20 Years Ago

Pat Kohler reviewed “Annie” at City Nights Theatre in Pawtucket, starring Abby Rose as Annie. She said that Abby was “nothing short of amazing.”

“Harry Potter & the Sorcerer’s Stone” was the big holiday movie, followed closely by “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings.” Tom Cruise starred in “Vanilla Sky.”

Owen Wilson and Gene Hackman starred in a war movie about Bosnia, “Behind Enemy Lines.”

PPAC showed “Gone With the Wind” on their big screen.

Larry Rachleff led the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra in their first Rush Hour concert.

And, of course, First Night.

40 Years Ago

The big holiday movie was “Ragtime,” taken from the popular novel, with enough material for five movies. It starred Howard E. Rollins, Elizabeth McGovern, Mandy Patinkin, and Mary Steenburgen.

Sally Field played a reporter and Paul Newman the son of a mobster implicated in one of her stories, in “Absence of Malice.”

“Ghost Story” starred Fred Astaire, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., John Houseman, and Melvyn Douglas.

Burt Reynolds made another bad film, “Sharky’s Machine.”

Timothy Hutton starred in “Taps.”

Steve Martin and Bernadette Stevens starred in “Pennies From Heaven.”

John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd starred in a bummer titled “Neighbors.”