Every year, I try to plan what movies I’m going to see at the TCM Film Festival. It’s tough keeping to the schedule you planned out beforehand, but there are challenges. Below are the films I planned on seeing and what I actually saw. The reality of what I ended up seeing is in red.
Thursday April 24
7-8 p.m. Teacher’s Pet (1958) – I’ve never seen this film, and I’m excited to see it on the big screen with an audience. And for this night only, it doesn’t conflict with any other movie I’d like to see. I actually kept to schedule on this one. I was determined to see this film. I had never seen it before, and I wasn’t disappointed. Day and Gable were great, and so was Gig Young, nominated for a Best Supporting Oscar for his performance; it was well deserved. It was entertaining, and it looked great on the big screen.
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| Gig Young, Doris Day, and Clark Gable |
10 p.m. – 12 a.m. If I can stay awake, I may see Hud (1963) in the Egyptian Theatre. It’s been years since I’ve seen this film, and never in the theater, so this could be fun. Well, I wasn’t able to stay awake. I wasn’t too disappointed, but I would have liked to have seen it with an audience at the Egyptian.
Friday April 25
9 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. Thunderball (1965)
starring Sean Connery as James Bond. Screening in the Chinese Multiplex House,
and Luciana Paluzzi will be at the post-screening. Cinderella (1950)
is screening at the El Capitan Theatre at 10 a.m. I’m tempted to go see it
because I haven’t seen it since my older sister took me to see it when I was a
kid, and the El Capitan is a really beautiful theater. I’ll probably end up
seeing the Bond film. Odd decision between Thunderball and Cinderella,
but that’s how it goes at the TCMFF. I ended up seeing Thunderball, and I
was glad I did. It was a beautiful DCP presentation. The color was perfect; it
looked brand new. It was a James Bond film I hadn’t seen before, so it was a
real treat to see it on the big screen (you might be seeing this phrase often).
Bond bad girl Luciana Paluzzi was interviewed after the film by Eddie Muller.
Paluzzi, who is 87 years old, was a delight. She looked amazing and had wonderful
stories about the director, Terrence Young, and Sean Connery. She and Connery
remained lifelong friends after the film wrapped.
12:15 p.m. – 2:15 p.m. This is a toss-up. The Time
Machine (1960) and Babe (1995) are both scheduled at
the same time. The Time Machine is in the small Chinese
Multiplex Theatre 4. I didn’t follow my plans at all. I chose Servant’s
Entrance (1934), starring Janet Gaynor and Lew Ayres. The supporting cast
included Ned Sparks and Walter Connolly. I had never heard of this film, a
screwball comedy, but it packed out the Egyptian. The movie is a forgotten gem
that includes an amazing animated dream sequence by Disney animators, three
years before Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. I was glad I saw this film; it may be my favorite from the whole festival.
3 p.m. – 5 p.m.; 3:15 p.m. -5 p.m.; 3:30 – 5:15 p.m. Three
movies that I would like to see, but I have to choose one. In order of show
times, it’s: Bringing Up Baby (1938), The Enchanted
Cottage, and Edge of the City (1957). Which movie would
you choose? I ended up seeing The Enchanted Cottage. I had seen Bringing
Up Baby on the big screen just a few months ago, and Edge of the City
was playing in Theatre Four, which is the smallest of the multiplex theatres, and it’s a challenge to get in sometimes. So, I decided to see The Enchanted
Cottage. I hadn’t seen that movie in decades, so it felt like new to me. It was a
restored DCP presentation, and looked beautiful in glorious black and white!
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| Robert Young and Dorothy McGuire |
6:30 p.m. The Lady Eve (1941) is a movie I have to see on the big screen with an audience. It’s one of my favorite Preston Sturges films, and it stars two legends of the screen: Barbara Stanwyck and Henry Fonda. There wasn’t a chance I was going to miss this one. It was wonderful seeing it on the big screen for the first time with an audience primed to enjoy it, and we did!
