Friday Happenings

Movies

-- The Brattle begins its series Hitchcock's 50s with a pair of the director's James Stewart films: Vertigo (1958) and Rear Window (1954), a comedy in which Thelma Ritter gets all the good lines. Brattle Theatre, 40 Brattle St., Cambridge. Tickets and showtimes.

Guerrilla Activities

-- There's always a strong air of bromance at Fenway's Cask 'n' Flagon, an atmosphere that will be all the more pungent tonight as Boston's Guerrilla Queer Bar task force invades the fratty stronghold. It's almost football season, but you won't have to wait until Sunday to see some shocking "conversions." Cask 'n' Flagon, 62 Brookline Ave., 9 p.m.

Octoberfests

-- The temperature is in the nineties, and we are about to suffer a tropical storm, but that just makes Samuel Adam's Octoberfest celebration all the more poignant. Price includes four beers and a variety of wurst and pretzels. The Castle at Park Plaza, 64 Arlington St., 7 p.m. $35.

Music

-- David Berman, the creative force behind Silver Jews, doesn't perform in public very often, which might explain why his show tonight is sold out. Berman has mellowed since his nineties heyday culminated in a suicide attempt and a drug problem, but his songwriting remains impeccable. Middle East Downstairs, 472 Mass. Ave., Cambridge, 9 p.m. Sold Out.