What we’re about
People often ask me, "What IS a Classic Movie?". Well, one thing for sure is that it doesn't HAVE to be made before you were born AND it doesn't HAVE to be in B&W. It MAY be both but, on the contrary, it may have come out in 2023 at Christmastime, like Alexander Payne's The Holdovers. A Classic Movie is a GREAT *movie that stands the test of time but may not be truly appreciated in its own time, like **Frank Capra's *It's a Wonderful Life (1946).
MISSION STATEMENT: Let's get together and watch GREAT movies of ALL eras & genres on The Big Screen AND at small events at members’ homes!
Our goal is not JUST seeing the best movies of both the past AND today, but making time afterward to talk about them and perhaps even becoming Film Friends.
There will also occasionally be events related to other areas of the Arts and local culture.
And each year we have an Oscars Party!
Although based in Fenton, MO, we will host events throughout the Metropolitan area, on BOTH sides of the Mississippi AND Missouri Rivers, including both St. Charles County and Edwardsville, IL!
We are looking for an ACTIVE membership, which for us means you'll attend at least ONE event each year.
Please submit a recent "selfie" profile photo when you join so we can easily recognize you at our doorsteps and in public places. Profile photos are most effective when they include only one human being and when that human being is not wearing sunglasses =OR= a hat.
I hope you'll also consider supporting my wife, Shirley's, plant-based eating group: https://www.meetup.com/plant-based-stl/
Established Monday, 11/19/2018!
Upcoming events
5
THE ORPHANAGE (2007) @ The ARKADIN/$9
Arkadin Cinema & Bar, 5228 Gravois Ave, St. Louis, MO, USJanuary 2026 Schedule
https://arkadincinema.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/January-2026-768x593.webp
General Admission - $9
5228 Gravois Avenue | St. Louis, MO 63116
Microcinema in the Heart of Bevo!
https://arkadincinema.com/events/
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Since this 50-seat theater DOES sell out its most popular events, it is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED that you buy your tickets online asap.
There is NO FEE for this service.
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PLENTY of Public Parking a block closer to the Bevo Mill @ Walsh/Duke & Gravois!
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After the movie, we will gather in the lobby for lively, provocative, and insightful conversation--OR as close as we can come to that, anyway--HA!
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Dark Dream Cinema is a monthly film series devoted to the creeping undercurrents of the arthouse scene, hosted by Michael Morlaine.
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“It’s scary as hell, and perfectly crafted to be scary as hell.” Tim Brayton, Alternate Ending
Raised as an orphan on the coast of Spain, Laura returns to the seaside home of her youth with her husband Carlos and their adopted son, Simón. But something else dwells there, too, as revealed when Simón befriends a spectral child in a sackcloth mask—and when her son disappears, Laura must face the ghosts of her own past to find him. Produced by Guillermo del Toro, The Orphanage is a haunting foray into heartrending terror. A tribute to such classics as The Innocents and The Changeling, this Spanish-Mexican production won praise for its lush aesthetic and brooding atmosphere. Shot on location in northwestern Spain—and making full use of the region’s beaches, lighthouses, and caves—The Orphanage immerses viewers in a world of spirits and secrets, pitched somewhere between the waking world of the living and the nightmarish land of the dead.
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The Arkadin does not generally provide advisories about subject matter or potentially triggering content in films, as sensitivities vary from person to person. However, we encourage researching titles to determine if a screening may contain content that could be upsetting to you. Please feel free to contact us for guidance on specific films. Information about content can also be found on Common Sense Media, IMDB and DoesTheDogDie.com, as well as through general internet searches.
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NOTE: On Rotten Tomatoes, this movie has an 87% on the Tomatometer and an 86% on the Popcornmeter.
https://arkadincinema.com/event/the-orphanage-2007-presented-by-dark-dream-cinema/ [Includes Trailer]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Orphanage_(2007_film)2 attendees
STAND BY ME (1986) @ The ARKADIN/$7
Arkadin Cinema & Bar, 5228 Gravois Ave, St. Louis, MO, USSCHEDULE
2:30PM - Rob Reiner tribute pre-show
3PM - STAND BY ME (1986)
January 2026 Schedule
https://arkadincinema.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/January-2026-768x593.webp
General Admission - $7
5228 Gravois Avenue | St. Louis, MO 63116
Microcinema in the Heart of Bevo!
https://arkadincinema.com/events/
******************************************************************************
Since this 50-seat theater DOES sell out its most popular events, it is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED that you buy your tickets online asap.
There is NO FEE for this service.
******************************************************************************
PLENTY of Public Parking a block closer to the Bevo Mill @ Walsh/Duke & Gravois!
******************************************************************************
After the movie, we will gather in the lobby for lively, provocative, and insightful conversation--OR as close as we can come to that, anyway--HA!
******************************************************************************
A Rob Reiner tribute pre-show, featuring clips of the legendary actor-director-writer-producer will precede the film starting at 2:30 pm.
