Photo: StephanieKeenan/WireImage 
Hollywood, April 10-13 2014
Family In The Movies: The Ties That Bind
Festival Happenings!
THURSDAY, APRIL 10
Highlights from the Red Carpet
at the World Premiere of
Newly Restored Oklahoma!
TCL Chinese IMAX Theatre
(Photos by Mary McCord, Editor)
Actress Shirley Jones attended the world premiere
of the newly restored Oklahoma!, the Rodgers and
Hammerstein musical that was her film debut
in 1955. The red carpet event and screening opened
the 2014 TCM Classic Film Festival.
ActressesTippi Hedren and Kim Novak, pose
for photos at the entrance to the red carpet.
Novak will introduce the film
Bell Book and Candle later
in the Festival.
Actress Margaret O'Brien pauses on the red carpet to answer questions from the media. She will introduce
the movie, Meet Me In St. Louis (1944), later in the Festival. O'Brien was a child actor and she played the younger sister of Judy Garland's character.
Casting Director Lynn Stalmaster talks about the "magical quality"
On his way down the red carpet at the opening of the
TCM Classic Film Festival on Thursday evening (April
10), Casting Director Lynn Stalmaster paused to answer
some questions from the editor of Classic Film Watch. . . . Read More
Click Here To See More Red Carpet Photos
FRIDAY, APRIL 11
Conversation with
Richard Dreyfuss
While being interviewed by
Actress Illeana Douglas, Richard
Dreyfuss talked about the impor-
tant films of his career, including
The Goodbye Girl and American
Graffiti which are being screened
at the Festival.
He said that acting had a pro-
found effect on his personal life.
"I played a father before I actually
became a father." He thinks these roles prepared him for fatherhood and that he was a better father because of the
experience. . . Read More
Conversation with
Quincy Jones
During an interview with film
historian Leonard Maltin, com-
poser Quincy Jones talked about
the evolution of music and how
each music style borrows from
other styles and previous trends.
"There’s no reason to re-invent
the wheel. I’ve asked people
when they think rap began and they usually say some time in the 70s," he said. "But, I was rapping in Chicago when I was five years old in 1939. . . Read More
Hat Check Girl (1932)
I always make it a point to see the film that the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) brings to the TCM Classic Film Festival because it is always special. This year, film archivist Katie Trainor and film curator Anne Morra of MOMA introduced the recently restored, 1932 film, Hat Check Girl, starring Sally Eilers, and a young Ginger Rogers.
This film has Eilers playing Gerry, a young woman of virtue who is working as a hat check girl in a nightclub to support her family. She refuses to sell liquor or trade in sexual favors like her co-worker, Jessie, played by Rogers. Bootleggers, blackmailers and other criminal elements hang out at the nightclub. It isn’t long before Eilers is forced . . . Read More
SUNDAY, APRIL 13
A Tribute to Mickey Rooney
September 23, 1920 - April 6, 2014
Margaret O'Brien, who started in the movie business as a child actress, spoke with Film Historian Eddie Muller at the TCM Film Festival tribute for Mickey Rooney, saying "My life in the business has been pleasurable and lovely because of Mickey."
She said her first film role at age two was in a movie with Mickey, Babes on Broadway (1941). She observed that Mickey's last role was in a movie that she also had a part in, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, scheduled for release in October of this year. O'Brien recalled that after they finished filming this movie recently, Mickey exclaimed, "Wasn't that a fun day!"
Mickey also had a part in the soon to be released Night at the Museum 3. He was 93 with more than eight decades in the movie business when he passed away on April 6.
She said that Mickey liked to go out to dinner and enjoyed watching TCM movies and the news every day so he could "keep up". O'Brien recalled that Mickey liked to write funny limericks, but his real passion was serious poetry which he wrote throughout his life. "He was very sensitive."
As part of the Tribute, there was a screening of National Velvet. Film Historian Jeremy Arnold, who introduced the film, said that Mickey's favorite line from the movie was "What's the meaning of goodness if there isn't a little badness to overcome." It's a line Mickey has said "could be my epitaph."
Muller closed the Tribute, saying "It's only right that Mickey has the last word," and read Flesh and Bones, one of his recent poems.
TCM's 20th Anniversary
TCM marked its 20th anniversary on air with a special event held at the TCM Club in the historic Roosevelt Hotel.
Super Special Screening (Sunday)
On Approval (1944)
When I entered the theater to see the rare, little known British comedy of manners film, On Approval, set in the 1890s, I was expecting something along the lines of a Jane Austen story. While her stories were about romance, and often comic, they usually were about women who were dependent on marriage for economic security. Instead, I saw a film where the men were the ones looking to marry women who were more well-heeled than they. On Approval is the story of the escapades of two mis-matched couples sharing a platonic trial marriage to see if they’re suited for each other. It is an adaptation of a play by Frederick Lonsdale.
