Doc Crane brings passion to library Film Club

Donald “Doc” Crane has worked in the movie industry for most of his life, so when he started working in the circulation department at the Weston Public Library in 2016, it was only natural that he would start a film club.

“I’ve always had an affinity for theaters and cinema when there is that intriguing sense of people getting together and whatever they’re performing or watching comes together,” Crane said. “What’s the word? Takes off? Pops?”

As a student studying filmmaking at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Crane would gather with classmates to collaborate on projects, and years later, while working at a Cambridge audio visual company, would include customers in movie screenings, where they would meet, have dinner and often find creative collaborators.

“It went a long way in fostering community among filmmakers in the area,” he said. “Every now and then, when I’m in Boston, I cross paths with one of those filmmakers and they still wax nostalgically about those gatherings.”

When he started working at the Weston Public Library and saw the Community Room with its projection booth, Crane had a brainstorm. While technology had changed since his AV club screenings, he saw the potential for showing features and documentaries, instead of his friends’ homegrown projects.

“The important thing would be to have people gather to see something together. It couldn’t be just turning off the lights and switching on the projector – that’s kind of anonymous. You might as well be home alone watching TV,” he said. “To me, the better cinemas – the Coolidge Corner, the Brattle, the Somerville and the Harvard Film Archive – were always at their best when they presented their films as events with people doing introductions and offering context.

It’s the human element that makes film come alive,” he said.

The library’s film club debuted with the film “Tea With Mussolini” in November 2017 with 31 people – mostly senior citizens – in attendance. Crane followed up with “Under the Tuscan Sun,” “Roman Holiday,” and “Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day.” Over the years themes have included Ireland – popular in March – Food on Film; Travels and Travails; Hitchcock in the Afternoon, and The Dames, featuring actresses who have received the Order of the British Empire.

In the early days of the club, Crane showed films every few weeks during the winter months. Afternoon showings were more popular, although Crane hosted a few evening shows.

“I was trying different things to see what would work,” Crane said.

In March 2020, the club came to a halt because of COVID-19. In June 2020, the library started to reopen, but gatherings were still prohibited. Crane used his editing skills to create online videos in which he recommended movies that were available from the library’s streaming services.

Two years later, the library director asked him to show weekly films during the summer at the Weston Art & Innovation Center, as the space was used as a cooling center.

The Film Club continued at the center for a few years, before returning to the library.

Crane has a passion for movies and spends a lot of time deciding on movie themes, choosing the films, securing permission to show them, and writing a 10-to-15-minute talk about each movie.

Each week, he introduces the film in the style of the old-time movie theaters. He believes it gives the event a “good vibe” and a “sense of community.”

“Filmmaking is an incredibly fraught process with so many variables that could go wrong. That’s why your standard $50 million-plus movie at the multiplex has 10 minutes of names listed in the credits at the end,” he said. “All of them are there to make sure the movie looks seamless, and still things go wrong, which makes for great stories that actually flesh out the final project. Telling those stories is a joy.”

For some attendees, Crane’s introductions are one of the most popular aspects of the club.

Gay Swirsky loves watching movies and TV shows, and has been attending Film Club for about two years.

“Probably as much a draw to the movies is Doc Crane,” she said. “Before each film begins, he gives us a terrific background in the film, in the processing of the film [and] of the lives of the actors.”

Watching the movie with an audience on a big screen which, she said, was comparable to a commercial movie theater, adds to the fun.

Another bonus: The movies contain subtitles, helpful for those that are hearing impaired, she said.

As much as he looks forward to seeing new movies each week, Joel Angiolillo particularly enjoys the discussion that takes place after the movie.

“There should be more discussion, just freeform. People talking about the actors and the performances and what they liked and the memories that it triggered. You can watch a movie at home but it’s the interaction and that discussion that is interesting,” Angiolillo said.

It’s that sense of community that Crane fosters each week.

“One of the things that’s really nice about Film Club is … we had people coming and they suddenly realized they knew each other from … back in the 60s. Then we had people who came with other groups, and after a while the groups started merging,” Crane said. “There’s a great sense of rapport.”

Popcorn, ice cream and hot and cold drinks add to the “sense of welcome and presentation,” Crane said.

Angiolillo, who was a library trustee for many years until 2018, said libraries are changing.

“They are just not a repository for books anymore. It’s a community center,” he said. “Every library in the country is looking to reinvent itself as a community center.”

He encourages people to give the Film Club a try, noting that often it’s the movies he has never heard of that he enjoys the most. And it’s free.

For Crane, sharing his passion and introducing viewers to the films he loves has been rewarding.

“Every now and then someone comes to the circulation counter when I’m doing my regular shift and says, ‘I caught your screening of ‘Chimes at Midnight’ (or another one of the films) and they’re smiling as if they attended a special event or they made new friends with person sitting next them – that’s why I love doing the Film Club,” Crane said.

Movies are shown every Thursday, 1:30 to 4:15 p.m., at the Weston Public Library, 87 School St.

Editor’s note: Joel Angiolillo is a founding member of the Weston Observer. Melissa Russell contributed to this article.