TCM Classic Film Festival 2018: Another Year of Movie Mania

I’m back from my fifth year covering the TCM Classic Film Festival! 

This event gets better every year. I always learn how to navigate the festival a little more efficiently each time I attend, the friendships I have made over the years deepen, and I meet even more fantastic movie fans in line, seated next to me at screenings, and at the elegant Club TCM in the Roosevelt Hotel.

Pre-Festivities

I planted feet in Hollywood on Wednesday afternoon. It’s become a new tradition for me to take the Flyaway bus from LAX, because it drops me at the Montalban Theater, in front of which is this most important star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame:

It’s become especially meaningful to have a chance to pay tribute to Mr. Osborne the moment I get to town. Then I headed across the street to Trader Joe’s to pick up snacks for the festival. Couldn’t be more convenient!

I spent the day catching up with friends and adjusting once again to the chaos of Hollywood Boulevard (it seems to get weirder every year). That meant lunch at 25 Degrees Diner in the Hollywood Roosevelt with my festival roommate Laura and her husband (got to load those calories before the crazy movie-watching schedule begins and they have great burgers and fries) and checking out the TCMFF decorations in the lobby of the Roosevelt Hotel. 

Great promotional art this year

The hallway of the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, where clearly TCM has taken over

This multimedia Filmstruck display in the lobby of the Roosevelt fascinated festivalgoers

Next I checked out the TCM Festival Boutique which sits between theater locations in the Hollywood and Highland Shopping Center:

The rest of the year this space is part of the massive Sweet candy store

I finished the afternoon chatting with fellow members of the media at a reception in Club TCM which replaced the press conference this year.

Mural in Club TCM part one

Mural in Club TCM part two

Enjoying Chaplin wine with @ClassicMovieHub and @CitizenScreen

A lot of people complain about frequently-played TCM Wine Club ads, but really, I've had a few varieties and this is good wine

Club TCM is such a relaxing place to hang out. Wish I could go there year-round Photo: Doug Grieve

@CitizenScreen pulled me into a pic with Ben Mankiewicz and I was impressed by the expert way he adjusted his position to get a perfect shot. You'd think he maybe did this kind of thing a lot.

Then on to dinner at the yummy Kitchen 24 with a mob of classic film bloggers and movie fanatics:

That's me on the right. I promise I was having fun. My face just does that. Photo: Doug Grieve

I finished the night at the social media influencer mixer at Teddy’s in the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. I loved this intimate little bar. It reminded me a lot of some of the cave-like tapas places I went to when I visited Barcelona, Spain. The historic Roosevelt is full of interesting places like this. It’s well worth it to wander around and check it all out.

Teddy's in the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel

Having an attack of severe introversion at Teddy's with @sabinastent and @thephantomasthmatic. Major people exhaustion! Photo: Doug Grieve

And here I am two glasses of wine later. Blurry and back in the groove.

Thursday, Festival Day One

On the first day of the festival, movies don’t start until the evening, so there’s lots of time to relax and be a tourist before the cinematic rollercoaster begins. I continued my pre-fest calorie load with a big breakfast at Mel’s Drive-in, a popular restaurant for festival attendees because of its long hours, a huge menu with all-day breakfast, and a location near the Egyptian and Chinese Multiplex. This was another great chance to catch up with friends.

Then, full of bacon and hash browns, I made my annual trip to Larry Edmunds Bookshop to load up on books and photos. TCMFF weekend is like Black Friday for this Hollywood institution and I am always delighted to do my part in keeping them going!

Tempted, but I have no wall space.

Goodies part one

Goodies part two

For festivals past I have often checked out the opening night red carpet from the bleachers, but this year I was determined to get into the entertaining pre-code Finishing School (1934). I had reviewed the film on DVD over the past year and wanted to experience this by turns funny and dramatic flick with a crowd. Frances Dee is so moving as the film's heroine and Ginger Rogers nearly steals the whole thing with the kind of wisecracks that make you snort. It's also full of sharply-written female friendships you can only find in classic films.

I also wanted to see Wyatt McCrea, the grandson of the Dee (and Joel McCrea) introduce the screening, because I’d heard he was a great storyteller and ambassador for his grandparent’s legacy.

