TCM Classic Film Festival Home Edition: What to Watch

 

This year the remote edition of the TCM Classic Film Festival will run from May 6-9. As with the in-person event, there will be multiple venues: the channel, HBO Max, and ZOOM. 

While I enjoyed the Home Edition of the festival the network was able to pull together on short notice in 2020, I’m excited about what TCM has created with a lot more lead time. Overall this is a great opportunity for many people who have not been able to attend the annual event in Hollywood to experience a bit of what the fest has to offer. 

Of course, that also means experiencing the familiar festival conundrum of what to see when there are so many great choices. 

It pays to plan ahead and determine must-see events ahead of time when there are so many options. This year that means balancing between three possibilities: the live broadcast on TCM, a list of options on HBO Max that will be available from May 6-9, and attendance at free ZOOM events (some of which are now full) which require registration. 

I wanted to share my game plan as a sort of guide to navigating all these options:

Club TCM 

When TCMFF is in Hollywood, the Blossom Room at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel serves as Club TCM. This is a popular place to gather for a rest, a drink, and a chat, in addition to being a venue for special guests and presentations. While there isn’t a bar at the ZOOM Club TCM, there are events scheduled each day. Among them are the traditional Meet TCM panel which offers extra insight into the network, an opening night toast with the hosts, and a Mother’s Day chat with a trio of children of the stars. 

My must-see is Sight and Sound Makers: A Chat With Ben Burtt & Craig Barron. These two Oscar-winning sound and visual effects artists are well-loved among festival regulars for their amazing talks about the process of making sound for the movies. 

If you think you might want to check out a talk, be sure to sign up as soon as possible as events are already filling up. Also keep in mind that a chat link isn’t a reserved ticket, the event can still fill up, so be sure to log in a little early. 

On TCM

Thursday 

Opening night film West Side Story, 8pm ET (also available on HBO Max with additional special features) 

One special element of TCMFF at home is that the audience for the opening night film isn’t limited to Spotlight passes and VIPs. This is going to be a special one too, with the still vibrant, still active trio of Rita Moreno, Russ Tamblyn, and George Chakaris appearing together as special guests before a showing of the musical that they will forever be associated with. 

Doctor X, 1:30am ET 

I’ve had a look at the restoration of this classic 2-strip Technicolor horror flick directed by Michael Curtiz and it is stunning. The improved look and sound of the film boosts the mystery and ghoulishness of the proceedings. There’s nothing like a gorgeous 2-strip-colored moon. 

Friday 

The Whistle at Eaton Falls, 10:00am ET 

Each year of the festival, I go into at least one film with as little knowledge beforehand as possible. I know that Flicker Alley did the restoration of this drama and that is enough reason for me to give it a try. 

Live from the TCM Classic Film Festival: Sophia Loren, 4:00PM ET 

I've already seen this chat with Loren and her son Eduardo, but it is so charming that I watch it any chance I get.

SF Sketchfest Presents Plan 9 From Outer Space Table Read – Adapted by Dana Gould, 8:00pm ET 

It’s impressive how quickly the art of ZOOM dramatics has advanced in the past year. We’ve gone from straight table-read style events to this stylishly-produced spoof of Ed Wood’s goofball sci-fi classic. From the black and white “cinematography” to amusing backgrounds and miniatures, this is a great-looking production. The cast of players, led by Gould, perfectly balances camp with straight-faced fidelity to the script. Laraine Newman is a highlight as the bemused narrator. 

Plan 9 from Outer Space (1957), 9:30pm ET 

You’ll definitely want to watch the real deal after the table read just to see that yes, those were the real lines from the movie and they were performed with dead seriousness. 

TCM Underground Presents: Grease 2 (1982), 11:00pm ET 

As I first saw this movie when I was twelve, no one will ever convince me it isn’t genius. This follow-up to the original box office sensation is a lot of fun and a perfect Midnight flick. From young and gorgeous Michelle Pfeiffer and Maxwell Caulfield, to the classic film connection via Judy Garland’s daughter Lorna Luft, the cast itself is enough of a draw, but the songs are also incredibly catchy. 

let me come in (2021), 3:15am ET 

If you can stay up, this Bill Morrison (Dawson City: Frozen Time [2016]) short is a wonderfully mesmerizing experience. Made from decaying footage from a German silent, it is the mysterious story of a man and a woman, lost in waves of disintegrating nitrate. 

