8th Annual TCM Film Festival
Ahhhhhh... Spring. The time for new life and renewal. It's also the time when classic film fans from all over descend upon Hollywood Blvd for the Turner Classic Movies Film Festival. Four days celebrating film and film history while simultaneously living like a college student during finals. It is an immense amount of fun while also a convenient way to meet up with other classic film fans from across the country and beyond. Here is the rundown of my adventures in celluloid.
The next major incident was the red carpet before the opening night film, In the Heat of the Night. And before you ask, no, we weren't able to see the film. We did, however, get to interview a fair amount of celebrities including Keir Dullea, Illeana Douglas, and Cari Beauchamp. I am KL's designated photographer and ended up taking photos for three other people nearby as well. Once the red carpet closed, KL and I decided that dinner would be an excellent choice before going to our first film.
This year the festival was able to premiere a number of nitrate prints because Grauman's Egyptian theatre used a substantial donation from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association to do some restoration and renovation which included being able to screen nitrate prints. (They also got a cool and funky carpet specially designed.) The first of these special films was Alfred Hitchcock's (original) The Man Who Knew Too Much. Martin Scorsese introduced the film and gave some background on nitrate. Nitrate prints were made using silver nitrate. Nowadays, they're extremely rare because a great many of them were destroyed (during WWII) for the silver content. They also have the unfortunate tendency to spontaneously combust. I could not get into the film and I was already exhausted from standing during the red carpet so, I fell asleep. I saw the very beginning and the very end. The true shame of it was that it was Peter Lorre's first English film role and he was an amazing actor.
Our original plan was to see the Marx Brothers in Monkey Business but, we couldn't get down to the Egyptian in time. Instead, KL got her Robert Redford fix with Barefoot in the Park while I saw The Princess Bride. There was a discussion with Rob Reiner before the film and it was amazing. Apparently, Cary Elwes broke his foot during filming and didn't want Reiner to know so he hid it exceptionally well. (The scene was right before Westley gets pushed down the ravine.) The other cool thing about the screening was that Cary Elwes was in attendence. No, I didn't get to meet him. The Princess Bride is one of my favorite movies because of the writing. Without the witty/funny dialogue, this movie would just be another okay fantasy/adventure. It also helps when nobody is taking themselves (and the movie in general) too seriously because that's what makes it fun.
After a quick dinner break, my final film was Vigil in the Night. I've never heard of this movie and wanted to see it for two reasons. The first being that this is Carole Lombard's only dramatic role and I wanted to see how she did. The other reason being that this is Peter Cushing's first film role and I've only seen him as Darth Vader's boss. Lombard plays a nurse who is quite good at her job but, might be a little too selfless for her own good. She takes the blame for a mistake that her sister made resulting in the death of a child. Here is where you begin to see the main problem with Lombard's portrayal, she is incredibly serene. I mean it feels as though she has Xanax running through her veins. Her main expression (besides worry/concern) is almost identical to depictions of the Virgin Mary. (I don't think that was intentional.) Lombard resigns from her new job because of some very stupid reasons and she wishes to avoid a public scandal. A very short time after this, an epidemic of cerebro-spinal fever (guessing meningitis) breaks out so, Lombard and her sister volunteer to help. Lombard breaks a few procedures (and maybe laws) to help her patients and her sister redeems herself by saving the life of a child. Then she dies. Here is the only time that Lombard shows any kind of emotion beyond serenity. The film ends with Lombard giving a really bizarre speech about how glorious the work is and how her sister found perfect pleasure before she died because she was a good nurse. This is where the movie went completely off the rails for me. The film is well made and, generally, well acted. I'm going to attribute the time period, 1940, to the strange tone of the film because it doesn't make sense any other way.
Day 1
After a hearty breakfast of coffee and mini sprinkle donuts, my traveling companion (KL) and I went on our merry way to the TCM Locations tour. After waiting for about thirty minutes, it was announced that one of the tires was flat and that it wouldn't be fixed for an hour because the mechanic was stuck in traffic. KL and I decided we didn't want to wait that long and went across the street to visit the Jean Harlow exhibit at the Hollywood Museum. It was astounding. I don't know much about Jean Harlow's life so it was great being able to learn more. Also, I'm a huge fan of classic cars and hers was down right gorgeous. For some strange reason, the elevator (used for cars) played "They Had It Coming" from Chicago constantly. It was fun but, made me want a pair of thigh high leather boots.The next major incident was the red carpet before the opening night film, In the Heat of the Night. And before you ask, no, we weren't able to see the film. We did, however, get to interview a fair amount of celebrities including Keir Dullea, Illeana Douglas, and Cari Beauchamp. I am KL's designated photographer and ended up taking photos for three other people nearby as well. Once the red carpet closed, KL and I decided that dinner would be an excellent choice before going to our first film.
