theatre. Jose Ferrer is quite good as Romberg, especially when he presents an outline of a new show during a tea party.
Gene Kelly's brother Fred make his only film appearance in a tap dance number with his famous brother. There is also an impressive Ann Miller jazz specialty number.
first played at the Stanford Theatre Aug 5, 1994; last played Aug. 1994
Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Dorothy Lamour, Una Merkel, Eric Blore, Luis Alberni, Douglas Dumbrille.
In the second film of the Road Show series, Hope and Crosby are circus performers searching for a diamond mine in the dark jungles of Zanzibar.
first played at the Stanford Theatre May 11, 1941; last played May 2001
Bob Hope, Paulette Goddard, Richard Carlson, Paul Lukas, Willie Best, Pedro De Cordoba, Virginia Brissac, Noble Johnson, Anthony Quinn, Tom Dugan, Lloyd Corrigan, Paul Fix.
Bob inadvertently stows away on an ocean liner where he meets an heiress on her way to take possession of her family's haunted ancestral castle.
This comic haunted house thriller is a worthy sequel to Bob and Paulette Goddard's big hit of 1939, The Cat and the Canary.
first played at the Stanford Theatre July 7, 1940; last played Aug 2016
Doris Day, James Cagney, Cameron Mitchell, Robert Keith, Tom Tully, Harry Bellaver, Richard Gaines.
This biography of singer Ruth Etting was a major success for Doris Day. Unlike many glossy musical biographies, it provided an unusually frank portrayal of Etting's relationship with her racketeer husband, played by Cagney with his usual demonic energy.
first played at the Stanford Theatre July 23, 1994; last played May 2019
Doris Day, Frank Sinatra, Ethel Barrymore, Gig Young, Dorothy Malone, Robert Keith, Elizabeth Fraser, Alan Hale, Jr..
A music professor with three daughters welcomes a composer and his cynical friend into their household. The youngest daughter falls in love with the composer, but marries the friend after a misunderstanding.
A musical remake of the 1938 film Four Daughters, this is a very melancholy story where Frank Sinatra, in the John Garfield role, seems at the end of his rope, with Doris Day trying to save him. It is the one time Day worked with Sinatra.
first played at the Stanford Theatre Jan 21, 1955; last played Apr 2019
Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Dorothy Lamour, Anthony Quinn, Dona Drake.
In what many consider to be the best of the Road pictures, Bing Crosby sells Bob Hope into slavery to beautiful princess Dorothy Lamour. Crosby's guilt (and a nightmare visit from Aunt Lucy) send him to his pal's rescue — only to find Hope living in luxury as the princess' intended husband. Wisecracking camels, desert mirage mix-ups and wonderful songs are among the many highlights of this delightfully zany film.
Songs: Road to Morocco, Moonlight Becomes You, Constantly, and Ain't Got a Dime to My Name.
first played at the Stanford Theatre Dec 31, 1942; last played June 2017
Bob Hope, Dorothy Lamour, Peter Lorre, Lon Chaney, Jr., John Hoyt, Charles Dingle, Reginald Denny.
Hilarious film noir satire with Hope playing a baby photographer whose dream of being a detective comes true when his private-eye pal (Alan Ladd, in a cameo) goes on vacation. Soon Hope is ensnared with mysterious Dorothy Lamour and sinister Peter Lorre, but eventually ends up on death row!
first played at the Stanford Theatre May 25, 1947; llast played June 2003
Judy Garland, James Mason, Charles Bickford, Jack Carson, Tommy Noonan, Amanda Blake, Lucy Marlow.
A nightclub singer whose career is on the rise marries an alcoholic movie star on his way down.
The story was first filmed by Cukor himself in 1932 as What Price Hollywood? William Wellman directed the original A Star is Born (1937) with Fredric March and Janet Gaynor. In this version, under Cukor's expert guidance, Judy Garland gives one of the most powerful dramatic and musical performances ever recorded on film.
The musical score, by Harold Arlen and Ira Gershwin, includes Garland's show-stopping torch song The Man That Got Away.
To Cukor's dismay, Warners cut the film considerably after its premiere. In 1983, much of the missing footage was restored, including three musical numbers. Sadly, Cukor died the night before the premiere of his restored masterpiece.
"This is the greatest one-woman performance in the history of motion pictures." Baseline Movie Guide
"A fascinating orgy of self-pity and cynicism and mythmaking. Garland's jagged, tremulous performance is nakedly intense." Pauline Kael
first played at the Stanford Theatre Dec 25, 1954; last played June 2011
Mickey Rooney, Lewis Stone, Fay Holden, Cecilia Parker, Judy Garland, Sara Haden, Ann Rutherford, Tom Neal, Diana Lewis.
Silly Andy Hardy falls for a Manhattan debutante while visiting New York, while poor pal Betsy Booth (Judy Garland) is spending the summer back home in Carvel. This typical episode in the Andy Hardy series is made memorable by Judy Garland's remarkable rendition of I'm Nobody's Baby, one of her greatest hit songs.
The debutante is played by Diana Lewis, who was soon to become Mrs. William Powell. On July 29, 1992, Diana (known as `Mousie') was a guest at the Stanford Theatre to celebrate the 100th anniversary of William Powell's birth.
first played at the Stanford Theatre July 22, 1940; last played Aug 2014
Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Dorothy Lamour, Hillary Brooke, Douglas Dumbrille, Jack LaRue, Robert Benchley.
