TCM Film Festival 2014 and Classic Movies Now on Instagram!

Hard to believe I will be flying to Hollywood tomorrow for my first time attending the TCM Classic Film Festival. As a credentialed member of the media, I'll be sharing fun photos and tidbits throughout my trip. Most of my coverage during the festival will be on my social media accounts, and particularly Twitter. After the festival, I'll follow up with more in-depth posts about what I experienced.

For those of you who simply want a photo gallery view of the festival, I will also be posting on Instagram for the first time. You can follow me here: kcclassic or use the handy icon right under the Classic Movies banner. I'm looking forward to giving you an armchair view of the festival!

I have been over the festival schedule so many times that I may have committed it to memory, and I think I have finally decided on my first choices. Of course, I know I may not be able to make it to all of these, but I hear that my chances are good to get into most, if not all of the things I want to see.

My primary focus: appearances by stars I admire, because Mickey Rooney's death has reminded me that, as morbid as it sounds, some of these stars could be appearing for the last time.

My top choices so far:

Thursday

I want to check out the Meet TCM event and of course the opening night party. I'm also hoping to check out the poolside screening of American Graffiti. I'm considering Johnny Guitar as well. That would be gorgeous on a big screen.

Friday

After reading, and loving, Scott Eyman's new biography of John Wayne, seeing the early showing of Stagecoach is a must. I can't wait to see it again; it's been a long time. Then I am looking forward to seeing Grey Gardens. I'm sure it will be an amazing experience to adore the two Edies with an audience. I also want to see Margaret O'Brien at the screening of Meet Me In St. Louis. I think this is going to be a popular one.

Then I might try to catch some of A Conversation With Quincy Jones in Club TCM, as he is from Seattle, my hometown. I might need to eat too though. The problem is, there's not really much time for that or potty breaks. Then it's on to Why Worry? with Harold Lloyd.

I'm also considering seeing Employee's Entrance as it is one of my favorite pre-codes. To top off the night: a midnight screening of the eerie, and strangely funny, Eraserhead.

Saturday

I'm hoping to cover the Jerry Lewis handprint ceremony. We'll see! I may be trying to grab a glimpse from afar. Then maybe Godzilla or I Remember Mama (they don't lack for variety at TCMFF). My big goal is to see Maureen O'Hara at the screening of How Green Was My Valley. I also want to check out Kim Novak before Bell, Book and Candle, one of my favorite movies. I'm sort of curious to see Jerry Lewis and The Nutty Professor, but I've been a fan of Novak for so long. Then I plan to finish the night with a movie that always makes me laugh: The Women.

Sunday

I haven't got much planned for the last day of the festival. Alan Arkin is a must-see, both his interview for Live From The TCM Classic Film Festival and in his Oscar-nominated performance in The Heart is a Lonely Hunter. My plans could change when those TBA films are announced.

I'm also really looking forward to meeting as many film fans as possible, from the bloggers I already plan to meet, and those I have read for years, to all those lovely surprises that you can count on when thousands of people who love the same thing gather together.

It's going to be great fun, and I hope I can make it a good time for those of you who will be reading along at home. I know that can be fun too, and I hope I can add to your enjoyment!

Don't forget to follow kcclassic on Instagram!

Quote of the Week

People identify with me, but they dream of being John Wayne.

-Jimmy Stewart

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Five Reasons I Dig Jerry Lewis

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As I wrote in my post about Jerry Lewis' rings last week, TCM's announcement that it would be honoring Jerry Lewis at its 2014 film festival inspired me to learn more about this legendary comedian.

After seeing several Jerry Lewis movies, checking out lots of random clips online, and reading the comedian's memoir of his relationship with Dean Martin, I get why people call him a genius. Lewis has worked hard to perfect his craft, but he was also born to entertain. He's got this remarkable confidence in himself, like he's telling the audience he's in command, and not to worry about things getting too out of control. And yet seeming out of control is what can make him exciting to watch.

The thing that always turns me off about Lewis is his mugging. Sometimes that still drives me a little mad, but his idiot faces and squeaky voice can also be the funniest thing about him. It's the part of his comedy that catches you off guard. He just goes for it. Sometimes he falls flat, sometimes it's the funniest thing you've ever seen.

I think that's why he and Dean Martin were such a popular team. Their act was pretty much Lewis jumping off a cliff and building his wings on the way down (to paraphrase Ray Bradbury). That created unbearable tension for the audience, but Martin just stood there being amused, which made it all funnier. They couldn't quite capture that same energy on the budget-conscious sets of Hollywood, I don't think anyone could, but they came close many times.

