The sixth annual TCM Classic Film Festival came to an end on Sunday night, and, as usual, it was a glorious, jam-packed four days for thousands of movie lovers who descended upon Hollywood. Eighty classic films were presented on the big screens of two historic movie palaces on Hollywood Boulevard — Grauman’s Chinese and the Egyptian, as well as the neighboring TCL Chinese Multiplex. The films ranged from extremely rare 100-year-old features all the way to modern classics from the 1990s. This year’s festival included special guests such as Sophia Loren, Shirley MacLaine, Ann-Margret, 100-year-old Norman Lloyd, and many others who spoke to the rapt crowds about their lives and careers.
Because there are up to five concurrent sessions for every time slot, no two attendees have the same experience at the festival. Part of the fun is the agony of trying to map out your schedule for the four-day event. My own bleary-eyed tally by Sunday night was a total of 15 films but the competitive filmgoer in me wants to point out that three of those were road show presentations complete with intermissions. I don’t regret a single one of my choices but, of course, reading about the experiences of my compatriots fills me with envy at all of the great things that I missed.
The lead-up to the festival this year had a few clinks including the last-minute announcement that Robert Osborne, TCM’s main host and the festival’s “spiritual leader” would not be able to attend the festival for the first time because of a medical procedure that could not be put off. There was also a fair amount of grumbling from some of the classic movie die-hards about the more “recent” films on the schedule. But in the end, I think it’s safe to say that everyone who attended had a fantastic time. Osborne was missed but the other stellar hosts, including Ben Mankiewicz, Alex Baldwin Leonard Maltin, and Illeana Douglas filled in nicely. By all reports, Robert Osborne is thankfully doing well and will return to his revered status at next year’s festival.
The opening night gala paid tribute to the 50th anniversary of Robert Wise’s The Sound of Music (1965) with stars Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer in attendance along with several of their movie offspring. There’s no doubt about it: If I didn’t already live here, I’d walk across the country to attend the TCM Classic Film Festival. Here are some lessons I learned during this year’s festivities.
1. Common interests are the great leveler. Whatever you are imagining about the demographics of a classic movie festival, think again. One of the greatest things about this event is that it attracts passionate folks from ALL walks of life. No matter what political topic or current event we may be arguing with each other about online during the other 51 weeks of the year, at the TCM Classic Film Festival, a very diverse group of people revel in their common interests. This unique community of film lovers is one of the greatest things about the festival. Not that we all “agree” on everything — far from it — but despite differences in age, background, and personal beliefs, we all know that we are there for the same love of movies. I’ve had wonderful conversations in line with total strangers and I have developed real friendships with people I’ve met online because of the festival. Should someone propose a classic film festival in the world’s trouble spots? Can Joan Crawford and Clark Gable help bring peace to the Middle East?
2. People are our most valuable resources. As great as it is seeing these wonderful films back where they belong on the big screen in historic Hollywood movie palaces, an even bigger thrill is getting to hear directly from some of the people who were involved in their creation. Just looking at the list of people who are no longer with us that I got to hear talk about their work at previous festivals fills me with gratitude: Louise Rainer, Tony Curtis, Betty Garrett, Juanita Moore, Mickey Rooney, Esther Williams — the list goes on. Last year I was excited to have the chance to listen to Maureen O’Hara, Kim Novak, and Margaret O’Brien, and this year’s guests were equally thrilling.
The most poignant conversation I attended may have been the one between Alec Baldwin and Dustin Hoffman following the screening of Bob Fosse’s brilliant Lenny (1974). Hoffman was brutally honest and funny and I couldn’t stop my own eyes from welling up when he broke down at the mention of his good friend Robin Williams. It was such a real, authentic moment, completely respected by the crowd who just allowed the actor to gather himself together and continue. His discussion of the making of Lenny as well as The Graduate and so many other great films was riveting. Sophia Loren and Shirley MacLaine were equally honest and endearing about their spectacular careers. I’m sorry I missed Ann-Margret but I’m glad that I saw her interviewed a few years ago at a screening of the wildly fun Bye Bye Birdie, and there’s no question that 100-year-old Norman Lloyd is a living treasure. I’m so glad I’ve had the chance to talk to him in the past even if I missed him this year, darn it. Another highlight at this year’s festival was hearing the always fascinating director William Friedkin talk about The French Connection (1971) after a screening of that ground-breaking film.
