THURSDAY, MARCH 26
Highlights from the Red Carpet
at the 50th Anniversary
World Premiere of
The Sound of Music
Newly Restored!
TCL Chinese IMAX Theatre
(Photos by Mary McCord, Editor
Julie Andrews interviewed on the Red Carpet.
Diane Baker attended the gala event. During the Festival, she will be introducing The Diary of Anne Frank in which she portrayed Margot Frank. George Stevens, who directed the film, insisted on shooting in black and white to capture the reality of the family's situation.
Norman Lloyd took time to speak with media as he made his way down the Red Carpet. TCM Host Ben Mankiewicz will conduct a conversation with Lloyd during the Festival to discuss his eight-decade-long career as an actor and director.
Composer Brane Zivkovic stopped to answer questions on the Red Carpet. During the Festival, he will be conducting his original score for the silent classic, The Grim Game, which stars Harry Houdini in one of his few film roles.
The Sound of Money
During the TCM Classic Film Festival, CBC TV (Canada) interviewed the editor of this website about the interest in classic films today. A quote was used in an article that is on their website titled, “The Sound of Music returns to theatres as movie industry seeks new money from old film.” It was soon picked up by msn.com. It's a very good article about the business side of classic films. If interested, you can read the article at:
FRIDAY, MARCH 27
Academy Award-Winning Screen Legend
Christopher Plummer
honored at Hand & Footprint Ceremony
Actor Christopher Plummer was honored at a Hand and Footprint ceremony in the forecourt of the TCL Chinese Theatre as part of the TCM Classic Film Festival. "My mother always told me that I would be a very old man before I would receive recognition as an actor. She never told me that I'd end up being stuck in cement!" he joked.
Long-time friend Shirley MacLaine also spoke at the hand and footprint ceremony.
Actor William Shatner also spoke during
the ceremony honoring his friend,
Christopher Plummer.
(Photo by Edward M. Pio Roda, courtesy of TCM)
Handprint ceremony successful!
(Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez, courtesy of TCM)
SATURDAY, MARCH 29 (Continued)
TCM held a conversation with Shirley MacLaine about her life and career. At other times, she introduced her films, The Apartment and
The Children's Hour.
(Photo by Tyler Golden, courtesy of TCM)
Rififi, French Noir Suspenseful Even with "Silent" Heist
By Mary McCord, Editor
Rififi, considered to be one of the greatest works of French film noir, was in my top five must-see films at the TCM Classic Film Festival. It falls under the heist film sub-genre of film noir and was directed by Jules Dassin.
The lead member of the heist team, Tony Stéphanois, was back in Paris after serving a five-year prison term for a jewel heist. His good friend, Jo, their mutual friend, Mario, and César, a safecracker, make up the rest of the team. They plan and rehearse to break into a Parisian jeweler’s store and disarm its sophisticated alarm system.
Dassin took a chance with the middle part of the film. For 28 minutes, during the heist, it becomes a silent film. There are no words spoken and no music plays. You hear only natural sounds as the group chisels through a cement ceiling from an upstairs flat into the jewelry store. Yet, the scenes remain suspenseful.
As soon as the hole is large enough, they cleverly insert a closed umbrella and open it to catch the debris to lessen the noise of the burglary. Rififi’s heist scene was based on an actual burglary that took place in 1899 in Paris where the burglars used the umbrella technique.
This was Dassin's first directing job since he had been blacklisted in Hollywood during the production of Night and the City (1950). After Rififi’s release, it won Dassin the Best Director award at the 1955 Cannes Film Festival. The film was nominated by the National Board of Review for Best Foreign Film and was re-released . . . Read More
SUNDAY, MARCH 29
Nothing Missing in The Grim Game Restoration and Screening
By Mary McCord, Editor
Before the TCM Classic Film Festival began, The Grim Game was on my short list of “must see” films. It is a 1919 silent, starring Harry Houdini in one of his few film roles. After viewing the world premiere screening of the film, which had a new score composed and conducted by Brane Zivkovic, I was pleased to find out that I had categorized the film correctly.
In The Grim Game, Houdini plays Harvey Hanford, a young newspaper reporter who is framed for murder. As Hanford escapes from the police and goes after the gang of men who framed him, Houdini has the chance to display his skills as an escape artist, illusionist and stunt man.
The Grim Game showed Houdini in a variety of daredevil situations where he broke out of shackles to break out of prison, escaped from a straightjacket while suspended from a skyscraper and dangled from a rope outside an airplane. While very formulaic and predictable, the film was still very entertaining and a treat since a silent film being accompanied by live music is such a unique moving-going experience today.
Other than TCM’s special presentation, another reason I wanted to see The Grim Game is that I have a friend whose grandfather met Harry Houdini and designed a poster for his vaudeville magic act in the early part of the 20th century. In those days, stars would come to town to perform in the local vaudeville theaters and they would need a poster to attract an audience. Of course, movie posters were printed during this time, but the cost and time factor of producing a printed poster was prohibitive for live performances that were often scheduled last-minute and had a short run. So, this was good for the local artists, because they were hired to make signs and illustrate posters.
My friend’s grandfather was very impressed with meeting and working for Houdini and told his grandson stories about this. Later on, he gave his grandson Harry Houdini’s business card. My friend proudly carried this business card in his wallet for many years, only for it to disappear when he was visiting another country. I guess that was to be expected of Houdini's business card.