For the most part, I still find Lewis' films uneven. I think he was just meant to be a live performer, where he can balance meticulous planning with the kind of improvisation that can only be inspired by the wild energy of a crowd. Still, I appreciate that he is a versatile talent, and he has made me laugh out loud plenty. There are lots of things I've come to admire about Jerry Lewis, here are a few that strike me the most:

His Musical Pantomime

Lewis got his start comically lip-synching to records on any stage that would have him. So it doesn't surprise me that he knows how to time comedy to music. I think he's at his best when he's a silent comic in general, and particularly when he's got a good tune to jive to. My favorite example is his wordless tirade to an empty boardroom, scored by Count Basie's Blues in Hoss' Flat, in The Errand Boy (1961):



This legendary routine has inspired all sorts of imitations. Check out how many highschoolers and young actors have posted videos of their renditions on YouTube. My favorite version is from The Family Guy.

Other great Lewis pantomime: his also-influential typewriter routine from Who's Minding the Store? (1963) and the orchestra scene from The Bellboy (1960)

His Physical Humor

There have been so many times that I've been about to give up on a Lewis flick when he gets me back with a simple movement: a double take, a flailing limb or most often, by just falling suddenly. You have to be in pretty good control of your body to look this out of control:



His Voice

Lewis is most famous for what he calls his "Idiot voice"--that high pitched squeal with the heavy New Jersey accent. Sometimes that whole monkey boy act drives me mad, other times it's just so bizarre that I can't help laughing. But the thing that really intrigues me is when he switches to his regular voice, which is smooth, warm--almost seductive. Sometimes he moves between the two voices in one scene, as he does in the clip from Geisha Boy (1958):



His Love for Dean Martin

Long before the birth of the gag-worthy term bromance, Lewis had the deepest platonic love for Dean Martin. You can actually see how much he loved him on the screen. There's a moment in the last scene of The Stooge (1952) where he sort of jumps into Martin's arms and gives him this affectionate nuzzle. It's like watching a boy and his puppy. These two had a complicated relationship, one that we will probably never fully understand, but I have no doubt that Lewis adored his partner, no matter what they went through.

The clip below is a famous television moment, where the two reunited on Lewis' Muscular Dystrophy telethon twenty years after the unhappy dissolution of their partnership. It's kind of an awkward moment, but you can see that Lewis is clearly thrilled to see his old partner:



His Stand-up

This is where Lewis really shines, because being in front of an audience allows him to create chaos in the manner that made him famous. He knows how to play the crowd, bringing them up and down as he pleases and with unwavering confidence. Just look at his entrance here, he's being the performer that people expect, but the way he does it is delightfully surprising:

Book Review-- John Wayne: The Life and Legend

John Wayne: The Life and Legend
Scott Eyman
Simon & Schuster, 2014

I've always admired John Wayne's performance in the corrupt cop crime flick Brannigan (1975). It's not even close to his best movie, Wayne admitted that himself, but it demonstrates beautifully what made him great. Here he is in poor health, jumping into a new genre to juice up his image, and he owns it.

Wayne and Diane Muldaur in McQ (1974)

I especially love a scene near the end where he runs up a flight of stairs and storms into an office, out of breath, literally holding onto the door jamb for support. He breaks into this huge grin and, in that unmistakable cowboy drawl, says "knock knaaawck" to the villain. It's a great movie star moment. His charisma trumps every challenge the production, and life, has thrown at him.

Everything about John Wayne was and is big. This is a man with an airport named after him, who elevated and became the face of the western and who was for many a symbol of America itself. Even people who don't care for the kind of film he made, or who loathe his unyielding conservative politics, loved and continue to love him. If he didn't dominate with his handsome face and 6'4" frame, his charm and determination took up the slack.

In his scrupulously detailed biography of Wayne, Scott Eyman unpeels the many layers of this simultaneously complex and straightforward legend. He captures every aspect of his life, from the personal to the blindingly public.

An impressive number of interviews with family, friends and co-workers lend an added richness to the better-known details of Wayne's life. These reminisces can be repetitive, you hear over and over about the screen cowboy's remarkable strength, temper and passion for playing, and sometimes cheating at, chess, but the overall effect is of establishing, and then reinforcing, the essence of the man.

The young cowboy. With Marsha Hunt, 1937.

Unpretentious, and gifted with a common touch, Wayne never forgot his modest beginnings in Winterset, Iowa. He came up through the movie industry from the bottom, and knew very well what it felt like to support the stars. As a college student, he made tuition money as a prop man. This led to a series of bit parts, and a ten year run as the star of cheapie western serials, what Wayne called the television of his day.

Cranking out flicks six days a week was grueling. Wayne was making a living, but he was ambitious. A friendship with director John Ford led to his casting the young actor in Stagecoach (1939). That was all it took to make him a star in a genre he would continue to mold for an entire career. Wayne would be forever grateful to Ford for his belief in him. He would take abuse from the director with a nonchalance that stunned his co-stars and crew members, who were outraged on his behalf.

