Libraries
and Movies
Compiled
by
Laura
Cobrinik,
Daniel
Gwyn,
Jeff
Lilburn,
Will
Meredith &
Chris
Prince
While this ties into this issue's
Fictional Librarian to
a limited extent, the Marginal thought it would be fun to list a number of
movies involving libraries. First off,
some great movie library moments:
1. Robert Redford
and Dustin Hoffman poring over Library of Congress circulation records in “All
the President's Men.”
2. Morgan Freeman
brooding with Dante as the library janitorial staff play cards in “Seven.”
3. Sean Connery & Christian Slater in monk's cowls lost
in the monastery library in “The Name of the Rose.”
4. Dan Akroyd, Bill Murray and Harold Ramis try to 'get' a
ghostly librarian in the basement of the Manhattan Public Library in
“Ghostbusters.” Also has best library
line, “You're right Ray...no human would stack books like that...”
5. “The Breakfast Club”: hot-boxing the A/V Room.
Other movies with library themes or scenes (of these titles
were taken from a list in February 2000 issue of American Libraries):
Citizen Kane
(A typically negative view of librarians)
The Human
Comedy (Both the 1943 and 1970 versions)
It’s a wonderful
life (Another negative view of librarians)
The FBI
Story
The Music
Man
Breakfast at
Tiffany’s (Those of you heading to New York might want to see what the NYPL
looked like way back when the movie was made.)
The Spy who
came in from the Cold (Richard Burton as a library assistant)
You’re a Big
Boy now
Goodbye
Columbus
Chinatown
(Book vandalism!)
Zardoz
Debbie Does
Dallas (Sex and librarians)
Superman
(Never move your boss’ ladder)
Sophie’s
Choice (Bad reference interview)
Off Beat
Party Girl
Major League
UHF
Indiana
Jones and the Last Crusade (Timing is everything in stamping.)
Walt
Disney’s Beauty and the Beast (A
library as a romantic gift!)
Hard Boiled
(A Hong Kong action flick that features a gun being hidden in library book.)
City of
Angels
The Mummy
(1999 version) (Includes a spectacular demonstration of a poor shelving
technique.)
TV shows featuring librarians:
Due South
(Fraser’s Grandparents were librarians)
Buffy the
Vampire Slayer
John Woo’s
Once a Thief
These lists
are hardly exhaustive, but enough to keep you glued to the boob tube for a
while.