By NANCY HILER
The theater is already well known for an eclectic mix of offerings, which includes the recent annual Long Island International Film Expo and a live "Rocky Horror Picture Show" most Fridays at midnight during the summer. Adding to that, the restored old-time movie house will soon play host to Oscar-winning entertainer Mickey Rooney and his singer/songwriter wife, Jan, as well as launch a new classic movies series in the fall.
The local theater is the only place in the country where the multitalented Rooneys will perform their off-Broadway musical "Let's Put on Show" this year. In fact, the "85th Anniversary Tour" of their show kicks off here. "It's Bellmore, and then they're off to Europe to tour," Bellmore Movies co-owner Anne Stampfel said. "I thought they were kidding me that Bellmore is their one and only stop in New York, in the United States, but this is it!"
The "85th anniversary" refers to Rooney's start in show business. He claims to have crawled onto the stage during his father's vaudeville act in 1922. The current show enjoyed a New York City run starting in 2004, and a 15-city tour throughout the United Kingdom and in Branson, Mo., last year.
"We're looking forward to coming" to Bellmore, Rooney said in a telephone interview from his Los Angeles home. "We hope people will enjoy. We want everybody to come, families to come."
Accompanied by a trio of musicians, the Rooneys will perform their 90-minute musical variety show on July 22, at 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. "It's lots of entertainment and fun," Rooney said. "Music, music, music. We have everything: jokes about Hollywood, I play the piano. My Jan is terrific, and we sing together.
"It's a mixture," he went on. "A laugh here, a remembrance there." Rooney offers a tribute to Judy Garland as part of the show, which includes film clips of their years together as childhood stars and lifelong friends.
The Bellmore connection
The Rooneys decided to launch this year's tour in Bellmore because they planned to be on Long Island this week to act in a short comedy directed by a young independent filmmaker. Stampfel knows the filmmaker through the International Film Expo. "He was a winner a few years ago," she said. "We've helped him with scouting locations since then."
Stampfel worked through the filmmaker to contact the Rooneys' agent to see about the possibility of their bringing their show here. After reviewing a demo tape of the show, she said she thought it would work well on her stage. "The show's not too complicated to put on here," Stampfel said.
Unlike many modern, micro-screening rooms, "the Itch," a term many locals use for Bellmore Movies and one generally used with affection by film buffs for any classic neighborhood theater, has a theatrical stage, not just a screen. The movie house, which underwent a major restoration in 1999, seats about 300 -- and that suits the Rooneys just fine. They enjoy smaller, intimate audiences, Jan Rooney said.
They also enjoy doing independent films, she said. The film they are coming to Long Island to shoot involves a couple engrossed in lighthearted arguments, Jan explained. "I think this young gentleman [filmmaker] saw us bickering in other movies and said, 'Oh, there's a duo that can work in my film,'" she said.
Mickey likes to help young filmmakers, his wife added. "Even though Mickey does big films, he likes to help young filmmakers because he knows their plight," Jan said, explaining that if the filmmaker is sincere, has the financing in place and the film is family-oriented, Mickey is likely to do it. "So long as the film makes sense, has the right mix, he usually agrees to it," she said.
On stage at this stage?
Why does Rooney, at age 87, continue to work? "Why are we doing it, my Jan and I? That's what they always ask," Rooney remarked. "We love it. We enjoy it. And we love the people."
"He's got more energy than I do," his wife admitted, despite the fact that she is a number of years younger than Mickey. "Let me give you an example. When we just get back from an international tour and we're home only a few days, he says, 'Let's get going again.' That's show business."
For Mickey, show business is a way of life. His celebrated career encompasses countless acting, singing and dancing roles in movies and television. He has been in some 350 films, ranging from the seven he did with Garland, including "Babes in Arms," to the Academy Award-winning "Boys' Town" with Spencer Tracy and "National Velvet" with Elizabeth Taylor.
Younger viewers may know him best from "Night at the Museum" which starred Ben Stiller. Rooney has just completed another film with Stiller, which also stars Robert Downey Jr. and Jack Black. The comedy, directed by Stiller and called "Tropic Thunder," is due out next year.
With his trademark vivacity coming through in his voice, Rooney said of Bellmore, "We're just anxious to get there, my Jan and I. We hope everybody will enjoy 'Let's Put On a Show.'"
Classic movies this fall
In addition to the Rooneys, the focus on landmark entertainment will continue this fall. as Bellmore Movies introduces a new classic movie series. "We're looking at classic films that were blockbusters and are no longer in release," Stampfel said. The plan is to present a new movie each month. Pricing has yet to be determined, and there may be either early-bird or membership discounts.
The first movie to be shown will be the Errol Flynn film "The Adventures of Robin Hood," which is scheduled for the morning of Sunday, Oct. 14. "First we will have a book signing of a biography written by his daughter Rory Flynn, called 'The Baron of Mulholland,'" Stampfel said. That will be followed by a question-and-answer session with the author and a continental breakfast.
The 1938 film, the winner of three Academy Awards, is considered one of the greatest, most colorful costume dramas and romantic adventures in cinema history. Flynn's co-stars were film legends Olivia DeHavilland, Basil Rathbone and Claude Rains.
Other movies Stampfel is considering include one of the classics starring Humphrey Bogart. She hopes to bring in Bogart's son, TV producer Stephen Bogart, who wrote a book called "Bogart: In Search of My Father."
Stampfel said that the movies chosen for the series won't all be from that far back. She intends to select others from the 1960s or even later, as long as the entertainment factor and the quality are there.
Stampfel has had lots of practice in evaluating films. She and the other judges in the Long Island Film and TV Foundation who made this year's selections for the recent Long Island International Film Expo had to view hundreds of entries. "We all have our own rating systems" to narrow down the choices, Stampfel explained, "but during the all-day pow-wows with other theater owners, I kept asking myself with each film, Would people want to see it?"
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