One of the most common claims made about Wayne is that he wasn't much of an actor, because he always played himself. Eyman concedes that the star did craft a persona which suited his values and reflected much of his true personality, but also shows how that was simply a starting point for a diverse group of characters. The real Wayne was rarely obscured by his roles, but he worked hard to craft distinct performances with a combination of skill, strong work ethic and an instinct for knowing what worked on the screen.

The iconic cowboy. Rio Bravo (1959)

Wayne may have been born to perform, but he was a disaster as a businessman. He lost a few fortunes until his son Michael Wayne took over his affairs and steered his production company Batjac to long-term success. The details of his business affairs weigh down the narrative a bit, but overall the story of how the Duke maintained control over his career and enduring respect in the industry is unusual and fascinating. Not many stars were able to steer their own projects the way he did.

Eyman packs his text full of stories of Wayne's daily life, giving a good feel for what it was like to be in his presence, something he actually managed himself before the actor's death. Some are elaborate, others just brief moments. He weaves these elements together well, crafting a portrait rather than just throwing together juicy tidbits.

You can see the way Wayne's persona remained the same in essence, but was subtly altered throughout the years, adapting to changes in his life and the world around him. He didn't always adapt well, but because he was sensitive to other people and their reactions to him, he never totally lacked self-awareness. It is this mixture of down-to-earth compassion and personal complexity that made him intriguing to his audience and is why he is admired to this day.

Many thanks to Simon & Schuster for providing a copy of the book for review.

Quote of the Week

In the fifties, Dirk was a kind of Rock Hudson idol in a series of popular movies about a doctor. So crazed were his fans that he had to have the flies of his pants sewn shut for safety....Dirk himself said, "Actually, I had to wear a basket we called a 'cricket cage' when I went out to protect the family jewels."

-Liz Smith

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Jerry Lewis and Those Rings

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I was delighted when the special guest announcements began to roll in for TCM Classic Film Festival 2014. Each name made me think of movies I had loved. Kim Novak, Margaret O'Brien and Maureen O'Hara were all a part of many happy memories.

The announcement that Jerry Lewis was to be a guest of honor at the festival didn't have that effect on me. I remembered liking The Nutty Professor (1963) and cracking up at a couple of scenes from The Bellboy (1960), but other than that, I didn't know his work well. I didn't like what I'd seen well enough to go any further.

I know that Jerry Lewis is one of the most successful entertainers in the world though, and that and the TCM announcement were enough to inspire me to see more of his films. They had a weird effect on me. Parts of them were soul-cringingly bad, other times I'd be choking with laughter. Dick Cavett once said something to the effect that you enjoy Lewis in spite of yourself. You're sitting there thinking how corny and stupid it all is, and suddenly you're cracking up without fully realizing why.

My mixed feelings kept me working my way through Lewis' filmography. I've seen twenty of his movies so far. I have a lot to say about what I've seen, which I will share in a later post, but in watching Lewis onscreen my dominant thought has always been: what is the deal with those rings he wears?

No matter what character he played, it appears Jerry Lewis almost always wore two rings. One looks like a large gold wedding ring, which is weird, because he tended to play single characters:

The other is a pinky ring with an enormous sapphire, which can be seen in the photo at the top.

These rings almost never fit with Lewis' characters, who tend to be not only single, but not wealthy enough to afford such fancy jewelry. So you've got his Fella character in Cinderfella (1960), who has no money of his own, working like a dog for his stepmother and stepbrothers, but he's got the rings:

In Who's Minding the Store? (1963) he's struggling to make a living working at a department store, but there they are again:

I thought they were most bizarre on his Professor Julius Kelp character in The Nutty Professor. I can't picture this guy caring about jewelry:

However, they work perfectly when he becomes Buddy Love in the same movie, which is funny, because when I see Jerry Lewis in interviews, he sometimes reminds me a bit of this guy:

I'm not sure when the sapphire ring first showed up. But Lewis wore the wedding ring as early as The Stooge (1952), one of his first flicks with Dean Martin:

In fact, I don't know for sure why he had to wear either of those rings, regardless of the character he played. I can't think of any actor more determined to keep a personal piece of himself in every performance like that (He even wore them in his notoriously unavailable The Day the Clown Cried (1972), as can be seen in this footage).

I've found very little to explain the rings, though the wedding ring was acknowledged on this page and in this review of Lewis' memoir about his partnership with Dean Martin, the author claims Lewis said the pinky ring was just his way of flaunting his wealth. Is it really that simple?

Quote of the Week

Dancing with [Fatty Arbuckle was] like floating in the arms of a huge doughnut--really delightful.

-Louise Brooks

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