Our annual Segerstrom at the Frida series showcases films that inspired upcoming stage adaptations at OC’s Segerstrom Center for the Arts! Join us as we conclude our 2025 series by celebrating the 50th Anniversary of a Frida Cinema favorite, Monty Python and the Holy Grail!
Ranked among the top British films of all time by the BFI and various critics’ polls, directors Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones’ irreverent and absurdist reimagining of the Arthurian legend stars the Monty Python comedy troupe as King Arthur and his eccentric band of knights. The film follows their doomed quest for the Holy Grail through a series of loosely connected skits featuring killer rabbits, anarcho-syndicalist peasants, and a castle full of rude Frenchmen. With its low-budget charm, fourth-wall-breaking humor, and endlessly quotable dialogue, the film skewers everything from medieval epics to organized religion to British bureaucracy, all deliciously sandwiched between hilarious opening credits and a climax for the ages.
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This year’s Segerstrom at The Frida series kicks off with Some Like it Hot, Billy Wilder’s hilarious 1959 screwball comedy that follows two down-on-their-luck musicians, Joe (Tony Curtis) and Jerry (Jack Lemmon), who witness a gangland massacre and flee Chicago disguised as women in an all-female band on their way to a Florida resort. On the run, they become Josephine and Daphne, traveling with the enchanting Sugar Kane (Marilyn Monroe), a singer with dreams of marrying a millionaire. Romantic entanglements and mistaken identities spiral out of control in a Florida resort, culminating in what many consider to be one of the funniest comedies of all time.
See the movie. then experience the brand new Tony and Grammy Award-winning stage musical! Running October 7 – 19 at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts, experience the “glorious, toe-tapping, razzle-dazzling” (Deadline) Some Like it Hot! Visit scfta.org/events/2025/some-like-it-hot for info and tickets!
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The final film in our Technicolor Summer series reaches the celestial with A Matter of Life and Death—a visionary romance that floats between worlds, from war-torn Earth to the halls of a fantastical afterlife, in one of the most inventive films ever made.
David Niven stars as Peter Carter, a British RAF pilot who miraculously survives a doomed jump from his burning plane—only to fall in love with June (Kim Hunter), the American radio operator who heard his final words. But Peter was meant to die, and when the otherworldly authorities realize their clerical error, he must plead his case for life in a cosmic courtroom, where love itself becomes the ultimate argument.
Directed by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, this genre-defying masterpiece blends romance, fantasy, and philosophical inquiry with dazzling visual artistry.
In the early 1930s, the 3-strip Technicolor process was introduced to audiences, inviting them to experience a world dripping with vibrant saturation for the very first time. The Technicolor Summer series ranges from familiar classics to rarely-screened gems all Summer long!
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Our Technicolor Summer series heads to the rolling green hills of Ireland with The Quiet Man—a sweeping romantic classic brimming with fiery passions, heartfelt tradition, and postcard-perfect landscapes.
John Wayne stars as Sean Thornton, a retired American boxer who returns to his Irish roots in the village of Innisfree, hoping to leave his past behind and live a quiet life. But peace proves elusive when he falls for the strong-willed Mary Kate Danaher (Maureen O’Hara), whose pride and fiery spirit are matched only by the land itself. Their courtship is as tempestuous as the Irish weather, complicated by local customs, family pride, and a brother with a grudge.
Directed by John Ford with deep affection and painterly vision, The Quiet Man is as much a love letter to Ireland as it is a love story between two unforgettable characters.
In the early 1930s, the 3-strip Technicolor process was introduced to audiences, inviting them to experience a world dripping with vibrant saturation for the very first time. The Technicolor Summer series ranges from familiar classics to rarely-screened gems all Summer long!
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Our Technicolor Summer series gets delightfully glamorous with Indiscreet—a sparkling romantic comedy that pairs the incomparable Ingrid Bergman and Cary Grant in a dance of charm, wit, and stylish deception.
Bergman plays Anna Kalman, a successful London stage actress who’s all but given up on love—until she meets Philip Adams (Grant), a suave economist with a roguish smile and a secret: he claims he’s married and can’t divorce. Anna, swept off her feet despite herself, embarks on a love affair with no strings…until the truth begins to unravel.
Directed with breezy elegance by Stanley Donen, Indiscreet is a romantic farce where misunderstandings are played for sophistication, and every line sparkles with mid-century wit. But it’s the chemistry between Bergman and Grant—radiant in Technicolor—that makes this film truly irresistible.
In the early 1930s, the 3-strip Technicolor process was introduced to audiences, inviting them to experience a world dripping with vibrant saturation for the very first time. The Technicolor Summer series ranges from familiar classics to rarely-screened gems all Summer long!