Finishing School was scheduled for the Chinese Multiplex theater four, which is notorious for filling up quickly as it is the smallest festival venue. Most of the TBD rescreenings scheduled for Sunday come from films shown at this theater.

So it was not shocking to see people already lining up when we arrived at the theater over two hours before the screening (as expected, it was screened again on Sunday). I know it sounds crazy to wait in a line longer than it takes to see the film, but this is where you can have some of the best times at the festival. It’s a line full of people who love classic movies! We all had a great time catching up with friends and meeting new people.

Jeremy Arnold and Wyatt McCrea

TCM writer and film historian Jeremy Arnold interviewed Wyatt McCrea and it was one of my favorite introductions of the festival. There was such a pleasant, easygoing flow to their conversation and McCrea shared fascinating memories of his grandmother. I had the chance to thank them after the screening and both men said they could have gone on for twenty more minutes. I could have listened for much longer.

I’d considered catching Throne of Blood (1957) next, because I don’t usually see many foreign films at TCMFF, but seeing Stage Door (1937) at the Egyptian Theater turned the night into a perfect girlfriend double feature. It also gave me the opportunity to see Ginger Rogers steal scenes and crack wise for another two hours. 

Back in the magical forecourt of my favorite theater

The cast of this film is amazing in itself: Ginger Rogers, Andrea Leeds, Gail Patrick, Eve Arden, Lucille Ball, and Katherine Hepburn just for starters, but it’s also great because of where many of these actresses were in their careers. Rogers is reaching her peak, impeccably funny, lively and light-footed, while stars like Arden and Ball are just getting their start, but already immensely appealing with their casual slacks and easy way with a quip. Amazingly, just about all the women in this massive cast get a chance to shine, perfectly demonstrating the turbulent beauty of female friendships.

I’ve had many a film archivist tell me that there is nothing special about nitrate film, but I continue to wonder about that. In the rush of changing schedules and getting to the theater, I’d forgotten that this was a nitrate screening. At some point I realized how much I was enjoying the look of the film and and how different it seemed from Finishing School. It was then that I remembered the format. Of course there are other elements that contribute to what I experienced, such as the condition of the print and the fact that I was watching it in a much bigger theater. Still, I feel like there is something about nitrate.

Bill Morrison and Anne Morra

Before Stage Door, MoMA curator Anne Morra introduced The Letter (2018), a new short by filmmaker Bill Morrison, whose Dawson City: Frozen in Time (2016) played at TCMFF 2017. The film has more in common with the director’s 2002 film Decasia than Dawson City, telling a silent story with decaying film, which through its self-destruction takes on another meaning.

Morrison’s films are a mesmerizing experience, with emotionally potent images and intense musical soundtracks. As The Letter played, the theater was the most quiet of any screening during the festival.

With the first day of the festival a blur of activity behind me, I braced myself for the most thrilling, but also most exhausting days of TCMFF to come. 

Come back tomorrow for part two of my fest report, where I watch eleven films in two days, including two midnight screenings, and manage drag myself to a morning screening the next day.

All photos are property of A Classic Movie Blog unless credited otherwise. 

Book Review--Roman Holiday: The Secret Life of Hollywood in Rome

Roman Holiday: The Secret Life of Hollywood in Rome
Caroline Young
The History Press, 2018

Much has been written about the vibrant cultural and social scene that exploded in Rome as the city emerged from the trauma of World War II. It was the place to be in the 1950s and 1960s as can be seen by the scandals, drama, and artistic output that continue to be a source of fascination decades later. 

In a new book, Caroline Young examines this time via the lives of several prominent actresses who worked, made their home, and battled with paparazzi during this time. They are a varied lot: Anna Magnani, Sophia Loren, Ingrid Bergman, Audrey Hepburn, and Elizabeth Taylor among them, but there are several commonalities among their lives as well. You get a taste of what they experienced during turbulent times in this addictive read.

Young has divide her book by actress, devoting chapters to them within which she also explores other personalities and events in the city. Taking a essentially chronological path, she’ll come back to these women, giving them a chapter for the early phases of their Rome experience and then coming back to them in another chapter which examines later years of their time in the capitol, as if she is checking in to see how things are progressing.