Underworld U.S.A. (1961), 4:00am ET 

Another film I’m going into with little previous knowledge. Bill Hader’s introduction to this is a must-see; he always provides valuable insight into movies because he’s well-attuned to the tone of a film and the details that contribute to its overall mood. 

Saturday 

Tex Avery: The King of Cartoons (1988), 6:00am ET/ Tex Avery at MGM (1943-1955), 7:00am ET 

There’s no better time to learn about the life and career of a subversive and mischievous cartoon great than a Saturday morning! This brief documentary will be followed by some of the best of Avery’s work (though I have never warmed up to that devious little Screwball Squirrel…). 

I Love Trouble (1948), 8:00am ET 

I saw and loved this lighter take on the detective movie at a Noirfest many years ago. It was the first time I enjoyed Franchot Tone, who seems to be having the time of his life as a snarky investigator.

Nichols and May: Take Two (1996), 11:45am ET 

The best part of this episode of American Masters about the comedy team of Elaine May and Mike Nichols is that it includes full-length performances of some of the pair’s best routines. The intelligent and lightly erotic charge of these two has never been matched. 

Bullitt (1968), 5:45pm ET 

One of the biggest disappointments of TCMFF 2019 was that Jacqueline Bissett was unable to make her planned appearance before a screening of this slick crime flick at the Chinese Theatre. It was still a transformative experience, but I am glad she’s getting another chance to chat about one of her most memorable films. 

They Won’t Believe Me (1947), 8:00pm ET 

This film noir starring Robert Taylor is another new film for me and a draw because it is newly restored in 4k from a nitrate print of the film. 

Lady Sings the Blues (1972), 10:00pm ET 

Diana Ross was the first actress to win an Oscar nomination playing Billie Holiday. I’ve never seen this and I’m looking forward to seeing how Ross approached the part. 

Sunday 

Her Man (1930), 8:45am ET 

It’s just not TCMFF without a Pre-code. Watching Helen Twelvetrees starring as a bar girl in Havana sounds like a great way to start the day. 

Princess Tam Tam (1935), 12:45pm ET 

This restoration of Josephine Baker’s best film performance is a festival must-see. While film was a small part of this multi-talented artist’s career, she had a unique, vivacious effect on the screen. Worth a watch for her uninhibited and artful climactic dance performance alone. 

Hollywood Home Movies: Stars at Work and Play, 7:00pm ET 

This has been a popular annual feature at Club TCM, but I have never had the chance to attend. Now that I know what this presentation has to offer, I recommend it highly. There’s all sorts of goodies here, but the highlight is the films presented by the special guests: Tony Nicholas describes videos of his famous father and uncle, the Nicholas Brothers and Shirley Jones talks about footage of her on the set of her first film, Oklahoma (1955). They’re both incredibly charming and insightful. Also, you can’t miss the sight of Frank Morgan playing tennis in a hairnet. 

So This is Paris (1926), 8:00pm ET 

All I remember about this silent is that when I saw it for the first time at TCMFF a few years ago I laughed so loud that I snorted. Enough reason to check it out again, especially now that this early Ernst Lubitsch film has been restored. 

Fame (1980), 11:45pm ET 

Debbie Allen has been my pandemic angel, because the free dance classes she started giving on Instagram Live last Spring helped me to deal with a lot of the stress and confusion of the first days of being homebound. I can’t wait to see her again in her most famous film even though I can't keep up with her dance routines. 

News From Home (1977) 4:15am ET/ La Chambre (1972) 6:13am ET 

If I can stay awake, I plan to finish the fest with this dreamy, drifting pair of films directed by Chantal Akerman. News From Home is a remarkable time capsule of a New York long gone. I especially love the scenes Akerman captures on the subway, where the wary passengers seem unsure of the lady with the camera, but unwilling to confront her. La Chambre is a perfect after-hours short as it consists of the camera’s slow journey around a peaceful bedroom. 