This year the festival was able to premiere a number of nitrate prints because Grauman's Egyptian theatre used a substantial donation from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association to do some restoration and renovation which included being able to screen nitrate prints. (They also got a cool and funky carpet specially designed.) The first of these special films was Alfred Hitchcock's (original) The Man Who Knew Too Much. Martin Scorsese introduced the film and gave some background on nitrate. Nitrate prints were made using silver nitrate. Nowadays, they're extremely rare because a great many of them were destroyed (during WWII) for the silver content. They also have the unfortunate tendency to spontaneously combust. I could not get into the film and I was already exhausted from standing during the red carpet so, I fell asleep. I saw the very beginning and the very end. The true shame of it was that it was Peter Lorre's first English film role and he was an amazing actor.
Day 2
Another day full of movies. First up on the docket was Rafter Romance, a pre-Code film about a man and a woman who share an apartment on a shift schedule. The whole reason is that they are having some trouble paying their rents. He works nights while she (eventually) works days. The woman has it from 8pm-8am while the man has it the rest of the time. Neither has seen nor met the other. As the days pass, they start leaving passive aggressive notes about the apartment to each other. Outside of the apartment they start to fall in love. The woman gets a job as a telemarketer for a refrigerator company and her boss starts getting a little frisky. After finally agreeing to go on a date, the woman starts feeling highly uncomfortable which the most gallant cabbie I've ever seen (Fritzie) takes notice of and runs interference. At the end of the film, the two roommates get together and the cabbie punches her boss in the face because Fritzie thinks the boss made her cry.
Next stop was young, sexy William Holden in Born Yesterday with Judy Holliday. The film was based on a play and brought to light what the author thought of as bribery. We call it lobbying. Holliday plays the ditzy (or dumb) fiancee of a junkyard magnate/mobster. Holden is the local reporter wanting to write a story on the rich guy who wants to buy a senator. Holden then gets hired to educate Holliday. As he takes her around Washington, D.C., she starts to learn about philosophy, government, and American history. She not only leaves her fiance but, also leaks his shadier dealings to the paper. She and Holden get married and drive off in to the sunset. The film is quite witty and Holliday is hysterical. I had two problems and neither of them have to do with the film itself. The first problem was that there was a lady (forties or fifties) sitting in front of me who took her cell phone out to text three times in the first five minutes. On the third time, I leaned over and asked her to put it away which she did. After that, she glared at me and acted as if I was the rude one for asking she put away her phone during the film. It's not like the theatre doesn't tell you to put your phone away before the movie starts. The second problem was that the film started late and we couldn't get to our first choice of film for the follow up.
Our original plan was to see the Marx Brothers in Monkey Business but, we couldn't get down to the Egyptian in time. Instead, KL got her Robert Redford fix with Barefoot in the Park while I saw The Princess Bride. There was a discussion with Rob Reiner before the film and it was amazing. Apparently, Cary Elwes broke his foot during filming and didn't want Reiner to know so he hid it exceptionally well. (The scene was right before Westley gets pushed down the ravine.) The other cool thing about the screening was that Cary Elwes was in attendence. No, I didn't get to meet him. The Princess Bride is one of my favorite movies because of the writing. Without the witty/funny dialogue, this movie would just be another okay fantasy/adventure. It also helps when nobody is taking themselves (and the movie in general) too seriously because that's what makes it fun.
Day 3
By this point in the festival, most people are a little punchy from the lack of sleep and weird food habits almost everyone has developed. It's quite entertaining to witness. First film was Stalag 17 with the amazing William Holden. This is a brilliant movie based off an equally (I'm guessing) brilliant play. Many of the actors were from the play. This film has two things going for it besides just being another POW escape film. It shows one of the best (early) depictions of PTSD I've ever seen. One of the characters, Joey, watched his entire crew be shot up while flying, He doesn't speak or really do anything besides play his ocarina. None of the other men ever belittle or insult Joey for how he acts. They actually go out of their way to help him (as they are able) and make sure to keep him out of trouble. The other thing is that Stalag 17 is a highly underrated spy thriller. One of the plot points is that someone is passing information to the Germans and that person is with the POWs. For clarification (and possible spoiler) the spy is not Holden. Although, he is one of the greatest misdirects I've seen.
