TCM Classic Film Festival: My Schedule

I couldn't be happier to be returning to the TCM Classic Film Festival for the third time! They recently released the full festival schedule and I've been pouring over it in a state of anxiety that's part ecstasy, part heartbreak and 100% nervous excitement. It's always a bummer to have to choose between films at the fest, and now with more awesome Club TCM events than ever, those choices go from difficult to me in a whiny voice simpering like a sad puppy. Still, it's hard to complain about the greatest that is the TCM Classic Film Festival. I should just be grateful I'm going, right? Right. Without further ado, below is my tentative schedule for the festival, (as ever) jam-packed with great films, awesome special screenings and impossible choices.


THURSDAY APRIL 25TH

Luckily the first night is always the easiest. Since I'm not going to the FUNNY GIRL red carpet premiere, that frees me up for an awesome night of noir and pre-code movies. First up is Stanley Kubrick's THE KILLING, with star Colleen Gray in person! This was a film made in 1956, so to have the star there to tell stories about the making of a classic is pretty exciting. It'll be in DCP, which is not ideal, but you take what you can get.

Luckily, the next film screens in 35mm. It's the William Wellman pre-code SAFE IN HELL, starring Dorothy Mackaill as a sassy prostitute who hides out on a tropical island to beat a murder rap back home in gangland Chicago. If that sounds awesome, it's because it is. Great movie and I can't wait to see it on the big screen.


FRIDAY APRIL 26TH

The next day features the toughest choices of the fest. Firstly, I can't decide between THE NIGHT OF THE HUNTER in 35mm or 1968's THE SWIMMER with Burt Lancaster. The first I've seen several times but never on the big screen, and the second is a film I've wanted to see for a long time (and I love Burt Lancaster).  I feel like because this is first thing in the morning, I'll be going wherever my friends are going (I'm easily swayed).

The second choice is, for me, the most difficult of the fest. I really, REALLY want to see the great, train-set film noir THE NARROW MARGIN. The only problem is that the evil, evil programming people scheduled it opposite the Club TCM talk with film preservation superstar Kevin Brownlow and silent movie score superstar Carl Davis. Brownlow & Davis contributed to the incredible, life-changing screening of Abel Gance's NAPOLEON at last year's San Francisco Silent Film Festival. I bought a poster. I want to get it signed. On the other hand, THE NARROW MARGIN is one of the greatest, underrated films noir of all-time (and I love movies about trains!). Plus, co-star Jacqueline White will appear in person. Ugh, I hate this decision, but I have a feeling Brownlow & Davis will win out. I think I'll start the Twitter campaign to screen THE NARROW MARGIN again in the Sunday TBA spot, now...

The next choice is obvious: NOTORIOUS. Hitchcock. Grant. Bergman. 35mm. Done.

Then it's time for my first silent film of the fest, Clara Bow in her star-making role as the IT girl. (Yes, that's where the phrase comes from.) Carl Davis will be conducting the score. Bonus awesome.

Now for a classic Hollywood confession: I've never seen ON THE TOWN. I know, I know. Gene Kelly in a sailor uniform. I KNOW. But I'll be seeing it on the big screen, so that kind of makes up for my previous ignorance?

After a full day of movie-going, the lovely, lovely programming people have planned a treat for all us humans with "stupid minds--stupid, stupid!" Yes, my friends, it's Ed Wood's masterpiece, PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE! Obviously, I can quote almost all the bad lines from PLAN 9. As an ardent lover of Tim Burton's ED WOOD (and the marvelously, sincerely, uniquely horrendous oeuvre of the master Edward D. Wood, Jr. himself), I am well-versed in the film. The only question is how to sneak in a bottle of something for an Ed Wood drinking game...? 


SATURDAY APRIL 27TH

Saturday's shaping up to be the most diverse day of the festival, with offerings ranging from silents and Swedish, to noir and cartoons.

After yesterday's late night silliness with Ed Wood, Saturday morning should begin as all Saturday mornings should begin: with cartoons. (Amen.) Sex symbol Leonard Maltin presents BUGS BUNNY'S 75TH BIRTHDAY BASH, a collection to celebrate Bugs' silver anniversary this year. Sounds good, Doc.