It can become a bit chaotic jumping between stories, which is jarring on one hand and an appropriate reflection of the times on the other. The profiles are an even balance of history and sensation, delving into the lives of each woman, but also giving plenty of space to the scandals that drew the press to them or were perhaps inspired by aggressive paparazzi in the first place. It can get juicy, but the actresses are also treated with respect.

It's an entertaining book, with a mix of well-known stories and less familiar tidbits. It’s perfect as a frothy beach read, but has substance as well. For a more deeply researched, comprehensive study of Rome in this vibrant time, I’d recommend Shawn Levy’s Dolce Vita Confidential, but as a tribute that provides a view of mid-century Rome from the perspective of these actresses, Roman Holiday is a satisfying history.

Many thanks to The History Press for providing a copy of the book for review.

Time for TCM Film Festival 2018! How to Follow Me

Today I will embark upon my fifth journey to Hollywood to attend the TCM Classic Film Festival, which takes place from April 26-29. Follow along with me as I explore the festival, from pre-festivities to the closing night party:

Twitter
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Here is my schedule for the moment, though I have to admit I'm already considering several changes. That's the nature of the festival!

I'll share more photos and experiences here at A Classic Movie Blog when I return.

And if you see me at the festival, say hi!

TCMFF Prefunc: 7 Reasons I Dig Nancy Kwan

Nancy Kwan in 1964/Image Source

I adore Nancy Kwan. She's smart, charismatic, and brilliant in anything she does, whether it is a comedy, drama, or musical. When it was announced she would be attending a screening of The World of Suzie Wong (1960) at TCM Classic Film Festival 2018, I did a cartwheel and wrote it in my schedule in permanent ink. To celebrate this momentous occasion, I have compiled a list of seven things I dig about Nancy Kwan:

1. I'll start from the beginning, Flower Drum Song (1961), the first film I saw featuring Nancy Kwan. Her performance in the I Enjoy Being a Girl number is such lively fun (B.J. Baker provides the vocals). As I watched her, all I could think was how much fun it would be to be friends with her: go shopping, have lunch, gossip...



2. Of course the true beginning of Kwan's film career was The World of Suzie Wong (1960). Only twenty and she grabbed a lead role for her debut! She's wonderful as Suzie, because she perfectly captures the character's innate dignity. Perhaps she has been forced to make a living in a profession that can be degrading, but at her core she is always a queen.




3. I love Nancy when she is bad. In this delightfully mod scene from The Wrecking Crew (1968) she tangles with Sharon Tate while looking super fab in a mini dress. Two of my favorite actresses facing off in a martial arts battle, choreographed by Bruce Lee? Yes please. It's like the filmmakers consulted me. I just wish it had been a longer fight:



4. My favorite Nancy Kwan flick features the actress in the kind of role I wish she'd gotten more often. In The Wild Affair (1963/65), she plays a sharp-witted, adventurous office worker on the verge of matrimony who plans a crazy company party. She's also delightfully hip in her Mary Quant costumes and Vidal Sassoon hairstyle.



5. It is frustrating that because of her race, Kwan did not get the array of roles her talent warranted. You could not blame the actress for feeling bitter about the lack of opportunity she found even after being discovered. She has been productive in her reaction to her past though, becoming a passionate and articulate advocate for Asian actors in the American film industry. I admire her for striving to make the profession more fulfilling for future generations, both by speaking out and creating opportunities by launching her own independent film productions. Here she speaks about the lack of opportunity on CNN in 2010:



6. I love how Kwan can leave herself open to fate, but at the same time take control of her destiny. In 1970, Kwan returned to her home in Hong Kong to care for her ailing father. She had only planned to stay for a year, but instead ended up remaining for seven years and founding Nancy Kwan Films. The company primarily produced commercials for viewers in Southeast Asia.

Nancy and her father/ Image Source

7. Always the compassionate activist, Kwan processed her grief over her son Bernie Pock's 1996 death from AIDS by producing a movie about him and writing the book Celebration of Life-Memories of my Son, the proceeds from which she donated to AIDS charities.

Kwan continues to be an asset to her community, sharing her wisdom, spirituality, and the power of her still vibrant platform to make the world a better place. I am looking forward to seeing this wonderful lady in person! 