9 p.m. – 11:15 p.m. Now, Voyager (1942);
9:15 – 10:45 p.m. Lili (1953). Another toss-up and two
completely different movies. I may just flip a coin on this one. It might be
tough getting into Lili since it’s screening in Theatre 4.
Well, I decided on Lili. I remember seeing Lili when I was young.
They used to play it at children’s matinees. I think they thought the puppets
made it perfect for kids, but it’s a film that deals with some adult
themes. The film was shown in 35mm.
Saturday April 26
9 a.m. – 1 p.m. Ben-Hur (1959) is being
presented in a world premiere restoration in the Chinese Theatre. I can’t think
of a better theatre to see this Academy Award-winning epic. If I see this film,
that means I’m giving up a chance to see two other movies. I would like to
see Daisy Kenyon (1947) at the Egyptian Theatre in a nitrate
print. I opted to see Ben-Hur at the Chinese in a world premiere
restoration that was absolutely glorious. I can’t remember the last time I saw
a movie as clear and perfect as this one. The color was so vibrant and clear, it
was like seeing it for the first time. The chariot race on the screen at
the Chinese was thrilling. As many times as I’ve seen Ben-Hur, the
chariot race never gets old.
3:45 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. To Be or Not To Be (1942)
is screening at Theatre 4 so it could be tough getting into this one, but I’m
going to try. This Ernst Lubitsch comedy is one of the best of the era. I got
in and it was great. The audience was totally into it, and made it all the
more enjoyable.
9 p.m. – 11:15 p.m. A Guy Named Joe is a movie I wanted to see as soon as it was announced. The film stars Spencer Tracy and Irene Dunne, with a star-making turn by a young Van Johnson. It’s in Theatre 4, so I’ll have to get in line early. I was determined to get into this movie, so I skipped the group of movies that started at 6:15 p.m. I ended up being number two in line. I shouldn’t have worried because the theatre wasn’t filled?! I could have seen any one of the movies before it and gotten in. I was glad I saw it on the big screen, regardless. I thought a film starring Tracy and Dunne would have been a bigger draw, but there was a lot of competition during that slot. Oh, by the way, I was number two in line.
Sunday April 27
Sunday can be a crap shoot with the TBA movies being
revealed. As of this moment, I don’t know what I want to see. Nothing is a
must-see for me, although there are some movies I’d like to see on the big
screen, like Splendor in the Grass (1961) at 11:45 a.m. in
Theatre 1. I may go see the silent version of Beau Geste (1926)
in the Egyptian Theatre at 7:30 p.m. I ended up seeing at 9 a.m. All This
and Heaven Too (1940) in Theatre Four (my luck getting into this theatre
was extraordinary). I did go to see Splendor in the Grass in Theatre 1.
Wood’s daughter, Natasha Gregson Wagner, with her daughter were
interviewed before the film by Alicia Malone. Natasha’s daughter had never seen
the movie before, so she was seeing it for the first time on the big screen
with an audience. She never met her grandmother. At 5:30 p.m., I went to see Moonlight
and Pretzels (1933). This pre-code musical was a hoot. A low-rent imitation
of 42nd Street (1933), was so bad it was good. The audience
ate it up, and so did I. Some memorable numbers from the movie included “Dusty
Shoes.” Check it out below!
The last movie I saw was Beau Geste (1926) starring
Ronald Colman, Neil Hamilton, Ralph Forbes, with Victor McLaglen and William
Powell. This silent film was making its world premiere restoration at the
Festival. Shown in the Egyptian theatre with a small orchestra and a foley artist who provided sound effects. It was
quite amazing to experience a silent film the way audiences would have when it
was first released.
All in all, I saw 13 movies in four days, which comes to 3.25
movies a day. In past Festivals, I’ve seen as many as 16 movies. This year, I
took out some time for lunch and dinner, something I neglected in past years.