It's a pretty big three-sixty from a rascally rabbit to rapey hillbillies, but, ah, such is the joy of the TCM Classic Film Festival. Next up is John Boorman's DELIVERANCE, one of several '70s classics that, through the inexorable passage of time, now share billing with Greta Garbo, Ernest Lubitsch and Bob Hope. And I'm all for it. With respect to the traditional "classic Hollywood" era fans, the 1970s were probably the all-time greatest decade for American film (certainly, the '40s give the '70s some stiff competition). Heck, it's been 40 years. Yes, the '70s is classic. And Jon Voight will be there in person! C'mon, TCM, you couldn't get Burt Reynolds and Ned Beatty? What are they doing that's better than this? Their loss.

One of the must-see screenings is the world premiere restoration of THE BIG PARADE, presented by rock star/sexiest film preservationist alive Kevin Brownlow. King Vidor's 1925 epic about WWI features (another!) new score by Carl Davis. It's a match made in silent cinema heaven.

Speaking of cinema heavens, how about a discussion with Max von Sydow about THE SEVENTH SEAL? Kind of amazing, right? Ingmar Bergman's stone cold classic with the star in person? Okay, you twisted my arm. And screening it in 35mm as to preserve Sven Nyquist's perfect cinematography? Oh, my heart, be still.

Next up is a film I know nothing about: Cy Endfield's TRY AND GET ME. But I trust Eddie Muller, the czar of noir, to pick out gems for the festival. And the film--about mob justice in light of a kidnapping that ends in murder--sounds like a winner.

Now it's time to take a breath. It's Saturday night at midnight. Am I still awake and alive enough to sit through ISLAND OF LOST SOULS? I sincerely hope so, because it's an awesome film that I've been meaning to see forever. I mean, Charles Loughton and Bela Lugosi in a pre-code horror flick about half-human monsters? Perfect midnight movie fodder. Here's to the coffee I will require to make it through this awesome slate of movies.


SUNDAY APRIL 28TH

Sunday I am running completely on fumes. Luckily for me, it's kind of an easy day because, baby, we're spending it in the '70s.

First up is the digital restoration of Terrence Malick's amazing first feature, BADLANDS. No Sissy Spacek or Martin Sheen for the Q&A, though, which is a bummer. But it's an amazing film and I'm psyched to finally see it on the big screen.

Ditto for the next film: an oft-overlooked New Hollywood gem called SCARECROW, which co-stars Al Pacino and Gene Hackman. The pair play drifters who hook up to travel together, but beyond that (and the fact it was photographed by Vilmos Zsigmond), I don't know much about it. This will be the U.S. premiere of a new digital restoration, however, so that's cause for excitement.

We continue the Max von Sydow tribute with Sydney Pollack's thriller, THREE DAYS OF THE CONDOR. And '70s Robert Redford on the big screen? Me-ow.

Which brings us to the end. But what a finale! It's my bf Buster Keaton's masterpiece, THE GENERAL! Screened in a world premiere digital restoration with musical accompaniment from the terrific Alloy Orchestra, this will be an amazing end to what's sure to be an amazing festival.

And then, oh yes, the infamous Club TCM after party. What happens at the Club TCM after party stays at the Club TCM after party.  Happy festival, everyone!

The Cinecon Drinking Game

The Cinecon Classic Film Festival is a venerable Hollywood institution, celebrating its 48th year as the premiere destination for silent and classic film fans and collectors. Cinecon screens archival prints, rarely-seen or almost-lost features, shorts, and newsreels from the first half of the twentieth century.

So what better way than to celebrate such a significant cinematic event than with an old fashioned drinking game?

I've had the privilege of attending Cinecon the past two years, and within that short span of time, there are certain people, places and themes that recur. You're almost guaranteed, for example, to be treated to at least two Depression-era musicals, some screwball comedy pratfalls, some B-Western oaters, and tons of silent movies starring people you've barely (or never) heard of.

The experience of watching these lost cinema treasures is similar, too. Ensconced in the historic Egyptian theater all Labor Day weekend (Thursday thru Monday, all day long), there are certain survival skills one must adopt. Bring your own water. Maybe a couple baggies of snacks. A jacket. Stretch during breaks. And, be a pal: nudge your neighbor if he nods off.

