MADISON – Creepy aliens, gangsters, goofy extraterrestrials, old-school dancing and even cops ‘n robbers will ignite the screen as Madison Public Library reprises its series, “Mad Movie-A-Thon-O-Rama!”

The free films first were released mainly in the 1950s and 1960s when these flicks were viewed as a fun night at the local walk-in theatre or, better yet, the drive-in. The library staff has announced its schedule for Mad Movie-A-Thon-O-Rama through May, with two movies monthly.

The first film for 2023 is the frightening and campy sci-fi/horror classic from 1962, “The Brain That Wouldn’t Die.” When Dr. Bill Cortner’s girl Jan Compton loses her head in a freak car accident, he revives the head.

Scouring back alleys and dingy clubs of Tarrytown, N.Y., Cortner searches for the perfect body on which to transplant Jan’s head. Jan teams up with a mysterious entity in the laboratory for revenge on Bill and his creepy assistant, Kurt.

The 82-minute film will be shown in ‘glorious’ black and white. Show date will be Jan. 12 in the library auditorium. Doors will open at 6 p.m. and the movie reel will start to roll at 6:30 p.m.

The audience is welcome to bring food and drink into the auditorium to enjoy a snack (or dinner) during the show.

The next movie, on Jan. 26 “Fiend Without a Face” is set outside a U.S. Air Force base in Canada, where atomic experiments are underway. Outside the base’s fences, a local farmer is found dead, and the residents suspect the secretive nature of the atomic work. People continue to die as a misguided scientist succeeds in developing a new lifeform, according to imdb.com.

The schedule for February through May includes “Girls, Guns, Gangsters,” Feb. 9; “High School Confidential!,” Feb. 23; “Plan 9 From Outer Space,” March 9; “Strange Brew,” March 23; “Breakin’,” April 13; “Targets,” April 27; special VHS movie, ‘May the Fourth Be With You’ “Star Wars,”; “Assault on Precinct 13,” May 11; and “Ambush at Cimarron Pass,” May 25.

The library’s address is 142 Plaza Blvd. For more information, call 256-461-0046 or visit events.hmcpl.org.