HBO Max 

I suspect that if I miss something I want to see at TCMFF this year, it will be on the HBO Max channel. There is so much amazing content scheduled, though the benefit of being able to see it at any time from May 6-9 helps. 

Though I would like to see all of the conversations with the filmmakers and performers that will be posted there, I’m going to make sure I see the talk with documentary director Barbara Kopple, because she has such a perceptive and affectionate way of talking about her work and her subjects. 

I’m also going to make time to watch Chain Lightning (1950) an action adventure drama starring Humphrey Bogart and Eleanor Parker. I recommend the Ben Burtt and Craig Barron special feature about the sounds in the film. As usual, they’re hilarious together and there’s a lot of interesting history here, including the frequent use of a single jet sound in several projects. 

There are three stunning features in the Special Collections category that are worth making a priority: 

One is the LA Rebellion collection, featuring the work of a trio of filmmakers who were students together at UCLA in the nineties. Jacqueline Stewart conducts a fascinating interview with directors Charles Burnett and Billy Woodbury about their work. The films in the collection: Julie Dash’s Daughters of the Dust (1991), Woodbury’s Bless Their Little Hearts (1983), and Burnett’s To Sleep with Anger (1990) are diverse in subject matter, but similar in their attention to detail, strong characters, and realistic world-building. This is a truly magnificent collection. 

Another can’t-miss: the premiere of the documentary The Mystery of Méliès (2021) which explores the life and work of the pioneering filmmaker in a lively, inventive way. 

There’s also a collection of Powell and Pressburger films: Black Narcissus (1947), The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943) and The Red Shoes (1948), which is accompanied by a deeply touching short featuring Thelma Schoonmaker, who was married to Powell for the last ten years of his life. 

There’s so many other films in this collection that there’s sure to be something to please all tastes and the special features for each of them are a great way to emulate the festival experience. 

As with the TCMFF on Hollywood Boulevard, you’re not going to be able to see everything, but what you do see will be memorable.

All photos courtesy of TCM.

Podcasts for Classic Film Fans: April Round-up

 

Calling Old Hollywood 

Lora Stocker on the life, loves, and films of Ava Gardner, and her journey to TCM 

April 5, 2021 

Interesting conversation about Ava Gardner with TCM designer/Ava Gardner Museum volunteer Lora Stocker. I went into the episode knowing a lot about Gardner, but I felt like I understood her better after listening to this.

Still Processing

40 Acres and a Movie

April 8, 2021

Wesley and Jenna discuss the complicated legacy of Disney in their typically thoughtful way. They get right to the heart of the matter: while these films are an important part of our collective childhood, they have damaging aspects that are too significant to ignore.

Lions, Towers & Shields 

Warren William: Cookie Monster 

March 13, 2021 

I loved this episode about Warren William, my favorite Pre-Code cad, and one of his best films The Mind Reader (1933).

Pure Cinema Podcast 

Italian Genre Sample 

March 21, 2021 

Great concept: rather than focusing on a single genre, in this episode hosts Brian and Elric make recommendations from a variety of popular classic Italian film types, including Giallos, Westerns, and Poliziotteschi. I watched a few of the titles they suggested and loved every one of them.

The Movies That Made Me

Legendary Actor Bruce Dern

April 6, 2021

This is a phenomenal conversation with the one-of-a-kind  Bruce Dern. Bless his great memory. He has so many stories about Old Hollywood stars; the best by far was his memories of Joan Crawford, Bette Davis, and Olivia deHaviland on the set of Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964). He really dishes.

On Blu-ray: Teen Angst on the Airwaves in Pump Up the Volume (1990)

 

Pump up the Volume (1990) is decades newer than most of the films I review here. I do consider it deserving of modern classic status though. I wanted to write about it, because when I first saw it in the theater I expected it to make a bigger splash and influence more films like it. As it is, it has a solid cult following. Recently, I enjoyed revisiting it on a new Blu-ray release from Warner Archive. 