Without further ado...The Cinecon Drinking Game



Familiar Faces

• Wallace Beery? 
• Take 1 drink.
• John Qualen? 
• Take 1 drink. 
• With a Scandinavian accent? Take another drink.
• Wallace Beery? 
• Take 1 drink. 
• Eugene Pallette? 
• Take 1 drink.
• Skinny Eugene Pallette? CHUG.
• Jack Oakie?
• Take 1 drink.
• As a football player? Take another drink.
• One of the great silent clowns--Chaplin, Keaton, Lloyd, Langdon--performs a death-defying stunt? 
• Applaud wildly and then take a drink. 
• Cowboy actor does a rope/horse trick?
• Applaud wildly and then take a drink. 
• William Wellman, Allan Dwan, or Henry Hathaway?
• Take a big drink.

Give it Up For the Archives

• Movies presented by the UCLA Film & Television Archive, The Eastman House, The Library of Congress, or MoMA?
• Applaud wildly and toast these wonderful institutions.
• Spot one of the @WarnerArchive guys?
• Buy them a drink!

Awwwkward

• Politically incorrect title card?
• Take 1 drink.
• Blatant sexist/racist/whatever?
• Take 2 drinks.
• White kids performing in blackface?
• CHUG. Because that is the worst. 

Audience Jollies

• Silent film nudity?
• All the guys take a drink.
• Hunky actor takes his shirt off?
• All the ladies take a drink.
• Pre-code sexiness?
• CHUG. Because everyone loves pre-code sexy. 
• Someone sitting next to you falls asleep?
• Take a drink. 
• Audience boos a bad joke?
• Take a drink.
• Audience applauds for an actor and you don't know who they are?
• Take a drink and feel shame. 

Additional/Optional Rules:
--take a drink whenever the title of the film has nothing to do with the plot

--if the film is set during Prohibition, whisper the speakeasy password ("Swordfish"), then take a drink from your flask


***And of course we here at SalesOnFilm urge you to drink responsibly. And, y'know, this works with popcorn and Coca-Cola, too.

2012 TCM Film Fest Round-Up Part 2

The first part of this round-up covered Thursday and Friday, but as any seasoned festival-goer knows, the madness doesn't really start until Saturday.

Appropriately enough, my Saturday began quite literally with an early morning screening of The Longest Day (insert your own joke here). This was capped off by a talk from Robert Wagner, who recounted his small role amongst the bevy of stars (Mitchum, Fonda, Wayne, Burton etc). Seeing it on the big screen, I'm reminded what a towering achievement The Longest Day really is. It's an epic that achieves the intimacy of a character drama; some sequences are more effective than others but on the whole, it's an entertaining, remarkable film that can be counted among the best of the war film genre. The editing and that hummable score are particularly noteworthy.

The next screening was the one I'd most been looking forward to and it didn't disappoint. Retour de Flamme/3-D Rarities, presented by film historian Serge Bromberg, was probably the most unique offering of the festival and definitely something I would like to see more of in the future. The charmingly French Bromberg, of the terrific Lobster Films, curated/narrated/presented a clip show of ultra-rare 3D films, some over 100 years old. They included clips from the Lumiere Brothers, Soviet educational films, nature films, and a tremendous exhibition of circus performers whose juggled balls and pins came whizzing straight at you! In an era where it seems 3D is being exploited rather callously for big budget mass entertainments, it was astounding to realize that the technology (or some rudimentary form of it, anyway) had been popular with cinema-goers since the media's very inception. The presentation really gave a fascinating historical overview to the format.

Me, looking like a total 3D dork.

The next showing was Harold Lloyd in the terrific proto-romcom, Girl Shy. I was especially pumped for this screening as it coincided with the Campaign to Save the Harold Lloyd Birthplace, a contingent of silent movie and Harold Lloyd fans that hope to draw attention (and attendance) to the Burchard, Nebraska homestead where Lloyd was born. We handed out flyers to the people in line and everyone seemed genuinely interested in the campaign. Later this summer, we're hosting a Harold Lloyd Blog-a-Thon to raise awareness of the cause.

Anyway, the film. I had seen Girl Shy before, but you've never really seen a silent comedy (especially a Harold Lloyd comedy) until you've seen it in a packed house. The audience was screaming with laughter! Harold always kills, even eighty years after the fact!

The evening program begun with one of my all-time favorite films, Gun Crazy. This was a really special screening, as the star Peggy Cummins was there in person to talk about it. Apparently, the British-born Cummins hadn't been back in the U.S. since the 1950s and had never given a live interview about the film before! Wow, we were really being treated to something special. Peggy looked as gorgeous as ever, sporting a sparkly golden blazer and just generally being charming. It was clear the moderator Eddie Muller (the czar of noir) had a crush on her (as does anyone who watches the film!), so it was fun to see that dynamic in play during the Q&A. The print itself was gorgeous; I had never seen Gun Crazy on the big screen before, and boy, what a thrill. I know it sounds corny, but I really got a buzz off of seeing one of my favorite films noir on the big screen with the star in person.

