Is it wrong to be this excited for a film festival showing mostly films that have been available for viewing for decades? By far my favorite movie event of the year, the fifth annual TCM Classic Film Festival is coming to Hollywood again from Thursday, April 10 to Sunday, April 13. This year TCM will be celebrating “Family in the Movies: The Ties That Bind.” The festival will showcase on-screen clans of all types — big and small, happy and imperfect, musical and dramatic. The four-day event will also spotlight the first families of Hollywood and the filmmaking dynasties that have entertained generations. And it will explore the kinship that connects close-knit groups of professionals behind the camera, such as the stock companies of classic Hollywood.
The festival is happening a little earlier than usual this year to coincide with the 20th anniversary of Turner Classic Movies, and once again, TCM hosts and film mavens Robert Osborne and Ben Mankiewicz will be on hand to introduce the many films and interview the legendary stars, filmmakers, and others who will be attending the screenings. Nothing could make me miss this gathering of film lovers from around the world. The list of people I was able to see at past festivals reads like a Who’s Who of the history of Hollywood: Debbie Reynolds, Kirk Douglas, Luise Rainer, Tony Curtis, Kim Novak, Stanley Donen, Betty Garrett, Mickey Rooney, Eva Marie Saint, Juanita Moore, Liza Minnelli, Joel Grey, Tippi Hedren, Jane Powell, Peter Bogdonavich, Robert Wagner, Ann Blyth, Mitzi Gaynor, Jon Voight, Hayley Mills, Peter O’Toole and so many others.
Several exciting additions to this year’s line-up were announced this morning. Maureen O’Hara will be on hand to introduce the world premiere restoration of John Ford’s Oscar-winning classic How Green Was My Valley. As far as I’m concerned, getting the rare chance to hear the 93-year-old actress discuss this film is reason enough to hightail it to Hollywood. But if you need more convincing, TCM also announced today that former child star Margaret O’Brien will attend the festival to screen Vincente Minnelli’s beloved Meet Me in St. Louis in which she played Judy Garland’s little sister, Tootie.
With the definition of classic films now extending into the 1970s and beyond, Oscar winner Richard Dreyfuss will be at the festival to introduce and talk about two of his biggest hits: Neil Simon’s The Goodbye Girl (1977) and the musical-themed drama Mr. Holland’s Opus (1995). And the great Mel Brooks will regale the crowd following a screening of his hilarious western Blazing Saddles (1974).
TCM will also honor the legendary Jerry Lewis who will be on hand at a screening of one of his most memorable films, The Nutty Professor (1963). Lewis will finally have his hand- and footprints enshrined in concrete in front of the world-famous Grauman’s Chinese Theater, one of the festival’s main venues along with the Egyptian Theater down the street on Hollywood Boulevard and the Chinese 6 multiplex.
The other Big Events at this year’s festival include a presentation of the ever-popular The Wizard of Oz (1939) in its new IMAX 3D version that debuted at the Chinese last fall (the same theater where the original film premiered 75 years ago). Another highly anticipated 75th anniversary screening will be Gone With the Wind starring Vivien Leigh, Clark Gable, and Olivia de Havilland, who, as the last living cast member, some fans are hoping will appear. (Unfortunately, that is highly unlikely. The Oscar-winning de Havilland is now 97 years old and rarely travels from her home in Paris. But I wouldn’t be surprised if she tapes a special interview for the screening.)
While the complete schedule for the TCM Classic Film Festival has not yet been released, here are some other highlights to look forward to this year:
• A tribute to Quincy Jones who will appear at multiple events including a 50th anniversary screening of Sidney Lumet’s brilliant The Pawnbroker (1964) which marked Jones’ debut as a film composer
• World premiere restoration screenings of the Beatles’ A Hard Day’s Night (1964), Frank Capra’s Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936) with Gary Cooper and Jean Arthur, the musical Stormy Weather (1943) starring Lena Horne, the original Japanese Godzilla (1954), Billy Wilder’s Double Indemnity (1944) with Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray, Orson Welles’ Touch of Evil (1958), William Wyler’s poignant Best Picture Oscar winner The Best Years of Our Lives (1944), and Charlie Chaplin’s much-lauded City Lights (1931).
• A presentation of Alfred Hitchcock’s early silent The Lodger (1927) featuring a live performance by the Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra
• Harold Lloyd’s comedy classic Why Worry? (1923) with renowned silent-film composer Carl Davis conducting the live world premiere performance of his new original score for the film
Click here to purchase passes for the four-day cinematic orgy and to get updates about the schedule. The passes are not cheap but there are a variety of price ranges. Individual tickets are also available at each screening if there any seats. As for me, I plan on seeing as many movies as possible during the festival even if it means eye surgery, exhaustion, and accusations of desertion by my family members. See you at the movies!