My 80s/90s crush Christian Slater stars as the shy, lonely Mark, a high school student uprooted from the East coast to the West for his father’s career as an educational administrator. Unable to connect with anyone at school, he finds a way to speak out via his raunchy and high-spirited pirate radio show. The students at his school discover his late-night ramblings and embrace him because he speaks to their emotional malaise, members of what he calls an “exhausted decade.” 

Having lived through this time as a teen, I did and still do relate to the blank feeling Pump up the Volume speaks to. It was a confused era for the young. Less politically aware than their parents and turned off by the consumerism of the eighties, these were the kids who listened to the rough and raw bands soon to be called grunge and learned about political injustice via the beats of Public Enemy, N.W.A., Iced T, and the like. 

Pump up the Volume nails the awkwardness of being a teenager. How your words never seem to come out right or not at all. How you have a lot to offer, but no idea how to share it. How you rebel because you want control, though you don't fully know what you'd do with the power. 

This was the first film Allen Moyle had directed since Times Square (1980), another movie that understood the awkwardness of not fitting in and the messy feeling of relationships when you are young. He would go on to direct what would become another cult youth favorite, Empire Records (1995). It’s a shame Moyle hasn’t made more films about the young, because he seems to have a good memory for how the confusion and disorder of growing up feels. 

When Pump up the Volume came out, I assumed it would inspire more films like it. It was raw, energetic, and empathetic in a way that directors like John Hughes could never tap. This was what teens were really like. Instead, there was a bit of a void in the teen market until lighter fare like She’s All That (1999) set a new template. 

Now, for better or worse, anyone can have a voice on social media. You don’t need Mark’s short wave radio set to reach the masses. As chaotic as that can be, I think it’s for the best. So many of our problems as a society are due to those without power having a voice and that has demonstrably proven to be one of the great perks of having free, potentially far-reaching platforms online. 

Of course, something that powerful is going to have significant drawbacks; the combination of freedom and the means to speak always do, but sometimes I think we forget how much it connects us. Instead of the one-way or occasionally two-way connections of Mark and his radio station, the exchange is faster, wider and in many ways more effective. 

Pump up the Volume is most powerful when it speaks to the need of having a voice and even more importantly, being heard. 

Many thanks to Warner Archive for providing a copy of the film for review. To order, visit The Warner Archive Collection .

Book Review--Josephine Baker's Cinematic Prism

 

Josephine Baker’s Cinematic Prism 

Terri Simone Francis 

Indiana University Press, 2021 

Josephine Baker was an anomaly in the early days of black representation in cinema. She never played a maid or a cook and she was always the star of her films. As the energetic star of films including Zouzou (1934), Siren of the Tropics (1927), and Princesse Tam-Tam (1935), she offered a new perspective on Black actresses on the screen. That said, the way she was presented to her public had its complications. In a new book, Terri Simone Francis explores the legendary performer’s image and accomplishments on the screen. 

Before I picked up this book, I’d never watched a Josephine Baker film. I’m not sure why. I’ve enjoyed clips of her singing and dancing, I’ve read two biographies about her, I’ve even read a whole book about her Rainbow Tribe of adoptees from around the world. The only conclusion I can come to is that I assumed that a woman who walked down the streets of Paris with a Cheetah on a leash, had men fighting duals over her, and lived in glamour and chaos for decades could never be half as amusing in a film as she was in real life. 

I’m glad this book inspired me to fill in that hole in my cinematic education. I’m also happy to have been wrong, because while Baker didn’t think much of her films, she had presence and the camera loved her. This academic, but accessible deep dive into her film career and the impact of her image in the movies is thorough in considering what influenced her, how she reflected the current culture, and how she continues to be an influence today. 

Francis explores how Baker’s performance style was inspired by African dance and blues singers like Ethel Waters, Ma Rainey, and Clara Smith (with whom she performed in the US). She put her own comic lens on these varied influences and presented her take with a boldness that would later show in the style of top stars like Diana Ross and Beyoncé. That vibrancy would translate well to the screen, where her mere presence was invigorating, in addition to her energetic, unique dance style and solid comic chops. 