We stuck around the Egyptian for the late night screening of a film I had never even heard of (but now can't imagine my life without), Call Her Savage. Starring one of the sexiest women ever onscreen, "It" girl Clara Bow, Call Her Savage is exactly what an outrageous pre-Code movie should be. It takes place in a land where wearing bras is unheard-of, whippings occur regularly and bestiality in-jokes are the norm. It is a wild, wild movie and Bow is full of sass as the ferocious, rebellious lead character. We were also treated to a short clip of Clara Bow in color (!), which was a real treat. She's even more beautiful in color.

I had wanted to stay up and watch Duck Soup at midnight, but I was just too tired. And I knew I had a huge day ahead of me. So, no (Duck) Soup for you! (Bad "Seinfeld" joke, I apologize).

My friends and I woke up super early on Sunday, convinced that we'd be late to the Cinerama screening of How The West Was Won. As it turned out, we were first in line (Hollywood Blvd was practically deserted) and the next people didn't show up for about half an hour. Oops! Well, we decided to feast ourselves on coffee and cheeseburgers for breakfast (good decisions) while we waited to be let in to the screening.

At the same time, they happened to be filming a documentary about Cinerama right next to us. They were filming with real Cinerama cameras, too!

 

Seeing these cameras in action--some were also on display inside the theater--was the highlight of the morning for me. Just when you think the bell's tolled for film and cinema and movies forever, someone decides to film a Cinerama documentary with real Cinerama cameras. Kind of renews your faith a bit.

The film was introduced by the one and only Debbie Reynolds, who's just as much as a spitfire as you'd expect her to be. She was full of enthusiasm for the movie, even some fifty-odd years after she made it. The most impressive part of the film is probably the soundtrack. They presented it in the old roadshow format which featured an entr'acte where we just listened to the score in the dark. It was wonderful. 

Because How The West Was Won clocks in at about one million hours, our viewing options for the rest of the day were somewhat limited. We decided to continue the theme of epic westerns with a screening of Howard Hawks' masterpiece, Rio Bravo. The always-beautiful Angie Dickinson was there to introduce the film and talk about making it. Her stories about Hawks and Wayne were wonderful. This is another film you truly can't appreciate until you've seen it on the big screen. It was filmed for that screen, you can tell. You're not really getting the full experience if you watch it on your TV at home.

After Rio Bravo, I think the combination of excitement and exhausting was now mingling with a sense of impending sadness. We only had one movie left: The Thief of Bagdad (another looong movie). It goes without saying that Douglas Fairbanks is amazing, but he is truly, truly a-ma-zing in this movie. He scales walls and climbs up ropes with an agility that is inhuman. He's more like some kind of wild animal in this flick. Like a boyish, charming, rakish wild animal. I don't even know how to describe the physical feats of wonder he pulls off as the title thief. I mean, Aladdin wishes. Presented with live musical accompaniment, the film was an instant energizer. Everyone in the theater was laughing and gasping and applauding in unison. It was a great, communal experience.

After this screening, we were all raring to go. Go party, that is. The film part of the film festival was over, but the fest part of the festival was just beginning. Maybe, however, the details of our hard partying into the night are best left remembered to those who experienced it. I'll leave you with this snapshot of two film nerds looking very, very, blissfully happy. Thanks, TCM Fest! See you in 2013!

2012 TCM Film Fest Round-Up Part 1

If this year and last are any indication, the Turner Classic Movie Film Festival is swiftly becoming the cinema-going event in the country. People from all across the United States trek out to Hollywood, CA to stand in long lines (in the rain this year), fight other cinephiles for seats in tiny theaters for a glimpse at 1928 Joan Crawford (can you blame them?), battle sleep deprivation Sunday afternoon to soak up the last few screenings and risk alcohol poisoning to chalk up the courage to talk to Leonard Maltin at the after party. (Okay, maybe that last one was just me.)

But now that our livers have had time to detox, what's left is the glorious memories, the embarrassing photos and the business cards from the eager, film-hungry fellow fans we met at the 2012 TCM Film Fest.

It was another spectacular year, somewhat marred by some scheduling conflicts (I'll get into that later), but overall, I had a blast. Well, beyond a blast, really. (What's beyond a blast?)

