Northern Arizona University and the Sedona International Film Festival are partnering to present The Classics, a monthly classic film series on the third Thursdays of March and April.

NAU/SIFF Classics will be curated and hosted by School of Communication Professor Emeritus Paul Helford.

The series will continue on Thursday, March 19 with “Some Like It Hot” — from 1959 — written and directed by Billy Wilder and starring Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon, George Raft, Joe E. Brown, Pat O’Brien.

“Some Like It Hot” is American Film Institute’s Funniest Comedy of all time. Two hard luck Prohibition era musicians — played by Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis — witness the gangland St. Valentine’s Day Massacre and are forced to flee Chicago, disguising themselves as women and joining an all-female band whose lead singer is Marilyn Monroe at her most spectacular. This year marks the centennial of Monroe’s birth.

Paul Helford will introduce each film, provide historical and artistic context, and lead a discussion following the movie.

A lifelong film lover Helford has taught and written about films for over 50 years. As a television station manager and award-winning producer, he produced and hosted a weekly classic TV film show. He’s taught high school and college film classes. At NAU he started the film program major in 2006 and has co-directed and co-hosted the NAU College of Arts and Letters film series since 2004.

“Some Like It Hot” will be shown at the Mary D. Fisher Theatre on Thursday, March 19 at 3:00 p.m. Tickets are $12, or $9 for Film Festival members. For tickets and more information, please call 928-282-1177. Both the theatre and film festival office are located at 2030 W. Hwy. 89A, in West Sedona. For more information, visit: www.SedonaFilmFestival.org.