Baker’s films were intricate in the way they approached her role in society. While she was the glamorous and charismatic focus of attention, there was always a flavor of exoticism in the way she was portrayed. French colonialism also had a steady pull, keeping her centered, but not quite free. Wealthy white men might have found her alluring, but she was never the romantic focus. Francis thoughtfully details that uneasy balance of stardom and restriction that affected her film work, placing Baker in the complicated history of minstrelsy, Hottentot Venus, and other modes of Black performance and spectacle. 

This is an impressively thorough examination of a relatively short period of Baker’s career that nevertheless had a significant impact on her image and legacy. 

Many thanks to Indiana University Press for providing a copy of the book for review.

On Blu-ray: Ronald Colman in Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities (1935)

The 1935 MGM production of Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities was the fourth screen adaptation of the novel and the first to be made with sound. It followed the similarly grand David Copperfield, which had been released earlier in the year. While the film explores the drama of the French Revolution on a large scale, it is almost intimate in the way it explores love and sacrifice. I recently watched it on a new Blu-ray release from Warner Archive. 

The casting of the film for the most part is perfect because it is utterly unsurprising. Basil Rathbone settles cozily into his role as an icy, cruel Marquis, Edna Mae Oliver ties her bonnet and plays the perfect protective servant, and Elizabeth Allen performs with the reserve of someone who knows she is meant to be decorative. 

Ronald Colman on the other hand is a revelation. Throughout most of his career, he tended to play dashing, romantic, and plainly heroic characters. It’s fascinating to see him play a more downbeat and morally complex character. Much like Cary Grant, he could skate by on his charm and handsome face, but he had more to offer as an actor. This was a role he had long wanted and studied for and his total commitment shows in the performance. 

A Tale of Two Cities is a busy film. You get the feeling of a bag being quickly packed, stuffed full of important things that can’t be missed though there really isn’t enough room for everything. It’s a familiar issue for classic adaptations and especially the character-filled stories of Dickens. 

Still, it is an effective production and grand in a way only MGM could achieve at the time. While the crowds and clatter can be invigorating, the best moments focus on Colman and his personal response to public chaos. When in the midst of coldly efficient violence and cruelty he calmly meets his fate, it is immensely touching. In fact, it’s one of the great moments of classic cinema. 

Special features on the disc include a theatrical trailer, the cartoons Hey, Hey Fever and Honeyland, audio of a radio adaptation of the story also starring Colman, and the amusing stereoscopic demonstration short Audioscopicks, which was nominated for an Oscar. 

Many thanks to Warner Archive for providing a copy of the film for review. To order, visit The Warner Archive Collection .

Podcasts for Classic Film Fans: March Roundup

For the first time in a long while, I think every podcast in my monthly round-up is new to this site. I love finding new shows, so if you've got a podcast, or one you enjoy that I haven't covered, please let me know in the comments!

Rarified Heir 

Chris Lemmon 

March 9, 2021 

This is a fascinating chat with Chris Lemmon, son of Jack Lemmon. He shares lots of charming memories about his dad and the more friendly Hollywood he grew up in. I especially loved hearing his stories about the real life characters in their family orbit, including Walter Mattheau and Christopher Walken.

Forgotten Film Cast 

Gay Purr-ee 

January 15, 2021 

While I’ve known about the animated UPA production Gay Purr-ee (1962) for years, I’ve never seen it, so I was a bit alarmed to learn from this podcast that the plot involves trafficking of a cat bride. Of course it’s played for laughs, which is even weirder. And yet, I’m curious to see it after this conversation.

 

Beyond the Big Screen 

Hollywood Hates History: The Conqueror (1956) January 25, 2021 

While I knew that John Wayne playing Genghis Kahn didn’t scream authenticity, this episode still stunned me, because it seems Hollywood got almost nothing right about Mongol history. The truth is as fascinating as the mishaps are amusing. 

The History of Film 

The Life and Work of Max Linder 

January 20, 2021 

I have long wanted to learn more about the French silent film comedian Max Linder. This was a good introduction to the actor.

On Blu-ray, Musical Delights for Troubled Times: My Dream Is Yours (1949), On Moonlight Bay (1951), and Show Boat

With all the tension and troubles in the world right now, I nearly cheered at the opportunity to review this trio of musicals recently released on Blu-ray by Warner Archive. Great music, gorgeous stars, and beautiful settings; there’s nothing like a well-made classic musical.