The festival kicked off on Thursday just as I had planned, with a screening of the silent Our Dancing Daughters, followed by the terrific noir Criss Cross. Even though the films were great, the best part of Thursday is meeting up with old friends and catching up, gabbing, squeeing, etc. about all the films we'd seen in the intervening year since the 2011 TCMFF.

Friday was probably my favorite day of the festival. Things started out early with a screening of Wings with Mr. Paramount himself, 94-year old A.C. Lyles. The incredible Mr. Lyles started out as a errand boy for Adolph Zukor (!) in the '30s and worked himself up through the company, ultimately becoming a producer for some of their most famous films. Mr. Lyles still works at Paramount; he has never had a job. Wings, the first best picture winner, is a silent film from 1927 and when you're watching a silent film from 1927 about WWI, you don't generally expect anyone to stand up and start speaking about their first-hand experience watching the film. But A.C. Lyles just isn't anyone. Lyles was just a boy when he saw Wings in theaters and was so taken with the film (it is spectacular) that he wrote a letter to Zukor asking to work with him. No response. He sent more letters. No response. Not a man (er, boy) to be kept waiting, Lyles wrote another letter. This time he made his intentions very clear. He wrote that he would be taking the train from Jacksonville, Florida to Hollywood, California and arriving at Paramount Studios for a job. He arrived. The secretaries didn't know what to do with this kid. He didn't have money for a return ticket. Ah, what the hell, Zukor said, hire him! Which is how A.C. Lyles became Mr. Paramount.

 

If you've ever seen Wings, you know how emotionally devastating it is--and this was only the first picture of the day! Needless to say, my friends and I were pretty wiped out. But like the good film festival soldiers we are, we forged onward. 

Here's where things got kind of wonky. I had my heart set on seeing the ultra-rare film noir Raw Deal with star Marsha Hunt in person. But we were so enamored of Mr. Lyles that we stayed for the entire Q&A after the film and then rushed over to the Chinese for Raw Deal. Well, nuts to that. Raw Deal was already more than 100 people over-capacity and there was more than an hour till the screening. A lot of people were upset. We commiserated in line and decided to get out ducks in a row. Just like that, a voluptuously-proportioned light appeared and ye, we were saved. Yes, Mae West to the rescue! We were just in time to catch the crackling delight I'm No Angel, starring the baroness of zaftifgness, Ms. West.

Our spirits considerably lifted (see, there are no disappointments at TCMFF!), we trekked over to another '30s comedy, Nothing Sacred, starring the divine, flawless, etc. Carole Lombard. I swear when I tell you I laughed till it hurts. Featuring a perfect script from the masterful Ben Hecht and pitch-perfect direction from the brilliant William Wellman, I do believe Nothing Sacred to be a screwball comedy without equal. It is perfectly absurd in only the way that genre can manufacture absurdity. Truly divine.

 

After dinner, we fulfilled our daily requirement of film noir with the Dick Powell-starring Cry Danger.  With a cigarette dangling perilously from his lips the entire, film, Powell commands the screen with the lackadaisical masculinity of a self-effacing Bogart. The film itself is a surprisingly delightful B-picture, chock full of fast and furious dialogue that tiptoes around self-parody without going over the edge. Most of the film takes place in a Bunker Hill trailer park, lending the film a sort of charming, shabby cheapness. Cheap suits, cheap talk, cheap lives...the entire aura of the picture is one of off-the-cuff sardonic wit cut with the bitterness of regret. Cry Danger is a truly underrated picture and one worth seeking out.

By this time, I was totally exhausted. I had wanted to catch Young Frankenstein at the Egyptian with Mel Brooks introducing, but I just couldn't make it past midnight, so I decided to check out Chinatown at Grauman's Chinese with Robert Towne and Robert Evans presenting. The magnitude of Grauman's Chinese cannot be underestimated. It is a giant, giant theater and a towering, enormous screen. There really is nothing like seeing a classic picture spread across that tableau. I've Chinatown countless times, but seeing it at TCMFF was like seeing it for the first time. Towne and Evans provided rambling commentary about the good old days during the Paramount revival of the '70s and some insights into the making of the picture. Towne's script remains a masterclass of the detective narrative. I can't imagine a time in the future when film student won't study it (I sure did).

With the day coming to the end, we all headed back to the hotel, exhausted and happy. In part two, Saturday, Sunday and the infamous after party.