Best Bets: Saturday 1/23

2 & 8 pm: Movies

Claudette Colbert as a headstrong heiress and Clark Gable as an out-of-work newspaper man trade wisecracks all the way from Florida to the Big Apple in that breeziest of breezy romantic comedies “It Happened One Night”--one of Frank Capra’s best movies. The Alex Film Society hosts two showings of the 1934 screwball comedy, which screens with the 1940 cartoon “Malibu Beach Party” and a vintage newsreel.

* “It Happened One Night,” Alex Theatre, 216 N. Brand Blvd., Glendale. 2 and 8 p.m. $6 to $8.50. (818) 754-8250.

Movies: 7:30pm

Sir Ian McKellan’s portrayal of British-born film director James Whale in the film “Gods and Monsters” has been hailed as one of the best performances of 1998 and has renewed interest in all things Whale. UCLA’s film series “Beyond Frankenstein--James Whale in Hollywood” affords filmgoers a rare chance to see a wide range of the director’s work, from melodrama (“Waterloo Bridge”) to comedy of manners (“By Candlelight”) and, of course, those Universal horror classics (“Frankenstein” and “Bride of Frankenstein”). Actress Gloria Stuart and Whale biographer James Curtis are the scheduled special guests for the opening-night screening.

* “Beyond Frankenstein--James Whale in Hollywood,” James Bridges Theater, northeast corner of UCLA, near intersection of Sunset Boulevard and Hilgard Avenue, Los Angeles. Saturday: “The Old Dark House” and “The Invisible Man,” 7:30 p.m.; Tuesday: “Waterloo Bridge” and “Port of Seven Seas,” 7:30 p.m.; Jan. 30: “Remember Last Night?” and “By Candlelight,” 7:30 p.m.; Jan. 31: “The Kiss Before the Mirror” and “One More River,” 7 p.m.; Feb. 6: “Frankenstein” and “Bride of Frankenstein,” 7:30 p.m. $4 to $6. (310) 206-FILM.

8 pm: Family

Actor-comedian Robert Post performs “Here in America,” a multicharacter skewering of politicians and average Joes for adult audiences. On Sunday, he presents “In Your Head,” comedy and juggling for families and children.

* “Robert Post: Here in America and In Your Head,” Carpenter Performing Arts Center, Cal State Long Beach, 6200 Atherton St., Long Beach. “Here in America”: Saturday, 8 p.m., $21 to $27. “In Your Head”: Sunday, 2 p.m., $12. (562) 985-7000. Also “Here in America,” Jan. 29, 8 p.m. at Forum Theatre, Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza, 2100 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd., $16; (805) 449-ARTS.

8 pm: Jazz

Al Jarreau possesses one of the most versatile voices in jazz, one with instrumental qualities that can mimic trumpet, trombone and saxophone. That skill should come in handy when he joins another instrumentally rich institution, the Long Beach Symphony Pops Orchestra. Anxious for the summer concert season? Bring your picnic baskets and enjoy pseudo al fresco dining at tables on the arena floor.

* Al Jarreau and the Long Beach Symphony Pops Orchestra, Long Beach Arena, 300 E. Ocean Blvd., Long Beach. $18 to $60, 30% discount for students and seniors. (562) 436-3203.

All day: Art

“I showed the America I knew and observed to others who might not have noticed,” artist Norman Rockwell once said. A special exhibition of more than 30 of his original paintings and illustrations, “Norman Rockwell Paints the Presidents and the America They Governed,” continues through May 9 at the Ronald Reagan Library in Simi Valley. The show focuses on Rockwell’s treatment of the presidency through his portraits of presidents, first ladies and presidential candidates. The exhibition includes some of his most famous slices of American electoral life--”Elect Casey,” “Breakfast Argument” and “Apollo and Beyond”--as well as a selection of Saturday Evening Post covers and photographs of Rockwell with modern presidents.

* “Norman Rockwell Paints the Presidents and the America They Governed,” Ronald Reagan Library, 40 Presidential Drive, Simi Valley. Daily, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Adults, $5; seniors 62 and older, $3; children 15 and under, free. (800) 410-8354.

11 am & 1 pm: Family

SAIL Productions’ Storybook Theatre’s touring production of Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale classic “The Ugly Duckling” stages the tale with music, comedy and plenty of audience participation.

* “The Ugly Duckling,” Smothers Theatre, Pepperdine University, Malibu, 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. $14. (310) 456-4522, (213) 365-3500.

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Freebies

Teenagers and their families can build a telescope and study the galaxies at Planetarium Shows and Astronomy Workshops at the Central Library, 630 W. 5th St., Los Angeles, 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. (213) 228-7510.

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See red-tailed hawks and mule deer in a docent-led hike of Franklin Canyon. Meet at the Sooky Goldman Nature Center, 2600 Franklin Canyon Drive, Beverly Hills, 8 a.m. (310) 858-7272.