My Dream Is Yours (1949) 

Doris Day followed her remarkably assured debut in Romance on the High Seas (1948) with another impeccable performance in My Dream Is Yours (1949). It’s amazing to me that this perfectly paced and charmingly acted film isn’t better known. The story of a single mother hustling with her determined manager to become a singing star is a perfect showcase for Day's daisy-fresh persona.

Day is paired again with Jack Carson. Next to Rock Hudson, I’ve always thought Carson was her best screen partner. They both have an energized, but effortless appeal, like neither of them has to work too hard to entertain. 

In addition to an amusing batch of catchy songs, including the cheerful Cutting Capers and the swoon worthy title tune, the film is full of visual delights, such as a bizarre dream sequence featuring Bugs Bunny, the elegant presence of an all-female radio orchestra, and lots of colorful costumes and sets. 

The supporting cast is a sharp crew of Warner Bros players including Eve Arden, Adolphe Menjou, and S.Z. Sakall, who is always a welcome sight, though it’s a shame none of his characters ever seemed to have an intellect above that of a preschooler. 

Special features on the disc include a theatrical trailer, the cartoon A Ham in a Role, the drama short The Grass Is Always Greener, and the comedy short So you Want to Be an Actor.

On Moonlight Bay (1951) 

It’s funny to see Doris Day transition from the sunny, but savvy career girl in My Dream Is Yours to her role as an innocent teenager in On Moonlight Bay, but it’s impressive too because she pulls it off. 

I love the corny good cheer of this turn-of-the-century comedy (I hope the equally amusing sequel By the Light of the Silvery Moon [1953] makes it to Blu-ray). It’s a great balm for tense times. 

Day plays tomboy Judy, who abruptly decides to switch gears and put on a dress when she meets the handsome Bill (Gordon McRae). Until World War I rolls around, nothing more traumatic than a broken leg happens in their pleasant, small town world. 

The film is a series of gentle vignettes, featuring a cast of appealing and under-used character actors including Leon Ames and Rosemary DeCamp as her parents, the refreshingly unmannered Billy Gray as her brother, and Jack Smith as Judy’s handsome, but hapless and irritating suitor. The never under-used, ubiquitous Mary Wickes is also a delight as the family maid. 

Special features on the disc include a theatrical trailer, the cartoon A Hound for Trouble, and the musical short Let’s Sing a Song About the Moonlight.

Show Boat (1951) 

While there is much to love about the pink satin and ribbons MGM-style grandeur of George Sidney’s adaptation of this legendary stage musical, I’ve never fallen completely under its spell. 

For one, James Whale’s artistically lensed 1936 version captured the grittiness of the story with greater flair and having legendary personalities like Paul Robeson and Helen Morgan on hand certainly helped. I’m also not a fan of the operatic singing style of Kathryn Grayson and Howard Keel, which somehow doesn’t work as well for me on the screen as it would in a stage production. Viewers who like that style will find this film heavenly; I tend to resent it a little more because it meant that Ava Gardner’s lovely singing voice with that perfect Southern drawl had to be dubbed so that she’d fit the bill. 

As in Whale’s version, the supporting cast is delightful, featuring Joe E. Brown in an unusually reserved performance, Agnes Moorehead, William Warfield doing a wonderfully rumbly version of Ol' Man River, and Marge and Gower Champion as the show boat’s comedic team. Ava Gardner is the stand-out though: she’s passionate, raw, and unafraid to appear stripped of her glamour (she remains stunningly beautiful even when she's supposed to be ragged). 

It’s a fine spectacle, but I kept thinking back to Robeson, Morgan, and the magical way Whale filmed the sparkling river water. 

Special features on the disc include commentary by George Sidney, the Show Boat sequence from the 1946 musical Till the Clouds Roll By, an audio clip of Ava Gardner singing Bill and Can’t Help Lovin’ Dat Man, a Lux Radio on Theater Broadcast, and a theatrical trailer.

Many thanks to Warner Archive for providing a copy of the film for review. To order, visit The Warner Archive Collection.