But the most moving encounter I had this year with a member of the movie community occurred the night before the festival officially kicked off when 87-year-old actress Cora Sue Collins came to the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel (the festival’s headquarters and site of the very first Academy Awards). This former child star from the 1930s was hand-picked by Greta Garbo in 1933 to play her as a child in the MGM film Queen Christina. She also played William Powell and Myrna Loy’s daughter in Evelyn Prentice (1934) and appeared with almost every major star of the day from the time she was four years old to her last film she made as a teenager in 1945. Cora Sue spent over two hours talking to us and was a total delight. Earlier in the day, I had posted this photo of a birthday party held for Cora Sue at MGM that was a Louis B. Mayer-ordered joint celebration with actress May Robson who turned 70 on that day. Unbeknownst to me, Cora Sue had never seen the photograph and was thrilled to see it, especially since people over the years had doubted that Jean Harlow had attended the party and here she was in black and white with her hands on young Freddie Bartholomew’s shoulders. Meeting and talking to Cora Sue Colllins about her career and the people she was so close to (including many of the other child stars of the 1930s) was a bucket-list moment for me that I will always treasure.
3. There’s always something new to discover in the familiar. One of the dilemmas many of us put ourselves through leading up to the festival involves whether we should attend films we already love versus taking a risk on ones we’ve never seen. I always mix it up a bit, but this year I found myself following a few whims and going to some old favorites that I’ve seen a thousand times. One of these was George Cukor’s The Philadelphia Story (1940), one of my all-time favorite films. I’ve seen it countless times, including many times on the big screen in revival houses and special showings, but never at the magnificent Grauman’s Chinese where it premiered 75 years ago. In the end, I just couldn’t pass up that opportunity, and boy, was I glad that I didn’t.
The film was preceded by an interesting discussion between Illeana Douglas (a wonderful actress in her own right and the granddaughter of screen legend Melvyn Douglas) and actress Madeleine Stowe who movingly talked about how her love of classic films began when she was a little girl spending time with her ill father. Stowe talked about the strong women characters of that period such as Katharine Hepburn’s Tracy Lord, and the wonderful romantic comedies of the 1930s and 40s . Douglas and Stowe discussed how the role of women in film has been diminished over the years, even with the use of the somewhat derogatory terms “rom-com” and “chick flick.” While I feel I could recite nearly every line of The Philadelphia Story verbatim, I was surprised by how much I got from seeing that film on that huge screen with a large crowd. Nothing beats it, and there were nuances of the brilliant performances by Hepburn, Cary Grant, and James Stewart that I seemed to notice for the first time. I was also blown away (again) by the stellar supporting cast. I don’t think Mary Nash’s Margaret. Lord or Ruth Hussey’s Liz Imbrie always get the credit they deserve for their perfect delivery of that sparkling dialogue. And, with my special appreciation for child actress Virginia Weidler, I have to say my heart was warmed by the resounding applause she received for her superb and funny performance as Katharine Hepburn’s younger sister, Dinah Lord. “Lydia, oh, Lydia, say have you met Lydia; Lydia the tattooed lady…”
4. Real American heroes do exist. I never expected to be as moved as I was seeing former astronaut Jim Lovell (now 87) in person prior to a screening of Ron Howard’s wonderful Apollo 13 (1995). Lovell (played by Tom Hanks in the film) talked with Alex Trebeck about the harrowing Apollo 13 flight as well as the rest of his NASA career and his role in the making of the film. The crowd gave Lovell a long standing ovation and I found myself wiping away tears in the presence of this man who is one of only 24 people who ever flew to the moon and the first person to fly in space four times. As conveyed in the powerful movie, it’s nothing short of a miracle that Lovell survived the catastrophe of Apollo 13 exactly 45 years ago next month, and is here to talk about it today. He shared how his time in space and in the near-disastrous flight changed his outlook on life. Surprise guest Bill Paxton, who played Lunar Module Pilot Fred W. Haise in the film, shared stories from the set and how they all looked to Jim Lovell to get it right.
