2017 Turner Classic Movies Film Festival (#TCMFF) Recap: The First Day

Hollywood, Thursday April 6, 2017
The first day of the 2017 Turner Classic Movies Film Festival started for me as a reunion of sorts. After checking into my room, I headed toward the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel and Club TCM to catch up with #TCMParty friends. Then it was a mad dash to the hotel pool for the annual #TCMParty “class photo.” The last two years I’ve missed the photo, but this year I was determined. After some confusion about the pool area being closed, I made it! I guess three’s a charm.

Since I had the Classic Pass, I wasn’t able to attend the 50th anniversary screening of In the Heat of the Night (1967). So my choices were Love Crazy (1941), Some like it Hot (1959), Jezebel (1938), the documentary Dawson City: Frozen in Time (2016), and the poolside screening of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971). For me, the choice was pretty easy. I decided on Love Crazy with William Powell and Myrna Loy at the Egyptian. Actress Dana Delaney introduced the film and she was excited to do so, being a big Powell/Loy fan. This movie was new to me and it was hilarious. As always, Powell and Loy didn’t disappoint, but the movie featured great support from Gail Patrick, playing the other woman, of course, and Florence Bates, the mother-in-law from hell. And then there’s the always dependable Jack Carson on loan from Warner Bros. as the “other man.” This was a great pick to open my festival and a chance to appreciate the exceptional comic abilities of Powell and Loy, the perfect screen team.

Next up was a choice between The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934), Harold and Maude (1971), Requiem for a Heavyweight (1962), and I’m All Right Jack (1959). Again, this was a pretty easy choice for me. I’ve seen The Man Who Knew Too Much before, but the chance to see this early Hitchcock classic featuring a nitrate print, sealed the deal for me. Martin Scorsese introduced the film, which was a big surprise since no introduction was mentioned in the printed program. He was excited to be able to share the nitrate print of this film with us. The Man Who Knew Too Much was also presented at the Egyptian (all the nitrate screenings were shown there) which made it really easy to just exit after Love Crazy and get on line for the Hitchcock classic! Nitrate prints boast a “luminous quality and higher contrast than the cellulose acetate film that replaced it,” but honestly, without a comparison, it was hard for me to notice any real difference. But it didn’t ruin my enjoyment of the film. Even though I prefer the remake to the original, the 1934 version has a lot to offer in the way of suspense. We also get to see Edna Best as a leading lady before she started playing character parts like Martha Huggins in The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947). Plus the way the villain is dispatched is amazingly cool and completely Hitchcockian!

Alfred Hitchcock directing The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934)

After that is was bedtime. Friday would be the first full day and the first films screened at 9 a.m. And my choices would be: Rafter Romance (1933), The Maltese Falcon (1941), Cry, The Beloved Country (1951), Beyond the Mouse, The 1930s Cartoons of UB Iwerks, and It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963). What film did I choose?

What film would you choose?

2017 Turner Classic Movies Film Festival (#TCMFF) Recap

I can’t believe the 2017 Turner Classic Movies Film Festival is over. All winter long, I looked forward to the festival to get me through the days, the weeks, the months until those magical four days of classic movie bliss. Now, this third TCMFF is history.

This year I saw 14 movies (the same number as last year), but all the movies I attended were in either the Egyptian Theatre or the TCL Chinese Theatre IMAX! All the movies I wanted to see I got to see. Last year I was shut out of Midnight and Double Harness (twice!). Since so many films were shown at the Egyptian (618 seats), it was less stressful than last year. Last year it seemed like the time between movies was so tight that I was constantly running to the next screening for fear of not getting in. Thankfully, this was not the case this year.

Part of the crowd at the Egyptian Theatre

The festival was dedicated to the memory of Robert Osborne, which was only right. His knowledge and love of classic movies will be sorely missed. I think he would have enjoyed this year’s movie lineup that included some of the funniest screwball comedies from the 1930s and 1940s. Plus his favorite movie star, Gene Tierney was showcased in the classic film noir, Laura.

My goal this year was to try and see movies I hadn’t seen before. Of all the movies I saw, six were new to me. At this year’s festival, they promoted several nitrate films. Thanks in part to TCM, the Egyptian remodeled its projection booth so that it could screen nitrate films safely. I ended up seeing all the nitrate screenings. I had seen all of these films before, but Lady in the Dark hasn’t been seen anywhere for years. It’s been at least 30 years since I last saw it—and I didn’t remember a thing—so in many ways it was new to me.

Besides movies, I attended the “So You Think You Know Movies” event at ClubTCM (tough, tough questions!), enjoyed “conversations” with Peter Bogdanovitch and Lee Grant. Good stuff!

Films were shown in the following formats: 35mm, digital, and nitrate (35mm). Below is the breakdown of film formats I saw this year:

35mm – 9 films
Digital – 5 films
Nitrate – 4 films (nitrate films were all 35mm)

Check back for daily recaps and recollections from my four days at the festival.