My continuation of last month’s list takes us into more of my favorite pop culture library classics:
The Music Man (1962) – Never one to shy away from a musical, I grew up watching this ridiculous movie and dancing around my house to tunes like “76 Trombones” and “Shipoopi,” which is, in my opinion, probably one of the dumbest and weirdest songs to ever appear in a musical. Robert Preston is Howard Hill, an elegant scumbag salesman trying to con a town out of their money. Librarian Marian Paroo, played by Shirley Jones, begins to suspect his con and thus, he attempts to seduce her into silence. The storyline is silly but if you watch any scene from the film, make sure it’s the elaborate library dance number “Marian the Librarian,” full of delightful pick-up lines such as:
Marian: Please make your selection and leave.
Howard: I have.
Marian: What do you want to take out?
Howard: The librarian!
Ghostbusters (1984) – There really isn’t a more recognizable library than the New York Public Library. Lions, columns, pigeons, oh my! The opening sequence of Ghostbusters, which takes place there, is equally iconic. As ominous music plays in the background, we follow a librarian – modestly dressed in a smart cardigan and skirt, with a chin-length bob – as she goes about her business, collecting books on her cart to be put away. We follow her to the basement where she shelves books while books float from shelf-to-shelf just out of her view. The ultimate nightmare happens when the library cards systematically shoot out of their holders and into the air – what a mess!
Game of Thrones (2011-2019) – The Citadel library is magnificent. Period. Yes, it’s computer generated imagery, but still. It’s stunning. We see it in detail for the first time in Season 6, Episode 10, when Samwell Tarly travels there to begin his training as a maester. The library is 8430 feet tall. It looms over Oldtown as a giant beacon, complete with a giant fire pit on the roof. The inside is even more resplendent. An octagonal room that stretches for miles, with books, parchments, stairs and shelves lining the walls. A spherical mobile with lenses hangs from the ceiling and catches light from clerestory windows. A bibliophile’s dream, you see the awe and wonderment on Sam’s face as he experiences the sight for the first time.
Beauty and the Beast (1991) – When the Beast flings open the curtains and Belle opens her eyes in the library for the first time, the camera pans up, music swells, and cue the tears. What could be more romantic than someone giving you an 18th century French library because they love you and don’t know how to express it in any other way?