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Based on The Body by Stephen King.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Body_(King_novella)
“An absorbing, touching examination of the loss of innocence that undeniably deserves its place in the heart of a generation.” – Empire
During one of the most extraordinary directorial runs in cinema’s history, Rob Reiner made the foundational mockumentary (This Is Spinal Tap), the ultimate fantasy adventure (The Princess Bride), the quintessential rom-com (When Harry Met Sally…), an all-timer courtroom drama (A Few Good Men), and, of course, one of the all-time great coming-of-age films, STAND BY ME. Arkadin pays tribute to Reiner’s legacy—cut tragically and violently short—with a screening of this enduring classic of boyhood camaraderie and the loss of innocence. Based on a short story by Steven King, the film follows a group of friends as they traverse the wilderness to take a peek a dead body, a journey that will change them forever. Assembling an incredible cast of future stars, including Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman, and Jerry O’Connell, STAND BY ME showcases Reiner’s humanism, his warm (yet sharp) sense of humor, and his rare ability to explore life’s darker corners with a delicate touch.
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The Arkadin does not generally provide advisories about subject matter or potentially triggering content in films, as sensitivities vary from person to person. However, we encourage researching titles to determine if a screening may contain content that could be upsetting to you. Please feel free to contact us for guidance on specific films. Information about content can also be found on Common Sense Media, IMDB and DoesTheDogDie.com, as well as through general internet searches.
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NOTE: On Rotten Tomatoes, this movie has a 92% on the Tomatometer and a 94% on the Popcornmeter.
https://arkadincinema.com/event/stand-by-me-1986-w-rob-reiner-tribute-pre-show-230-pm/ [Includes Trailer]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stand_by_Me_(film)
scripts.com/script/stand_by_me_187444 attendees
THE SIGN OF THE CROSS (1932) @ The ARKADIN/$7
Arkadin Cinema & Bar, 5228 Gravois Ave, St. Louis, MO, USPostponed to 1/5/26 due to 12/1/25 weather.
December 2025 Schedule
https://i0.wp.com/arkadincinema.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/cal.webp?w=1936&ssl=1
General Admission - $7
5228 Gravois Avenue | St. Louis, MO 63116
Microcinema in the Heart of Bevo!
https://arkadincinema.com/events/
******************************************************************************
Since this 50-seat theater DOES sell out its most popular events, it is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED that you buy your tickets online asap.
There is NO FEE for this service.
******************************************************************************
PLENTY of Public Parking a block closer to the Bevo Mill @ Walsh/Duke & Gravois!
******************************************************************************
After the movie, we will gather in the lobby for lively, provocative, and insightful conversation--OR as close as we can come to that, anyway--HA!
******************************************************************************
Forbidden Hollywood is a monthly series hosted by STL film critic Katie Carter celebrating the Pre-Code films of the early 1930s, when movies were wild, racy, transgressive, and tons of fun.
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- Based on The Sign of the Cross (1895 play) by Wilson Barrett.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sign_of_the_Cross_(play)
Deemed “some of the boldest censor-bait ever attempted in a motion picture,” Cecil B. DeMille’s 1932 comeback after a string of flops finds the director known for his opulent epics working at his most unhinged and horniest. THE SIGN OF THE CROSS tells the story of forbidden love between Roman prefect Marcus Superbus (Fredric March) and Christian woman Mercia (Elissa Landi) during the time when Ancient Rome was ruled over by the mad Emperor Nero (Charles Laughton). Any sanctimonious messaging in DeMille’s adaptation of the play of the same name is overrun by its brash portrait of excess and depravity. Whether it was the queer content—both in regards to Laughton’s portrayal of Nero and the lesbian seduction dance intended to sway the pious Mercia away from her faith—the brutal torture scenes and violent arena climax pitting everything from Amazon warriors to pygmies to an assortment of wild animals against each other (prompting reports of audience members fainting in shock), or the famous scene in which a nude Empress Poppaea (Claudette Colbert) bathes in milk, there was no shortage of sordid content in THE SIGN OF THE CROSS leading to film historian Mark Vieira referring to it as the most “controversial” film of the pre-Code era, and to the creation of the Catholic Legion of Decency that ultimately contributed to its end.
“Cecil B. DeMille’s insanely lavish treatise on the decline and fall of Western Civilization… was made in 1932, shortly before the Production Code fell so heavily on Hollywood, and DeMille seizes the opportunity to indulge the full range of his perversity one last time… Thoroughly mad and immensely enjoyable.” – Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader
The Arkadin does not generally provide advisories about subject matter or potentially triggering content in films, as sensitivities vary from person to person. However, we encourage researching titles to determine if a screening may contain content that could be upsetting to you. Please feel free to contact us for guidance on specific films. Information about content can also be found on Common Sense Media, IMDB and DoesTheDogDie.com, as well as through general internet searches.
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NOTE: On Rotten Tomatoes, this movie has a 50% on the Tomatometer and a 64% on the Popcornmeter.
https://arkadincinema.com/event/cecil-b-demilles-epic-of-orgiastic-excess-the-sign-of-the-cross-1932-presented-by-forbidden-hollywood/ [Includes Trailer]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sign_of_the_Cross_(1932_film)
https://www.scripts.com/script/the_sign_of_the_cross_181192 attendees
Past events
522
Group links
Members
60
