Thursday
First up was “So You Think You Can Put On a Classic Film Festival.” This was a lot of fun, with plenty of interesting, funny stories about past festivals, including some almost-gossipy bits about some of the stars they’ve had (Jerry Lewis canceled at first, then after coming to do a later fest and getting many of his requests, almost refused to participate unless an exorbitant amount of money was paid to him). It culminated with a funny story about an email prank where they claimed that the sponsor of a screening of “The Passion of Joan of Arc” would be Duraflame, leading one of the email’s victims to say, “Don’t they know how she died?!”
Next was “So You Think You Know Movies,” a difficult trivia quiz on movies. For instance, the first question was about women Fred Astaire didn’t dance with on film… only it turned out all the answers (from Joan Crawford to Debbie Reynolds) were incorrect. Another question was on Richard Dreyfuss’s earliest roles; my team got “The Graduate” correct, but did not realize that he also had a small part in “Valley of the Dolls.” My team definitely did not win, but we had fun.
Finally, it was time to actually start going to the movies. First up was “Send Me No Flowers.” Alicia Malone introduced, saying it was quickly becoming a tradition for her to host a Doris Day movie on opening night (this was the third year in a row it had happened), talking about how many times Tony Randall says “George” in the film (advising us not to make a drinking game it of it), and capped off with audience members sharing Doris Day facts.
Half-formed thoughts: I liked it, but I could have done with less, shall we say, insistent music.
After that was “Gambit.” Introducing was Sloan DeForest, who discussed the trend of stylish romantic comedy crime films in the sixties, how Shirley MacLaine called the shots on the film, especially in casting Michael Caine, and how she had five costume changes in the first twenty-five minutes before she even speaks.
Half-formed thoughts: I’m glad I was able to follow it, given that I was watching from 10 PM until midnight. I could hear someone behind me snoring, so I guess I wasn’t the only one who was tired.
Friday
My first screening of the day was “That’s Vitaphone! The Return of Sound-on-Disc.” This was a compilation of shorts made in the Vitaphone era: “Introduction to Vitaphone, Will H. Hays,” “My Bag O’ Trix,” “Sharps and Flats,” “The Ham What Am,” “The Beau Brummels” and “Lambchops.” (There were also some interstitials of other shorts, as well as a couple mentions of what the featured players went on to do.) Introducing was Bruce Goldstein, with Shane Fleming, Steve Levy and Bob Weitz; they discussed how Vitaphone revolutionized the cinema, discussed the rediscovery and restoration of the Vitaphone soundtracks, how the shorts bring back long-forgotten vaudevillians whose film careers were often limited to Vitaphone shorts, and how it took four years to figure out how to synchronize the soundtracks with film in their restorations.
Half-formed thoughts: These were a lot of fun, especially “The Beau Brummels” featuring some spectacular dumb humor (“I work for my father.” “What does he do?” “He’s laid off”) and culminating in “Lambchops” with Gracie Allen and George Burns. You can probably watch the shorts on YouTube (or, if you have it, the special edition DVD set of “The Jazz Singer”), but seeing them on film with an actual Vitaphone soundtrack was something else.
Next was “Them!” Presenting were Craig Barron and Ben Burtt, who discussed the genre of atomic horror films and the culture that it emerged from, how it was to be shot in 3D and in color with stereophonic sound until “The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms” proved that a lower budget could work; how the producer made large ants with hydraulics (a precursor to modern animatronics) to avoid using much more laborious stop motion animation; and how the director thought he could do a comedy based on the visual effects people trying to make the ants work. The sound effects for the ants were created by using birds and frogs’ noises from a rather popular record called “Voices of the Night.” They then showed a video from Richard “Dickie” Belis who appeared in the film near the end, discussing how a crying scene was achieved by the director telling him that nobody could go to lunch until he cried (he said he wasn’t psychologically damaged by it); he also won an Emmy for composing “It,” leading him to say that pronouns have served him well in Hollywood. They then brought out Sandy Descher (who played the little girl in the film) to talk about how the director sat on a cactus while directing her, showed some home movies her mother made during the filming, how her stand in and double was a former Munchkin, and finally brought out formic acid to make her scream.
Half-formed thoughts: I was kinda reminded of “Oppenheimer” at the end, with the discussion of what the atomic age had wrought.
Next was “Paths to Paradise,” with the short “Dad’s Choice.” Leonard Maltin discussed Raymond Griffith, the star of the feature, who was once considered on par with Keaton, Chaplin and Lloyd. He then discussed with organist Ben Model the instrument being played, which simulates the Wurlitzer organ, to resemble the era’s sound; how AFI found about the archive the film was found, where by the time the paperwork was done, the final reel had dissolved (Model recreated the final reel through titles); and how they were able to scan the original nitrate due to the remaining reels being in excellent shape. They also discussed the short, starring Edward Everett Horton, a comedian known for his voice, which they compared to “a silent film starring Gilbert Gottfried;” how Harold Lloyd’s staff produced the short when Lloyd was reducing his film output; and how part of the film was shot near where we were seeing it, on Hollywood and Highland.