Immediately after this, I saw Charlie Chaplin in The Great Dictator. This is one of the most foresighted films I've ever seen. This was filmed in 1939 but, wasn't released until 1940 and quite a number of things actually happened. And this film is spoofing fascist dictators. It's slightly unsettling in that regard. My favorite scene is the barber chair fight scene. The ending monologue that Chaplin does has been used as an example in public speaking/debate classes for years and it deserves the honor.
A brief break for sustenance before starting Best in Show. The discussion that occurred before the screening was absolutely hilarious. Bob Balaban had lost his voice so all of his answers were written on index cards which Ben Mankiewicz wished all Q&A's were like. John Michael Higgins spoke the most about the film was almost entirely improvised. The poodle, Rhapsody, was actually multiple poodles because they were such a nightmare to work with. I have never seen it before and thought it would be entertaining at least. This film is absolutely hysterical. I'm not well versed in dog shows however, from my limited understanding, I don't think that they had to exaggerate too much. These characters range from slightly eccentric (well-off gay couple or Southern guy) to utterly insane (neurotic couple) and they are all amazing.
I reunited with KL for the final film of the evening, Top Secret!. Having seen Airplane!, I had somewhat of an idea on what to expect. I was wrong. This film is a weird mix of WWII spy films and Elvis musicals. This film is on so many drugs that I can't explain it without sounding completely nuts. The only thing I can say is go see it if for nothing else than for the absolutely gorgeous Val Kilmer. I mean, that man was beautiful.
Immediately after this, I saw Charlie Chaplin in The Great Dictator. This is one of the most foresighted films I've ever seen. This was filmed in 1939 but, wasn't released until 1940 and quite a number of things actually happened. And this film is spoofing fascist dictators. It's slightly unsettling in that regard. My favorite scene is the barber chair fight scene. The ending monologue that Chaplin does has been used as an example in public speaking/debate classes for years and it deserves the honor.
A brief break for sustenance before starting Best in Show. The discussion that occurred before the screening was absolutely hilarious. Bob Balaban had lost his voice so all of his answers were written on index cards which Ben Mankiewicz wished all Q&A's were like. John Michael Higgins spoke the most about the film was almost entirely improvised. The poodle, Rhapsody, was actually multiple poodles because they were such a nightmare to work with. I have never seen it before and thought it would be entertaining at least. This film is absolutely hysterical. I'm not well versed in dog shows however, from my limited understanding, I don't think that they had to exaggerate too much. These characters range from slightly eccentric (well-off gay couple or Southern guy) to utterly insane (neurotic couple) and they are all amazing.
I reunited with KL for the final film of the evening, Top Secret!. Having seen Airplane!, I had somewhat of an idea on what to expect. I was wrong. This film is a weird mix of WWII spy films and Elvis musicals. This film is on so many drugs that I can't explain it without sounding completely nuts. The only thing I can say is go see it if for nothing else than for the absolutely gorgeous Val Kilmer. I mean, that man was beautiful.
Day 4
At last, we have reached the final day. I chose to take this day slower as there wasn't much I wanted to see. KL had a much fuller day but, we did meet up for my final film, What's Up, Doc?. This is a love letter to the screwball comedies of the thirties and I love it. Barbara Streisand is brilliant with Ryan O'Neal and Madeline Kahn is a hoot as O'Neal's fiancee. The car chase through San Francisco is on par with Bullitt. Not kidding. KL went to Lady in the Dark before going off to the Closing Night Party. I went back to the hotel and took full advantage of the amazing bathtub. Now, for those of you confused as to why I would forgo one last film or the party, there's a very reasonable answer. As I am taller than average, it's quite difficult for me to find a bathtub that will allow my knees to be underwater and I wished to enjoy a rare soak in delightfully warm water. And, yes, it was totally worth it.
So concludes the 2017 TCM Film Festival. I had a great time and hope to see y'all next year.
