2016 #TCMFF: Sunday, The Third Full (and Last) Day

The last full day of the film festival is always a little sad. Even though the schedule is crammed with movies, it’s the realization that all good things must come to an end. On the positive side, my Thursday strategy of seeing The More The Merrier over Shanghai Express (1932) paid off. Shanghai Express was a TBD scheduled for noon.

Bobby Henrey and Ralph Richardson in The Fallen Idol

The first movie I saw on Sunday was Carol Reed’s The Fallen Idol (1948). This film from the UK starring Ralph Richardson and Michelle Morgan was one that I had never seen before. It was an intriguing tale of a diplomat’s son Philippe (Bobby Henrey) who idolizes his father’s butler, Baines (Richardson). To keep the young boy occupied, Baines made up stories about his life in Africa, a place he has never been. After Philippe witnesses a tragic accident, what’s true and what’s false gets complicated. The Fallen Idol was wonderfully directed and acted, especially by Richardson. After the movie, Bobby Henrey who played Philippe talked about his experiences making the film. Unfortunately, I had to dash before Henrey really got going in order to get in line to see Shanghai Express (1932).

I had never seen the film, directed by Dietrich’s mentor Josef von Sternberg. The restoration was flawless. Shanghai Express was Dietrich’s most commercially successful film and for good reason. The story moves along briskly and is beautifully filmed by Lee Garmes who won an Academy Award for his efforts. I was especially impressed with the slow screen dissolves, which instead of being a device to go from one scene to the other, actually helped advance the narrative. Dietrich never looked more glamorous and Garmes photographed her in the most flattering light; she looked absolutely stunning. The supporting cast is a who’s who of early-1930s cinema: Clive Brook, Anna May Wong, Warner Oland, and Eugene Pallette.

There was some time in between Shanghai Express and The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming (1966) so I went to the Roosevelt Hotel to hang out and visit with some people. While I was there, the folks promoting the TCM Backlot fan club had a trivia contest. I answered a question correctly and won a t-shirt and baseball cap, both with the TCM Backlot logo. Woohoo!

My trivia winnings

I was looking forward to seeing The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming for two reasons: 1. I hadn’t seen it since I saw it in the movies with my parents and 2. I was finally going to see Eva Marie Saint in person. Saint was in Chicago several years ago with Robert Osborne for a special screening of North By Northwest, but I was unable to attend. I thought, well that’s that; I’ll never get the opportunity to see her again. When I saw that she was on the TCM Film Festival schedule I almost couldn’t believe it. It’s hard to believe that Saint is 92 years old. She’s so vibrant and funny. She really enjoyed making The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming and she shared some stories related to its production that were both interesting and amusing. Though the political climate between Russia and the United States has changed since the movie was released 50 years ago, it’s still hilarious. The cast was loaded with great comic actors, including Carl Reiner, Jonathan Winters, Brian Keith, and Paul Ford. Again, even though the film is 50 years old, it’s aged very well.

Fred Astaire, Nanette Fabray, and Jack Buchanan from The Bandwagon

Well it finally came…the last movie of the festival. Once again, I chose a film that I hadn’t seen before. The film was introduced by director and choreographer Susan Stroman and Illeana Douglas. Hard to believe, but I had never seen The Bandwagon (1953) before. The musical stars Fred Astaire, Cyd Charisse, Nanette Fabray, Jack Buchanan (who stole the picture in my opinion), and Oscar Levant. The plot is a thin one, Fred is a washed up song-and-dance man attempting a Broadway comeback, but it’s really all about the dancing and musical numbers. Director Vincent Minnelli and producer Arthur Freed gave The Bandwagon that MGM polish with its vibrant Technicolor photography. Far from my favorite film musical, it was enjoyable mostly for the talent involved. After the film it was time to pose for some photos, touch base with some friends and head to the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel to say my good-byes and prepare for the early morning wake-up call and trip to the airport.

Here’s to next year’s festival!

Films seen after four days:

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

Brief Encounter

The More The Merrier

The Conversation

It’s A Wonderful Life

The Manchurian Candidate

Bambi

Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid

Buona Sera, Mrs. Campbell

The King and I

The Fallen Idol

Shanghai Express

The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming

The Band Wagon

2016 #TCMFF: The Festival Begins
2016 #TCMFF: The First Full Day
2016 #TCMFF: Saturday, The Second Full Day

2016 #TCMFF: The Festival Begins

The air temperature during this year’s Turner Classic Movies Film Festival may have been cool, but there was plenty of warmth in the air when classic movie fans gathered at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel Thursday afternoon. Meeting fellow movie bloggers and other social media friends was like a high school reunion. And just like a high school reunion, we all picked up where we left off at last year’s fest.

While we were all catching up at the Roosevelt Hotel, we had the pleasure of meeting Monika Henreid, actor Paul Henreid’s daughter. I spent a few pleasant moments chatting with her and sharing one of my favorites of her father’s films, Devotion (1946). Monika is preparing a documentary about her famous dad, Paul Henreid…Beyond Victor Laszlo. The 90-minute documentary and companion book are set for a 2017 release.

Thursday’s film choices were easy ones for me: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1945) and Brief Encounter (1945). It’s been over 25 years since I saw A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and I’d never seen Brief Encounter before.

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Elia Kazan’s first directorial effort, was beautifully restored. Ted Donaldson who played Neely in the film introduced it. His recollections of the film’s production and the other cast members was enlightening and entertaining. He also told a funny story about Joan Blondell who he had a crush on.

Brief Encounter was completely new to me, although I was familiar with its reputation as one of the great films to come out of Britain during the 1940s. Beautifully directed by David Lean, Brief Encounter was a simple love story set in Britain as WWII was winding down. It has wonderful performances from Celia Johnson (a Best Actress nominee) and Trevor Howard. I was glad I finally saw it and on the big screen too!

Last year the festival was almost a month earlier and it was hot! This year, figuring it would be the same, I packed mostly shorts and t-shirts. I even brought a bathing suit to go swimming. The temperature barely reached the 50s and this Chicago boy was freezing most of the time. I ended up wearing the jeans and hoodie I wore to the airport the entire time. It was the same hoodie I brought last year, that I only wore in the theaters which seemed to get colder the longer the movie ran. Tip: If you go to the festival, bring a sweater or a hoodie because the theaters do get chilly. This year I watched several movies with my hood on.

Jean Arthur, Joel McCrea and Charles Coburn in The More The Merrier

I had a good idea what I wanted to see this year, but Monday morning’s screenings were all good. I wanted to see The More the Merrier (1943), Shanghai Express (1932), and Love Me Or Leave Me (1955), all starting at roughly the same time. But I had a strategy. Check back later to see if my strategy worked!

2016 #TCMFF: The First Full Day
2016 #TCMFF: Saturday, The Second Full Day
2016 #TCMFF: Sunday, The Third Full (and Last) Day