On Thursday, May 1, Massapequa resident John Carpenter will travel to the Bar Harbor Library to initiate his Classic Films lecture, presentation and question-and-answer program.

Possessing a movie collection of over 3,000 titles from the 1920s and 1930s, Carpenter has restored, preserved and written about numerous American films. In addition, his love of archeology had led him to focus on the greatest of American commercial art forms and those who lived their work in front of and behind the camera lens.

Gold Diggers of 1933 will be the subject of his May 1 talk. The Bar Harbor Library has scheduled two showings of this Depression-era favorite, one for 1:30 p.m. and another at 7 p.m.

Gold Diggers of 1933 is an American musical film directed by Mervyn LeRoy with choreography by Busby Berkeley. It stars Ruby Keeler, Ginger Rogers, Joan Blondell, Aline MacMahon and Dick Powell. The story is based on the Technicolor musical comedy, Gold Diggers of Broadway, which had been the biggest box office hit of 1929. The plot concerns millionaire-turned composer Dick Powell who rescues unemployed Broadway people with a new play.

Throughout Long Island, Carpenter has been proving that they don't make movies like these anymore, and young and old have been attending the experience the talent used in creating those visual entertainment gems. Audience members will learn again why the visual artistry and talent of the movie industry was once America's greatest gift to the world.

Delivering lectures on classic films is one of the many projects Carpenter is involved in to promote the arts on Long Island. He has inaugurated a successful campaign to help less-privileged children in Nassau County with much-needed school supplies and toys.

As significantly, Carpenter continues to tour Long Island with his motivational lecture program built around his documentary Smelling Like A Rose, which tells the story of Carpenter's successful recovery from a near-fatal automobile accident.

The Bar Harbor library is located at 40 Harbor Lane. Call 799-0770 for more information.