Highlights of the TCM Classic Film Festival

April 18-21, 2024

Theme: Most Wanted
Crime and Justice in Film

Opening Night Film: Pulp Fiction
30th Anniverfsary Screening of the 1994 Neo-Noir.
Special Guest: John Travolta

Actors John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson are shown at the Red Carpet Gala before the screening
of their 1994 film “Pulp Fiction” at the TCL Chinese Theatre IMAX April 18 in Hollywood, CA.
This was the opening night film at the 2024 TCM Classic Film Festival. (Photo by John Nowak)

TCM Honored Jodie Foster with Hand and Footprint Ceremony

     Actresses Jamie Lee Curtis and Jodie Foster are shown as TCM honors Foster with a Hand and Footprint Ceremony held at the TCL Chinese Theatre IMAX courtyard in Hollywood, CA on April 19. Curtis spoke near the beginning of the ceremony to introduce her friend and peer, sharing her perspective on the star's legacy. Foster is shown placing her hands in cement. (Photos by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for TCM.)

Classic Film Watch's Pick for the First Night: In Cold Blood (1967)

    Richard Brooks wrote, produced and directed the film that looked at the real-life murder of a Kansas family through the eyes of the killers played by actors Robert Blake and Scott Wilson. This film was an adaptation of Truman Capote’s best-selling “non-fiction novel”. Capote was one of the first writers to explore this new genre and it was his most controversial work.

Classic Film Watch's Pick for the Second Day: Rear Window (1954)

    This year marks this film's 70th Anniversary. Starring Jimmy Stewart and Grace Kelly, it was directed by Alfred Hitchcock. A seamless combination of murder mystery, love story and dark comedy, the story is about an injured photographer who spends his down-time spying on his neighbors, one of whom may be a killer. The film was screened at the recently renovated and enhanced Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood.

Classic Film Watch's Pick for Third Day: The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

    Many of the films presented at the Festival were in keeping with the theme “Most Wanted: Crime and Justice in Film” and were typically about the creation of a crime, but this film dealt with the aftermath of crime. Writer-director Frank Darabont adapted a Stephen King novella and turned out a warmly human story about the relationship between two convicts, a banker (Tim Robbins) wrongly convicted of murder and a lifer who smuggles in contraband (Morgan Freeman). The film did not do well initially, but after receiving seven Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, it took off on home video and cable broadcasts. Thirty years later, it still ranks as one of Columbia’s most popular releases with a devoted fan base.

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Classic Film Watch's Pick for the Last Day: Chinatown (1974)

    This year marks the 50th Anniversary screening of this neo-noir film directed by Roman Polanski and starring Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway and John Huston. Nicholson plays private eye Jake Gittes, who is hired to find out if the city’s chief engineer is cheating on his wife. He gets caught up in a web of murder and corruption with Dunaway at its center. The script is tightly written by Robert Towne. All elements from the smoky cinematography, jazz-tinged score and even the smallest sound effect such as the ringing of a phone, which sounds like an alarm as the suspense increases, contribute to the noir atmosphere.