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Our Technicolor Summer series gets delightfully macabre with Alfred Hitchcock’s offbeat charmer The Trouble with Harry—a murder mystery where the murder is beside the point, and the comedy is as dry as a New England autumn.
When the body of Harry Worp is discovered in the woods outside a sleepy Vermont town, the locals react not with horror, but with a series of polite, peculiar inconveniences. Who killed Harry? Was it the eccentric spinster? The retired sea captain? The single mother with a past? As each character quietly confesses—or denies—involvement, the real puzzle becomes what to do with the body… and how many times it must be buried.
Unexpected, off-kilter, and beautifully shot, it’s a reminder that Technicolor wasn’t just for musicals and melodramas—it could bring even the darkest jokes to life with a brilliant, irreverent glow. And plus, you didn’t think we could do this series without a couple of Hitchcock flicks, right?
In the early 1930s, the 3-strip Technicolor process was introduced to audiences, inviting them to experience a world dripping with vibrant saturation for the very first time. The Technicolor Summer series ranges from familiar classics to rarely-screened gems all Summer long!
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Our Technicolor Summer series goes from surreal to scrumptious with Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory—a candy-colored fantasy that has enchanted generations with just the right amount of weirdness and pitch-black humor!
When poor but kind-hearted Charlie Bucket finds a golden ticket inside a Wonka Bar, he wins the chance of a lifetime: a tour of the mysterious, magical chocolate factory run by the reclusive and eccentric Willy Wonka (Gene Wilder, in one of the greatest screen performances of all time). Charlie joins a group of wildly different children—each one a cautionary tale—on a journey through a world of edible delights, fizzy-lifting drinks, and Oompa Loompa morals.
Whether you grew up with it or are discovering it anew, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory is a golden ticket to a world where imagination rules—and where the most dazzling sights often hide the strangest secrets.
In the early 1930s, the 3-strip Technicolor process was introduced to audiences, inviting them to experience a world dripping with vibrant saturation for the very first time. The Technicolor Summer series ranges from familiar classics to rarely-screened gems all Summer long!
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Our Technicolor Summer series continues with one of the most lavish and visually stunning musicals ever put to film: An American in Paris!
This dazzling musical tells the story of Jerry Mulligan (Gene Kelly), a former American GI turned struggling painter who’s trying to make a name for himself in the City of Light. His art catches the eye of a wealthy benefactor, Milo Roberts (Nina Foch), but Jerry’s heart belongs to someone else—Lise Bouvier (Leslie Caron), a spirited young dancer with a complicated past.
With music by George and Ira Gershwin and direction by Vincente Minnelli, An American in Paris is a feast for the senses and a celebration of the intoxicating magic of post-war Paris.
In the early 1930s, the 3-strip Technicolor process was introduced to audiences, inviting them to experience a world dripping with vibrant saturation for the very first time. The Technicolor Summer series ranges from familiar classics to rarely-screened gems all Summer long!
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Always a favorite around these parts, Mike Nichols and Elaine May’s The Birdcage is returning to The Frida Cinema just in time for some screenings on Santa Ana Pride celebration weekend! Oh, and did we mention we’re playing it totally free of charge!?
Middle-aged gay life partners, Armand Goldman, a Jewish drag club owner, and Albert, the club’s flamboyant star attraction, live in the eclectic community of South Beach and have raised a straight son. Now, their newly engaged son, 20-year-old Val, wants to bring his fiancée, Barbara, and her ultraconservative parents home to meet his family for the first time. By Val’s request, Armand pretends to be straight, not Jewish and attempts to hide his relationship with Albert, in order to please Barbara’s father, controversial right-wing Republican Sen. Kevin Keeley.
Starring the iconic trio of Robin Williams, Nathan Lane, and Gene Hackman, The Birdcage is a rare gem in the realm of mainstream American comedy—a film that manages to be riotously funny, sharply satirical, and quietly groundbreaking all at once.
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Has it really been thirty years since To Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything! Julie Newmar came out? Yes. Are we screening it two times for absolutely no charge on the weekend of Santa Ana’s Pride celebrations? Also yes!
Manhattan drag queens Vida Boheme and Noxeema Jackson impress regional judges in competition, securing berths in the Nationals in Los Angeles. When the two meet pathetic drag novice Chi-Chi Rodriguez — one of the losers that evening — the charmed Vida and Noxeema agree to take the hopeless youngster under their joined wing. Soon the three set off on a madcap road trip across America and struggle to make it to Los Angeles in time.
Join us for this bold, campy, and surprisingly tender film that helped bring drag culture—and a message of acceptance—to the mainstream in the mid-1990s.
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