Half-formed thoughts: “Dad’s Choice” was fun, especially in getting to see that Hollywood and Highland was evidently just as crowded back in the 20s as it is now. “Paths to Paradise” is fun, despite the missing last reel and some unfortunate “Chinese” stereotypes being acted out by white people, which I’m not sure if that makes it worse or not.
After that was “Rear Window.” Michael De Luca, head of Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group, was interviewed by Eddie Muller, who said that he was instrumental in helping to save TCM. They discussed the difficulties of watching classics back in their early days, and how “Rear Window” disappeared for several years due to rights reasons, which eventually went to the Supreme Court.
Half-formed thoughts: I’m surprised that Bernard Herrmann didn’t do the music for this. I guess, after looking at Wikipedia, that he started his collaboration with Hitchcock a film later.
Finally for the day, I went to “All the King’s Men.” Introducing was Ben Mankiewicz and Michael Tomasky, who discussed the list of significant political films compiled by the New Republic, which was left wide open enough that the Zapruder film was voted for, as well as Mercedes McCambridge (whose first name is pronounced Mers-eddies), who Ben Mankiewicz’ dad dated for a while. Regarding the list of political films, Michael mentioned that one film not on the list that he loved was “Nashville”; they also discussed the lack of “Seven Days in May” on the list, despite its relevance to today in portraying a government coup in America. Finally, Ben discussed how Steven Spielberg suggested an upcoming series of political films programmed by political figures and filmmakers that will air on TCM later in the year. (Everybody wanted to do “A Face in the Crowd,” but Barry Levinson insisted that if he didn’t do it, he wouldn’t present at all.)
Half-formed thoughts: Alas, I can’t review this one, because I ended up being so tired by this time that I fell asleep constantly throughout the movie. It got to the point where I debated leaving the movie to go to bed.
Saturday
First up was “The Long, Long Trailer.” Ben Mankiewicz and Kate Micucci introduced, discussing how Kate was utilized in "The Plot Thickens" Lucy season, since she’s a massive fan of Lucille Ball; how she was frustrated when she first saw the movie as a child because they had different names than on TV; how Lucy and Desi immediately went to make “The Long, Long Trailer” after the second season of "I Love Lucy" had finished shooting; and how Lucy and Desi kept the trailer and how Lucy Arnaz used it as a playhouse in later years.
Half-formed thoughts: I’m surprised that this was more Desi’s movie, with him being the main character who narrates everything; you’d think Lucy would get equal emphasis, but not quite.
Next was “Annie Get Your Gun” on nitrate. They discussed what to do if a fire alarm goes off (a genuine concern when projecting nitrate), then introduced Jacqueline Stewart to discuss the film, talking about its troubled journey from stage to screen; Judy Garland was to star, but was fired due to her personal issues and replaced by Betty Hutton. Frank Morgan was also originally cast as Buffalo Bill, but died during production, leading to his replacement by Louis Calhern. The film was helmed by three directors, Busby Berkeley, Charles Walters and finally the credited director, George Sidney. Finally, Jacqueline had a funny comment while discussing the songs in the movie; after mentioning “You Can’t Get a Man With a Gun,” she asked, “Can’t you, though?”
Half-formed thoughts: I wasn’t a fan of “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers,” partly because I thought it was a little regressive. Well, here’s a Howard Keel movie that’s even more politically incorrect (the use of Indigenous people as a laughingstock of sorts, the ending where Annie throws a shooting match to please her unsympathetic love interest)… and yet I liked it a lot more. Maybe because the songs are better?
Next was “Lincoln.” This was presented by Ben Mankiewicz and makeup artist Lois Burwell, starting with a tribute video to the latter. They began the discussion with talking about the difficulties of makeup, what excites her more between historical films and making up things for a new story, the challenges of “Lincoln” with all the beards on practically everyone but Mary Todd Lincoln; working with over 300 actors and extras on the House of Representatives scenes, and how she had to climb over the period-accurate desks to get to extras with facial hair in those scenes; how Daniel Day-Lewis worked with less makeup since he didn’t like reminders of artificiality; and how she had to work with Lewis without speaking, since she’s English and he didn’t want to lose his accent as Lincoln.
Half-formed thoughts: Again, I’ll have to wait to really give a review of this, because I was dozing in and out throughout the middle. Maybe it’s only for political films that this will happen?
Next up, a rewatch of “The Shop Around the Corner.” Introducing was Eddie Muller, who discussed how it made him a romantic before film noir screwed it up, the Lubitsch touch and how it taught Hollywood to make sophisticated, continental films, the bygone era of retailers being passed down to employees, and how the lead actress could go from looking radiant to plain in a single scene. He finished by saying that while it wasn’t a packed house, we definitely made the right choice.
Half-formed thoughts: I wonder whether modern audiences would think Jimmy Stewart tricking Margaret Sullavan into thinking her pen pal is a materialistic fat guy is funny or problematic.