The first thing I did when I got to the Festival was to stop by the TCM gift shop to see if there was a DVD of this film. I have always been touched by my friend’s story of losing his grandfather’s Houdini memento and thought he might like a DVD of The Grim Game. I was interested in one for myself, too. I had read that TCM participated in the restoration of the film, so I was hopeful it would be there, but it was not. Later, during the introduction before the screening of the film, I found out why. . . Read More
Director Edgar Wright introduced Alfred Hitchcock's film, Psycho.
Psycho on the big screen . . . Awesome!
By Linda McCord
The opportunity to attend the screening of Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho at the TCL Chinese Theatre IMAX was truly an awesome experience. Although I have seen the film numerous times on television to the point where I can recite some of the dialogue, this was my first time seeing it on the big screen, as Hitchcock intended audiences to experience it.
As with other classic films I've seen on the big screen, I was impressed with the detail that is not so apparent when viewing the film on television, from the pattern in the carpet at the Bates' mansion to the subtle changes in expression on the face of Norman Bates, played brilliantly by Anthony Perkins. However, the thing I noticed most was the role that Bernard Herrman's magnificent musical score played in building suspense and heightening the sense of horror. . . Read More
FRIDAY, MARCH 27 (Continued)
Ann-Margret introduced The Cincinnati Kid, a 1965 film she starred in with Steve McQueen. She said that she and McQueen had a lot in common—speed—not the drug, just fast motorcycles. (Photo by Adam Rose, courtesy of TCM)
There's More to The Cincinnati Kid Than Gambling
By Linda McCord
To be honest, my main reason for attending the screening of The Cincinatti Kid was to see Ann-Margret, having been a fan of hers since Bye, Bye Birdie. I had never seen the film because a movie about gambling just didn’t appeal to me. However, as with other films I’ve seen on the big screen at this festival, I found much more to appreciate and enjoy.
The film isn’t just about gambling, but is also about relationships and how values such as pride, honor and integrity affect them. The film is set in Depression-era New Orleans and stars Steve McQueen in the title role. Karl Malden plays the part of Shooter, the Kid’s friend and fellow gambler. Ann-Margret shines in the role of Shooter’s wife, Melba, who is constantly trying to seduce the Kid, despite her friendship with his girlfriend, Christian. Tuesday Weld is charming in the role of Christian. . . . Read More
Peter Fonda and Keith Carradine introduced the
1946 western, My Darling Clementine.
Photo courtesy of TCM.
My Darling Clementine Charms
By Linda McCord
Although I am not a huge fan of western films, there are a handful that I really love and My Darling Clementine is certainly one of them. It is a charming and romantic account of the legend of Tombstone and the iconic gunfight at the OK Corral.
It is directed by John Ford, who changed the location of Tombstone in order to showcase the scenery of Monument Valley. The black and white photography in the film is breathtaking. My favorite scene is the outdoor worship service and dance because it really shows the beauty and grandeur of the West.
Henry Fonda gives his usual fine perform-
ance as the legendary lawman, Wyatt Earp. Victor Mature is great as the tortured Doc Holliday. Linda Darnell is well-cast as Doc Holliday's girlfriend who becomes quite upset when Clementine arrives in town.
Clementine, played by Cathy Downs, is someone from Doc Holliday's past who shows up looking for Dr. John Holliday, someone who essentially no longer exists. A trained nurse, she remembers Dr. Holliday as being a fine surgeon, a skill he has to revive later on after Linda Darnell's character is shot. Following Doc Holliday's death at the OK Corral, Clementine decides to stay on and start a school.
Although the film culminates with the suspenseful gunfight at the OK Corral, it is not the violence that I remember, but the beauty, romance and humor of this great film. It is a film that truly has heart.
Actor/Director Peter Fonda and Actor Keith Carradine were on hand to discuss the film and their own careers in Hollywood. They both looked great and it was such a treat to see them in person. . . Read More
SATURDAY, MARCH 28
Screen legend Sophia Loren was interviewed by her son, Edoardo Ponti, during the TCM
Classic Film Festival. When speaking about actors she has worked with, she said she loved Cary Grant and admired and respected the acting skills of Peter O'Toole and Daniel Day-Lewis. This interview was taped in front of a live audience and will be aired on TCM at a later date.
(Photo by Edward M. Pio Roda, courtesy of TCM)
Sophia Loren and her son, Edoardo Ponti
(Photo by Edward M. Pio Roda, courtesy of TCM)
Return of the Dream Machine
Projectionist Joe Rinaudo, assisted by Gary Gibson, operated a 1909 Hand-Crank Motion Picture Machine during a presentation of hand-cranked films from 1902-1913.
(Photo by Edward M. Pio Roda, courtesy of TCM)
Action Hero Richard Roundtree introduced the disaster film, Earthquake, which was screened poolside at the historic Roosevelt Hotel.
(Photo by Adam Rose, courtesy of TCM)
The pool at the historic Roosevelt Hotel was the venue for several movies shown in the evening, including Grease (1978), The Party (1968)
and Earthquake (1974).
(Photo by Adam Rose, courtesy of TCM)
