Film: Slightly Dangerous (1943) at the Capitol Theater

Slightly Dangerous is described as a “romantic farce” starring Lana Turner, actress and pin-up model (she also had seven husbands, but that’s another story). Slightly Dangerous hasn’t been seen on the big screen in Olympia for 82 years so now is your chance to see it in all its black-and-white glory.

The Olympia Film Society is showing the film as part of its “Rare Prints” series. It describes Slightly Dangerous as:

“Small-town soda-jerk Peggy Evans (Lana Turner) quits her dead-end job and moves to New York where she invents a new identity.”

That identity is as a millionaire’s long-lost daughter—what could go wrong?

This was intended to be a fun movie, released during the middle of World War II, and audiences loved it, although most critics were less enamored: Most thought the rags-to-riches story was too simple—but Turner’s performance stood out.

One critic noted, “Lana Turner typifies modern allure. She is the vamp of today as Theda Bara was of yesterday. However, she doesn't look like a vamp. She is far more deadly because she lets her audience relax.”

Rob Patrick, Olympia Film Society’s director of programming, will introduce the film and he wrote that the film “is part onomatopoeia and part embrace. Lana makes a banana split while blindfolded and it’s more impressive than any Mission Impossible stunt. All these years later, Slightly Dangerous can be viewed as a long-forgotten trifle or a moving tale about identity and longing. But, then again, maybe it’s both.”

Come along Sunday, Sept. 28, 7 p.m. There will be soda, and popcorn and your very own, narrow, squeaky seat (no cup holders provided). You’ll also be able to get a beer or a cider—and why not?

If you need other reasons to come out and see it, it is being shown at the Capitol Theater where you can get beer with your popcorn and feel good about supporting the Olympia Film Society.

The movie starts at 7 p.m., but the box office opens at 6:30 p.m.

Tickets are $13 and cannot be bought online. The Capitol Theater is old style which means you buy your tickets at the box office and there's no assigned seating—although every time I've been there, there are plenty of places to sit.

I plan to arrive around 6:40, linger around outside for a few minutes, and then get my ticket and be seated in the theater with my popcorn and beverage by about 6:50. I generally try to sit in the middle of the theater on the first floor.

Note: I am cross listing this event on other Meetups so there may be more people interested than you see here.