Another more contemporary film that I saw at Grauman’s Chinese during the festival was Martin Ritt’s Norma Rae (1979) starring Sally Field. That film was preceded by a discussion with a union organizer who had worked with Crystal Lee Sutton (the real-life woman on whom the film was based). Hearing him talk about the plight of labor unions back then and today, and watching this riveting film with Field’s spectacular Oscar-winning performance gave me renewed appreciation for the tireless efforts of people throughout our country’s history who have worked so hard to help improve the lives of workers.
Another story from history that has moved generations of people is George Stevens’ The Diary of Anne Frank. I was thrilled to see a screening of that film (which contained a few scenes I’d never seen before) that was attended by the two stars of the film, Millie Perkins and Diane Baker, who played young Anne Frank and her sister Margot. They talked about how they were cast in the film (it was the first film for both), the making of the difficult film, working with the great George Stevens, and anecdotes from the set. Both had funny stories about Shelley Winters who won an Academy Award for her powerful performance as Mrs. Van Daan. The gifted Winters had difficulty crying on cue and was frustrated by the girls’ ability to let the tears flow on demand. Shelley carried ammonia capsules around with her to help with that and she used to break them in Millie and Diane’s faces. Perkins did a perfect Shelley Winters impersonation as she related some of Shelley’s histrionics including the time Winters took Perkins into her dressing room before they were to shoot the film’s Hanukkah scene and got the girl drunk on scotch. Gulp! I happened to be sitting in front of the two actresses during the screening and it was both surreal and moving to sense “Anne and Margot” behind me as I watched the gripping story and see how moved both of them still were by the film that they made 56 years earlier.
5. If you build it, they will come. When we attended the first TCM Classic Film Festival in 2010, we had no idea if it would be successful or ever happen again. I remember the roar of delight that went up on the last day at Grauman’s Chinese when Robert Osborne announced that they would be coming back the following year. Since then, the event has attracted more and more passionate fans from around the world and many of the passes sell out very quickly after going on sale in the fall. I know people who scrimp and save all year long for their annual trip to this event and there are active Facebook and other groups that have formed around it. As host Ben Mankiewicz often points out, TCM has a devoted, loyal following that is simply unique in the world of network television. And the wide age range of festival participants, including many young people, makes me hopeful that these great movies will never be forgotten, even when the last movie star from the golden age of film is gone.
It kills me that I missed some of this year’s events, such as the special presentation of hand-cranked films from 1902 to 1913, and many films I couldn’t fit into my schedule such as Orson Welles’ Chimes at Midnight (1965), Henry Ford’s Young Mr. Lincoln (1939) introduced by Peter Fonda, Charlie Chaplin’s Limelight (1952) introduced by the great Norman Lloyd, The Bank Dick starring W. C. Fields with a discussion with Fields’ two grandsons, Spike Lee talking about his Malcolm X (1992), Christopher Plummer chatting about the making of John Huston’s The Man Who Would Be King (1975), Robert Morse discussing The Loved One (1965), and the believed-to-be-lost The Grim Game (1919) starring Harry Houdini himself, along with MANY other great films. But I’m thrilled that I got a chance to see fantastic movies such as David Lean’s Doctor Zhivago (1965), a gorgeous 70mm print of George C. Scott’s amazing performance in Patton (1970), a restored print of the musical 1776 (1972) featuring a discussion with director Peter H. Hunt and actors William Daniels and Ken Howard, Shirley MacLaine sharing stories about Jack Lemmon during the making of Billy Wilder’s The Apartment (1960), and a fascinating program about the Dawn of Technicolor in the 1920s.
I wish the festival lasted longer than four days, but I’m afraid if it did I might need eye surgery and my wife would sue me for abandonment. If you love movies, and there’s any way you can beg, borrow, or steal to get to this one-of-a-kind event next year, I strongly encourage you to do so. See you in Hollywood!