Coming Soon!

Original movie poster for the serial FLASH GORDON'S TRIP TO MARS (1938)

2024 Saturday Secret Matinees

Every Saturday at 1:00 PM
January 6 – March 30, 2024
Grand Illusion Cinema ~ 1403 NE 50th St. at University Way

Get advance tickets and passes – available now!
Save 50% with a series pass!

Weekly serial episodes plus secret classic features, all on 16mm film!

With: Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars (1938)

The rarely shown second Flash Gordon serial! 15 episodes of thrilling sci-fi adventure!

"A nearly ideal sequel...it’s also a nearly ideal serial. ...It balances good acting, atmosphere, action, and plotting in such fine style that it would still be a notable achievement if it were the sole entry in the Flash Gordon series.” (The Files of Jerry Blake)

Celebrating the 90th anniversary of Flash Gordon, first published on Jan. 7, 1934.

Plus secret classic feature films

The titles are a secret, but bi-weekly themes provide clues...

  • Jan. 6: Flash vs. Ming: The epic begins!
  • Jan. 13 & 20: Forgotten British Sci-Fi - Lost gems from across the pond
  • Jan. 27 & Feb. 3: Weimar Noir - Dark tales from a dark time, by German masters
  • Feb. 10 & 17: Revenge Westerns - Two legendary actors redefining the genre for grown-ups
  • Feb. 24 & Mar. 2: Deadly Intrigues - Life or death plots and thrilling battles in the distant past
  • Mar. 9 & 16: Pulp Detectives Strike! - Dime magazine faves in B-movie mysteries
  • Mar. 23 & 30: Kookoo for Kaiju - Japanese giant monster classics

Tickets and passes available now

Illustration showing how film passes through a movie projector.

The Sprocket Society seeks to cultivate the love of the mechanical cinema, its arts and sciences, and to encourage film preservation by bringing film and its history to the public through screenings, educational activities, and our own archival efforts.

Founded in 2007, we have produced film screenings in Seattle since 2008, with programs ranging from silent film to documentaries, experimental cinema to the Secret Matinee series (complete with weekly serial episodes), and more.

Learn more about our previous screenings, or read program notes from them.

To receive announcements of upcoming events subscribe to our email list by inquiring at sprocketsociety [at] gmail [dot] com. We also have an official Facebook page.

Past programs by The Sprocket Society have included:

  • Secret Matinee Series — An annual series with weekly serial episodes and secret classic features.
  • Film Dada: Cinema of the Bearded Heart — Groundbreaking experimental shorts with live accompaniment.
  • Silent Magic: Trick Films and Special Effects, 1895-1912 — Pioneering special effects epics from around the world.
  • Experimental Memoria — A screening series honoring the passing of three giants of experimental cinema in 2012.
  • First Light: The Birth of Cinema 1895-1901 — Pioneering films from France, Britain, Russia, and the USA. Plus short documentaries about magic lanterns and the Library of Congress paper print collection.
  • Breakaway: Films by Bruce Conner, 1958-2004 — Brilliant and influential experimental works made primarily with found footage.
  • The Heart of Life — Robert Enrico's stunning trilogy of award-winning films based on Ambrose Bierce short stories.
  • First Words: The Birth of Sound Cinema, 1895-1929 — Rare short films tracing the evolution of sound cinema, plus live re-enactments of Lyman Howe's pioneering Victrola accompaniments.

Learn more about our past screenings