On DVD: MGM's The Big Parade of Comedy (1964)

I suspect MGM’s Big Parade of Comedy (1964) isn’t a very good movie, but it caught me in the right mood, so I ended up enjoying this compilation film more than it probably deserved. It’s light and silly, though it sometimes has a questionable interpretation of comedy, most likely due to the fact that all of the material comes from films made from the 1920s to the late 1940s at MGM. Now available on DVD from Warner Archive, it’s an interesting product of its time.

The film is a collection of clips featuring different MGM films and performers, with more entertainment-minded than informative narration from then popular radio host Les Tremayne. It’s interesting the choices producer Robert Youngson made, for instance, giving Jean Harlow a well-rounded tribute featuring several scenes, while Carole Lombard gets barely a mention. I don’t know of anyone who thinks Garbo’s Two-Faced Woman (1941) is a comedy classic, or Robert Benchley an enduring comedy star, but both get lengthy scenes here.

There’s also genuinely funny material, including loving tributes given to William Powell and Myrna Loy, The Marx Brothers and Laurel and Hardy. A scene from Hollywood Party (1934) featuring Lupe Velez, Laurel and Hardy, and a bowl of eggs which demonstrates Velez’s underrated and mostly forgotten comic talent.

Overall it’s a fun romp if you don’t go in expecting a definitive collection. There are undeniable classics and legends here and plenty of films and stars who didn’t end up enduring for good reason. It’s interesting to see the perspective on classic film comedy from 1964, where apparently silent films were still looked upon as goofy artifacts, if deserving of some admiration. I suspect that even at that time a funnier batch of clips could have been drawn from the MGM vaults, but there are laughs to be found here.

Many thanks to Warner Archive for providing a copy of the film for review. This is a Manufacture on Demand (MOD) DVD. To order, visit The Warner Archive Collection.

Book Review--Space Odyssey: Stanley Kubrick, Arthur C. Clarke, and the Making of a Masterpiece

Space Odyssey: Stanley Kubrick, Arthur C. Clarke, and the Making of a Masterpiece
Michael Benson
Simon & Schuster, 2018

Upon its release, 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) became a sensation as a sort of Disneyland ride for grown ups. With its innovative, and trippy special effects, it was the perfect flick to experience while riding high on your favorite mind enhancer. In the years since, it has become a cultural touchstone, quoted and referenced often, if rarely on anyone’s list of favorite films. In a new book, Michael Benson explores the technical and artistic journey of the film’s production and the impact it made on audiences upon release.

The book’s greatest strength is in the interviews Benson has conducted with key players in the film. His conversations with 2001 scribe Arthur C. Clarke, Kubrick’s wife Christiane, and several members of the cast and crew enabled him to craft a richly detailed history. So much of the story is related directly by people who made the film that you get a palpable feeling of what it was like to be there. For that reason, this is an especially lively and engrossing production history.

Having access to so much first source information has also enabled Benson to dig into the complexities of making the film, where second unit location shooting often held as much drama as Kubrick’s action at the studio. It is easy to see why movies go over budget and schedule when presented with how many tasks make up the creation of a scene, let alone an entire production. Understanding the importance of all of those elements is what made Kubrick an effective, and occasionally infuriating, filmmaker.

Space Odyssey features a fascinating cast of characters, the most riveting being author Arthur C. Clarke and Kubrick. Much attention is given to Clarke, a brilliant eccentric whose pre-moonwalk knowledge of space was instrumental in bringing a sense of reality to the film. He wrote the story as a novel first, with Kubrick’s input after which he had little to do officially with the production, but he is present throughout nevertheless and his unconventional thinking helps to maintain a sense of wonder in an increasingly technical undertaking.

Benson explores Kubrick’s complexities with impeccable objectivity, allowing his interview subjects to analyze a man who could be both generous and monstrous. When it came to the film, there was no crew member too insignificant to grab his attention. He was open to new ideas and would make time for anyone who had an inspiring concept. His passion for making exactly the film he wanted would sometimes go too far though and he often disregarded the safety of his cast and crew in order to get the shot he wanted. In a particularly disturbing passage, the director knowingly lets stuntman Bill Weston experience oxygen deprivation to the point of death because of his determination to get a shot.

Perhaps the greatest compliment I can give this book is that I went into it not a particular fan of 2001: Space Odyssey and came away eager to give it another chance. Rewatching the film afterwards, I found the experience profoundly different because I had a greater understanding of the passion and intelligence behind it.

