Salute to Veterans Film Festival
Linden Public Library
After a year off because of the pandemic, the Linden Public Library is proud to once again present its annual “Salute to Veterans Film Festival”. Four very different films about the Second World War will be presented during November. Each one is based on real events during and after the war.
On Monday, November 8 at 1:00 p.m., the library will show the 2018 film The Catcher Was a Spy. This film stars Paul Rudd as former big league catcher, Moe Berg, who was known as “the brainiest man in baseball” and was described by Casey Stengel as “the strangest man ever to play baseball”. While only an average player during his baseball career, Berg served as an undercover member of the Office of Special Services in leading espionage missions during the war. This film was based on a book of the same title.
On Friday, November 12 at 1:00 p.m., the 2002 film Windtalkers will be shown. Two U.S. Marines are assigned to protect Navajo Indian members of the Marine Corps, who use their native language as an unbreakable radio cypher against the Japanese. This film stars Nichols Cage, Mark Ruffalo and Christian Slater.
On Tuesday, November 16 at 1:00 p.m. we offer an inside look at the biggest secret and most fantastic weapon of World War II as we present the 1989 film, Fat Man and Little Boy. The Manhattan Project is brought to the big screen as the first atomic bombs are built and tested in the New Mexico desert. Paul Newman stars as Army General Leslie Groves while Dwight Schultz plays the project’s top scientist, Robert Oppenheimer.
The final film in the series will be shown on Friday, November 19 at 1:00 p.m. American Traitor: The Trial of Axis Sally details the trial for treason of an American-born citizen, Mildred Gillars, who lived in Germany throughout the war. She spoke both English and German and worked for the Nazi Propaganda Ministry as a radio announcer, reaching out to American G.I.s in Britain and the Mediterranean. The film stars Meadow Williams and Al Pacino.
Located at 31 East Henry Street, the Linden Public Library has been at the center of the city’s social, cultural, artistic and educational life since it was founded in 1928. Films are presented thanks to special funding from the Friends of the Linden Library. If you have any questions, please call the library at 908-298-3830.