Fourth in the successful Road series and considered by many to be the funniest, Road to Utopia is told in a flashback with hilarious narration by Robert Benchley. Bob Hope and Dorothy Lamour reminisce about their adventures in the Yukon during which they gained a gold mine but lost their best friend (Crosby).
The Road to Utopia was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Screenplay.
Preserved by the UCLA Film Archive.
first played at the Stanford Theatre May 1, 1946; last played June 2011
Bob Hope, Madeleine Carroll, Gale Sondergaard, George Zucco, Lionel Royce, Walter Kingsford, Victor Varconi.
In one of Bob Hope's funniest films, he plays a vaudeville comic (with a penguin sidekick that makes more money than he does) who gets mixed up with a glamorous spy.
first played at the Stanford Theatre May 17, 1942; last played June 2003
Warner Baxter, Ruby Keeler, Bebe Daniels, George Brent, Una Merkel, Guy Kibbee, Dick Powell, Ginger Rogers, Ned Sparks, George E. Stone, Allen Jenkins, Edward J. Nugent, Robert McWade.
The definitive, backstage musical that first established all the clichés: the leading lady who sprains her ankle on opening night, the unknown, spunky young girl (Ruby Keeler) who takes her place, the dim-witted sugar-daddy who backs the show, the wise-cracking chorus girls. The typical Warners relentless pace is combined with Busby Berkeley's choreographic genius; the musical numbers are an amazing kaleidoscope of spectacle and pattern.
first played at the Stanford Theatre Mar 27, 1933; last played Oct 2022
Jeanette MacDonald, Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy, Jack Holt, Jessie Ralph, Ted Healy, Shirley Ross, Margaret Irving, Harold Huber, Edgar Kennedy, Al Shean.
The Barbary Coast in 1906, with Clark Gable as a saloon keeper, Spencer Tracy as a priest, and Jeanette MacDonald as the singing belle of San Francisco. Although Gable was initially reluctant to star with singer MacDonald, their chemistry is undeniable. The fabulous earthquake and fire sequence lasts 20 minutes, and is a fitting finale to one of the most popular movies of the decade.
first played at the Stanford Theatre July 12, 1936; last played Aug 2008
Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Dorothy Lamour, Gale Sondergaard, Frank Faylen, the Weire Brothers, the Andrews Sisters.
The boys play musicians who stow away on an ocean liner bound for Rio (they're on the run from the law after setting fire to a carnival). While onboard, they befriend mysterious damsel in distress Lamour. Hope finally ends up with Lamour -- or does he? Road to Rio was the top grossing film of the year.
first played at the Stanford Theatre Jan 25, 1948; last played June 2011
Bob Hope, Jane Russell, Robert Armstrong, Iris Adrian, Robert Watson, Jack Searl, Joseph Vitale, Charles Trowbridge, Clem Bevans, Jeff York, Stanley Andrews, Wade Crosby, Chief Yowlachie, Iron Eyes Cody, John Maxwell, Tom Kennedy, Henry Brandon, Francis J. McDonald, Frank Hagney, Skelton Knaggs, Olin Howland.
Cowardly dentist Painless Potter (Hope) is mistaken for a quick-drawing gunslinger after he marries Calamity Jane in one of Hope's best and funniest films. Bob and Jane sing the Academy Award-winning Buttons and Bows.
first played at the Stanford Theatre January 20, 1949; last played June 2003
W.C. Fields, Martha Raye, Dorothy Lamour, Shirley Ross, Lynne Overman, Bob Hope, Ben Blue, Leif Erikson, Patricia Wilder, Grace Bradley, Rufe Davis, Lionel Pape, Dorothy Howe, Russell Hicks, Kirsten Flagstad (Metropolitan Opera Co.), Wilfred Pelletier (Metropolitan Opera Co.), Shep Fields and His Rippling Rhythm Orchestra.
Two steamships, the Gigantic and the Colossal, compete for a prize going across the Atlantic in two and a half days. While the crew struggles to keep the Colossal going after a mishap, the ship's entertainment is broadcast on the radio (which is rigged to bring power to the engine's propeller somehow!). This was Bob Hope's first film, and the one in which he sings what would become his trademark song, Thanks for the Memory (which won the Academy Award for Best Song of 1938).
first played at the Stanford Theatre Mar 3, 1938; last played June 2011
Martha Raye, Bob Hope, Andy Devine, Alan Mowbray, Gale Sondergaard, Sig Rumann,
Ernest Crossart, Paul Harvey, Frances Arms, Ivan Simpson, Monty Woolley.
A millionaire hypochondriac, heir to the Kidley Bean fortune, thinking he has
just weeks to live, marries a kooky heiress to help her out. Then he finds
out he's not dying.
first played at the Stanford Theatre July 2, 1939; last played Nov 2019
Never Say Die (1939)
5:55, 9:15
d Elliott Nugent.
w Don Hartmann, Frank Butler and Preston Sturges, from the play by W. H.
Post and William Collier, Sr.
ph Leo Tover.
md Boris Morros.
Paramount. 80 min.