Finally, “Little Women” from 1994. This was introduced by Alicia Malone, who interviewed screenwriter Robin Swicord, as well as actors Trini Alvarado, Samantha Mathis and Eric Stoltz. After a fire alarm (oddly, not at a theater where they were using nitrate), Robin discussed how she and producer Amy Beth Pascal discussed the film 12 years before it got started for real, as well as how the marketing people helped get the film greenlit when male executives didn’t get it. Trini said that she was excited enough for the movie that she wanted to audition before even reading the script. Samantha Mathis discussed getting to play the older Kristen Dunst, mainly how Dunst eventually cut her bangs one day when she was bored, causing an expensive wig Mathis was to wear to be altered. Eric discussed how his agents didn’t want him to do the film because there was only a small part for him. Together, they discussed how Gillian Armstrong was hired because Winona Ryder wanted a female director, how it was shot in the summer in Vancouver (Eric joked the corsets were uncomfortable), and how Eric Stoltz is apparently a Jane Austen fan.
Half-formed thoughts: Yet another movie where I had trouble staying awake. Maybe I shouldn’t be trying to stay up till midnight.
Sunday
First up, “Murder, She Said.” Introducing was Michael Schlesinger, who discussed how early he had to get up for this and other movies at the festival he’s presented over the years. Schlesinger also discussed how this was possibly MGM’s most profitable movie of the year (in the same year of “Barabbas” and “King of Kings,” leading him to joke that for one year, Agatha Christie was more popular than Jesus), how Christie disliked the film until the checks started to come in, how the adaptation of her “The Mirror Crack'd” with Angela Lansbury led to “Murder She Wrote,” how a character who only appeared in the one book became a recurring character in the movies, and how the theme song is an earworm that would haunt us until the day we died.
Half-formed thoughts: I wonder what my dad, an Agatha Christie fan, (would have?) thought of this movie. I’m sure he’d loved it.
Next was a book signing with Billy Dee Williams (I forgot to get a photo—doh!), then “The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars and Motor Kings.” Introducing was Ben Mankiewicz and Williams, who discussed how he was influenced by Errol Flynn in playing Lando Calrissian, the New York Times calling him “the black Clark Gable,” how great it was to make the movie because actual Negro League players were in the cast, and how their tricks with a ball weren’t special effects. Also discussed was Williams’ work in painting (he was even nominated for a Guggenheim), how when he was at a fine arts school he came into a men’s store where a casting director met him and got him cast in things, to the displeasure of the head of the school who wanted him to be a painter (“I should’ve listened to him”), how when you’re a kid you don’t know what you want to do “except meet a lot of girls” (“Did you meet any?” Ben asked), and how significant it was for a national beer company to have a black man like him as a spokesperson.
Half-formed thoughts: I liked it, even as someone who couldn’t care less about baseball. Not so sure about Richard Pryor’s character engaging in race-switching antics, though.
After a sojourn to get even more books signed, I went to my final movie of the festival, “Spaceballs.” Introducing was Ben Mankiewicz and Mel Brooks, who discussed Blazing Saddles and how the executives gave him notes that he said would have reduced the film to ten minutes, and how the executive who gave the notes promptly took credit when it was a success; Hitchcock’s suggestion for a gag in High Anxiety where Mel would leap from a pier onto a ferry, which would turn out to be coming into port; how much Brooks loved “Star Wars,” calling it “a fairy tale with zaps,” and how he got a letter from a boy saying that “Star Wars” wasn't as funny as “Spaceballs.”
Half-formed thoughts: I’m still a little surprised my mom and dad let me watch this when I was four given how raunchy it is.
Monday
I don’t recall if I’ve discussed before what I did on Mondays before leaving L.A. A quick recap if not: In 2018 I did the WB studio tour; in 2019 I took the TCM Los Angeles movie locations bus tour; in 2022, I tried to do the Hollywood Forever cemetery tour, but had to cancel when it turned out I had the wrong time on my calendar appointment; and in 2023, I took the Paramount VIP studio tour.
This year, in the leadup to the festival, I saw on the TCMFF Facebook fan group I belong to that some fellow festival goers were planning a tour of UCLA’s film and television archival location. I asked if I could come along, and the organizer agreed to let me come along.
Long story short: This was so amazingly worth it, if I had somehow skipped the festival and just done this, the trip would have been worth it. These people are doing the Lord’s work in preserving and restoring films, ranging from animated Fleischer shorts to studio feature films to even the Hearst newsreel archives; we even got to see actual film from a camera that was recording the Hindenburg when it exploded. (You could tell it was there because of a light leak on the edges of the frames.) We got to see the refrigerated underground vaults where they keep nitrate film, a “Rogue’s Gallery” from Harold Lloyd of autographed movie star pictures, and even collections of two-inch tapes featuring the surviving episodes of old television shows. Even the architecture was amazing; the outside was influenced by Greek architecture, while the inside was modeled after an Italian monastery. They even had Italian artisans come in to make the tiles and polish the walls; this sounds weird, but the result is really the smoothest wall I've ever felt. If you ever have the opportunity to take this tour, do so.
Overall, this was an amazing festival. Somehow I didn’t see a single clunker among them, which is rare.
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