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

TCM Classic Film Festival 2018: My Tentative Schedule

I am delighted to have received my media credentials for TCM Classic Film Festival 2018! It is always an honor to attend this fun event and I am looking forward to sharing TCMFF with you all for a fifth year.

This year's festival takes place from April 26-29 and the theme is Powerful Words: The Page Onscreen.

As a seasoned festival attendee, I have learned not to sweat my schedule too much. There's always a lot to see and many conflicts. It's also hard to slow down sometimes and take a break to eat, or get at least a few minutes of sunshine. Whatever happens though, TCMFF holds many amazing experiences. My advice to attendees new and experienced: focus on having fun, enjoying the moment, and setting aside just a little time to take care of yourself, because trying to see and do everything will just burn you out.

My tentative schedule so far, almost certainly subject to change:

THURSDAY

I'm not sure which events I will attend the first day of the festival. The opening night party and Bruce Goldstein's So You Think You Know Movies classic movie quiz event at Club TCM are among the most tempting.

I ended up with a sort of sisterhood theme for my first night's films:

Finishing School (1934), Chinese Multiplex
Stage Door (1937) in nitrate, Egyptian Theatre

This is the only day of the festival that was a no-brainer for me movie-wise. There are plenty of other things I'd like to see (Throne of Blood [1957] is tempting me and may be a last minute schedule change for the second slot), but these two would be a great start.

FRIDAY

Intruder in the Dust (1949), Chinese Multiplex
Witness for the Prosecution (1957), Egyptian Theatre
None Shall Escape (1944), Chinese Multiplex
I Take This Woman (1931), Chinese Multiplex
Leave Her To Heaven (1945), in nitrate, Egyptian Theatre
The World's Greatest Sinner (1962), Chinese Multiplex

I love Intruder in the Dust star Juano Hernandez and it would be great to see Donald Bogle introduce the film, but it is possible I could give in to the lure of Strangers on a Train (1951). I've never seen this film on the big screen and I think it would be exciting to experience this thriller that way.

It is possible I will also bag None Shall Escape (1944), a completely new to me film, to see Three Smart Girls (1936), as I have never seen a Deanna Durbin film in a theater.

Might also have to skip I Take This Woman (1931) to get something to eat, but Leave Her To Heaven (1945) in nitrate and Timothy Carey in the apparently bonkers The World's Greatest Sinner (1964) are non-negotiable. They are the two films I am most looking forward to seeing at the festival.

SATURDAY

Kiss Me Deadly (1955), Chinese Multiplex
This Thing Called Love (1940), Chinese Multiplex
Sunset Boulevard (1950), TCL Chinese Theatre
The World of Suzie Wong (1950), Chinese Multiplex
Scarface (1932), Chinese Multiplex
Night of the Living Dead (1968), Chinese Multiplex

I love the tonal shifts of my schedule this day: sleazy noir, romantic comedy, two classic dramas, pre-code crime and one of the best horror movies ever made. I'm especially looking forward to seeing Nancy Kwan before Suzie Wong and John Carpenter introducing Scarface. This will be my stargazing day to be sure. It is possible I might chicken out and skip the midnight horror. That film always makes me feel like I am 13-years-old again; as perfect as it is, it always hits my terror bone. That's just as much a reason to see it though--we'll see.

SUNDAY

Once Upon a Time in the West (1968), TCL Chinese Theatre
Mostly Lost: Identifying Unknown Films at the Library of Congress, Club TCM
A Star is Born (1937), Egyptian Theatre

I'm curious to see what the TBA titles will be for Sunday. If I can get up early enough, it will be amazing to see Sergio Leone's legendary western on such a magnificent screen. I already feel misty thinking about that dreamy Ennio Morricone soundtrack. It is possible that I will otherwise keep a lighter schedule this day. This is the time of the festival when I am starving. Steak and eggs might take priority over films. I considered seeing Phantom of the Opera (1925) for my last film of the festival because I am not planning to see any other major silent screenings, but A Star is Born seems like the perfect weeper to wrap things up and I would love to end the festival at the Egyptian Theatre.

Then on to the closing night party at Club TCM and spending those last few precious moments with my movie people!

You can follow my festival adventures on Twitter and Instagram. I'll post more a more detailed follow-up here the week after TCMFF. Can't wait to get to Hollywood!