Maria, played by Beatrice Lillie in one of her few film roles, is a widowed woman who is used to getting her way. George, played by Clive Brook, who also produced, adapted and directed this film, plays the 10th Duke of Bristol who is poor despite his title and is used to others taking care of him. He has an equally poor friend, Richard, played by Roland Culver, who is in love with Maria. Helen, played by Googie Withers, is wealthy and in love with George. The two couples go to Maria’s island home in Scotland to experiment with a trial marriage on approval.
At first, the film moved a little slow for me until the couples arrived at Maria’s home. There, the cook was offended that the women had brought their suitors with them and left in a huff with the other household staff. This left the group fending for themselves instead of living their usual life of privilege. . . . Read More
TCM Hosts Robert Osborne and Ben Mankiewicz shown at closing party.
Photo by Tyler Golden, courtesy of TCM.
classicfilmwatch.com is a non-commercial, film review and informational website. All photos or artwork, unless otherwise identified, are either in the public domain or believed to satisfy the four-point criteria of the U.S. copyright law for fair use. No infringement is intended. Photos and artwork are not used for commercial purposes.
Photo: John Sciulli/WireImage
Actor Charlton Heston was honored as the 18th inductee into the U.S. Postal Service’s Legends of Hollywood stamp series Friday. The event took place as part of the TCM Classic Film Festival.
Super Special Screenings (Friday)
Touch of Evil (1958)
After Universal-International fired Orson Welles, who was both the screenwriter and director of the film noir, Touch of Evil, he wrote a 58 page memo to the studio's head of production, Edward Muhl, detailing what he thought needed to be done to make the film work. But his advice was unheeded. . . Read More
Why Worry? (1923)
The silent comedy Why Worry? was Harold Lloyd's last film with producer Hal Roach.
It's a hilarious story about an idler and hypochondriac who takes a vacation to Paradiso and takes on a South American Revolution, along with the help of his nurse and Colosso, a giant of a man . . . Read More
Festival Friendships
One important aspect of the TCM Classic Film Festival is the opportunity to make new friends and renew friendships you made at previous festivals.
Last year, I met two women who have classic film websites, Carrie Specht, www.classicfilmfan.com and Jill Blake, sittinonabackyardfence.com. Talking with them inspired me to create classicfilmwatch.com.
So far this week, I have had many conversations with other fans at the Festival. At the Conversation with Quincy Jones event, I ran into a friend I had made three festivals back and had a chance to catch up. I also made a new friend, Michael D. Reynolds, while waiting for the event to begin.
Michael D. Reynolds, actor in Jersey Boys
and classic film fan
Michael is a personable, young actor who has a great appreciation for the classic films, also. He really likes
Gregory Peck and Charlie Chaplin. Look for Michael in
Clint Eastwood's new film, Jersey Boys, set to be released
this June. He plays a nightclub owner in one of the per-
formance scenes. —Mary McCord, Editor
SATURDAY, APRIL 12
Jerry Lewis Hand & Footprint Ceremony
at the TCL Chinese IMAX Theatre
(Photos by Mary McCord, Editor)
An enthusiastic audience welcomed Jerry Lewis to the courtyard of the Theatre where the hand and footprint ceremony was held. He greeted the audience with "What a motley crowd!" Then, he joked that we would all go back to his house for coffee afterward. From then on, it was one joke after another in typical Jerry Lewis fashion. complete with funny expressions and gestures.
The media was busy taking photos of Jerry when he asked for his camera so he could take pictures of them. What a wild and funny man! This was an event that
the whole audience will remember forever.
Click Here To See More Festival Photos
Super Special Screenings (Saturday)
The Great Gatsby (1949)
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s, The Great Gatsby, a classic of 20th century literature, has been filmed several times, including for television, with the most well-known versions being the ones starring Robert Redford (1974) and Leonardo Dicaprio (2013) as the elusive, mysterious Gatsby. It’s a lesser known fact that Alan Ladd played the Jay Gatsby role in a 1949 black and white version. Leave it to TCM to acquire the rights to show this forgotten gem of a film at its Classic Film Festival.
This film has never been shown on television and is not authentically available on DVD. TCM Host Robert Osborne introduced the film saying that he had seen it at a young age when it was first released in theaters. He said it was his favorite film version of the book because Ladd portrayed the Gatsby character closer to Fitzgerald’s original conception. He does not believe that any of the female leads in the three versions have portrayed the character, Daisy . . . Read More