The Ava Gardner Museum will be screening the film "Pandora and the Flying Dutchman" at the Howell Theatre on May 18 &19 in Historic Downtown Smithfield.  Visitors to the event will also receive FREE admission to the Ava Gardner Museum during special hours over the weekend.  Tickets are $10.00 per person and times for the movie are:  Saturday, May 18 - 7:30pm and Sunday, May 19 - 2:30pm. Tickets are available at the Theatre and the museum.

"Pandora and the Flying Dutchman" (1951) is a British drama film made by Romulus Films and released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in the United States. The film was directed and produced by Albert Lewin from his own screenplay, based on the legend of The Flying Dutchman.

The film starred Ava Gardner and James Mason, featuring Nigel Patrick, Sheila Sim, Harold Warrender, Mario Cabré and Marius Goring. Most of the movie was shot on location in Tossa de Mar, Catalonia, Spain, where a statue of Gardner has been erected on the hill overlooking the town's main beach.

MGM delayed its release until Gardner's star-making role in 1951's "Show Boat". The tactic worked, and this film solidified her status as a rising star. This film first introduced Gardner to Spain, bullfights, flamenco dancing and the warm Spanish people, who she came to love so much that she moved there in 1955 as her marriage to Frank Sinatra was ending.

Movie Plot:   Many cineastes consider "Pandora and the Flying Dutchman" as the masterpiece of filmmaker Albert Lewin (The Picture of Dorian Gray), while others write the film off as a pretentious romantic drama. Ava Gardner stars as Pandora Reynolds, a predatory creature who destroys the lives of all men who've been unfortunate enough to fall in love with her. Enter Hendrick van der Zee (James Mason), a mystical figure who proves to be Pandora's match. It turns out that van der Zee is the legendary 17th Century Flying Dutchman, whose spirit is doomed to wander the earth until he is able to find a woman willing to love him with all her heart -- and sacrificing everything.

Tickets are available at the Howell Theatre, 141 S. Third St., Smithfield, or by visiting the museum at 325 E. Market Street, Smithfield, NC 27577.  For more information on the museum, visit the website, www.avagardner.org