A MAVEN'S TALE OF TRAVEL, MOVIES & MADCAP AT TCM'S FILM FEST

[CineMaven]

HI! CINEMAVEN here, coming to you from HOLLYWOOD!!!

I'm here to attend the TURNER CLASSIC MOVIES FILM FESTIVAL. Admittedly, I blew it last year. I didn't go; didn't want to go. But reading everyone's accounts of their experience last year showed me that I made a BIIIIIIG mistake. HUGE. So I'm here to make it up to myself ($$$). And I'd like to share my experience with you.

I'll break it down into three parts:

( * ) Getting There
( * ) Los Angeles and Hollywood
( * ) THE Festival

Many folks will be talking of their experience. I only hope my journey will entertain you as well.

GETTING THERE:

Friday - April 22nd

I'm travelling First Class on the first leg of my AMTRAK railroad trip across our great country. I decided to make it a real adventure for myself and get to California before the festival for two reasons:

(1.) To see the United States and relax doing it and being a captive audience I would tackle some over-due writing and editing.

(2.) filmlover informed us ( http://forums.tcm.com/thread.jspa?messa ... 508189that ) that "BYE BYE BIRDIE" will be playing at the Samuel Goldwyn Theatre, AND Ann-Margret would be there.

So here I am, traveling the North Shore Limited to Chicago. The dinner car looks just like it does in the movies. Yes, think "NORTH BY NORTHWEST." I have my iPOD Touch with me to keep me company. I look around. HA! No Cary Grants. I order a nice chicken dinner and two Bloody Marys. A gentleman sits at my table. He's certainly no Cary Grant.

My mistake. He was charming, quick-witted, amusing and very pleasant, making sharp observations. We had a great conversation. He was Cary Grant. And alas, it is I who is still NO Eva Marie Saint.

When I go back to my seat, my traveling companion has changed. Laura is from Wisconsin and she is a retired teacher. She and I had a fascinating conversation about education, personal responsibility, & politics in Wisconsin. I enjoyed the many many miles to Chicago with her. She points out the Mississippi River to me and it is cresting pretty high. "WAIT!!! THAT'S THE MISSISSIPPI????!!!!!" My geography is terrible...but then again, Laura doesn't know much about movies. I liked her a lot.

Saturday - April 23rd

I start the main leg of my journey... from Chicago to Los Angeles. I reserved a sleeper car. Oooh, it's so cute and cozy; I love it!! I meet a very nice couple traveling to Ventura, CA (Henry and Sheila)...AND they know movies. BOY DO THEY!!! They are classic film buffs who watch (and love Robert Osborne). Wow!! I tell them I was once a guest programmer on TCM and they were very impressed with the photo I have of Robert Osborne and me. (C'mon, you know I'm bringing it with me to see if he will autograph it!) They "adopted" me and I was very grateful.

I have some film editing and writing to do and I'll use this trip to get stuff done. I find the Observation Car with its big clean picture windows. The landscape is beautiful and compelling. I shut down my MacBook Pro and focus on the beautiful passing scenery.

Sunday - April 24th

I have lunch with another couple, hailing from Wisconsin. (I didn't get their names but he is a Postal worker and they are heading to Vegas). It was an honor to talk with them about the state of affairs back home and to find out that the news media I watch here in the Northeast, is reporting things accurately. (Whew!) After lunch, I head back to the Observation Car. The desert topography is beautiful here in New Mexico. (We're heading to Albuquerque). Red dirt, bleached plant life. ...Is that tumbleweed? I believe so. I can't tell you how relaxing this is. The observation car offers a panoramic view of Nature; aqua skies, cotton candy clouds, red...now beige earth and gray/green flora. Wait, I've seen these brushed pinkish rocks in cowboy movies. And now I'm looking at rocks that look like fish scales. What the hey...I use my iPOD Touch to take pictures. One of my friends texts me:

"Are you bored yet?" My response: "NOT in the least."

Monday - April 25th

I'm sad that today's the last day... the last morning on the SOUTHWEST CHIEF that motored across our country. I've come to see strangers as now familiar acquaintances. I don't know how I'm going to eat dinner in front of my tv set...without thinking of the views I saw every breakfast, lunch and dinner for the past three days. The snow-covered mountains are majestic. They're gigantic from far far away. Now we're within them...in-between them. Our train must look like a little choo-choo train compared to the Nature around it. Dammmit, where is Ansel Adams when you need him?

My last meal companion is Kathleen. Breakfast is from 5:00AM - 6:00AM since we're nearing our destination. She hails from Lamy, New Mexico. She makes me think of Colleen Gray. She is an accountant and told me of graduating high school in 1963, wanting to be a Secretary but steered into Teaching. After seven years, she packed her car and drove herself to Denver Colorado. ALONE! She had always loved numbers, went for a Masters and eventually became an Accountant. Owns her own business now. When she drove to Colorado, she couldn't face telling her mother (afraid of her wrath & disappointment) so she told her father to tell her Mom. She asked her father to hear her as though one of her brothers were talking to him; she wanted to go away from their small upstate NY town, and start a new career and a different life. She carved out a life away from the family home and eventually found HOME in New Mexico. She can substitute teach if she wants (and does) b'cuz she did gain more teaching certifications. She has three Masters. She listened to my tales and dreams of wanting to do films. I gave her one of my postcards for the web series I'm working on. She told me in L.A. to go to Olivera Street, go to this Walt Disney music place, and go see a church near Union Station though she couldn't remember the name. She wasn't getting off in Los Angeles, but in Fullerton. She was so sweet and touching.

When the train pulled into Fullerton, it was a stop only for passengers disembarking and not a pit stop for the train or smokers. I wanted to say goodbye to this veritable stranger I had croissants and eggs with for an hour. (???) I looked for her out the door and saw Kathleen's grey shoulder length hair. I called out to her and she turned around. I asked Mike (a big burly man, who looked like Andy Devine, who was in charge of the train car I was in) if I could jump off the train. He said okay, but hurry. I jumped off and hugged Kathleen. She told me: "Success is what's in your soul. Then you know you've made it. I meant to tell you that."

I thanked her. I told her I would carry that with me. And I would urge everyone to travel by train.

NEXT STOP: LOS ANGELES & HOLLYWOOD.

[feaito]

Great account Theresa; keep 'em coming! Thanks for sharing your experiences with us

[CineMaven]

Thanxx Feaito. Glad you enjoyed it. This is what happened to me next:

LOS ANGELES and HOLLYWOOD

I hit the ground running once the train pulled into Union Station. Well...not running but walking. With my trusty map, compass, gps, sundial and a load of twigs I walked around downtown LA. The area where the Dorothy Chandler Pavillion is, is beautiful...and then there's the Disney Music Hall with architecture that looks like wings of curved steel; very beautiful and futuristic. I saw some sights that I've seen in movies, snapping pix all along...and dropping twigs so I could find my way back to the train station.

Back at Union Station, I bought a subway Metro card (TAP) and rode the train to my stop: HOLLYWOOD AND HIGHLAND AVENUE. When I stepped out of the subway system I was on Hollywood Boulevard. Oh my was it teeming with people. I saw the stars on the Walk of Fame and across the street was the beautiful El Capitan movie theatre. I checked into my hotel (the Holiday Inn Express) and thought to take just the briefest of naps before I started exploring. When I woke up it was dark. I slept for four hours. It was nighttime and I didn't know my way around Hollywood...but hey, I'm a Noo Yawker. I threw myself out there. The neon lights shine bright on Hollywood Boulevard.

With a fresh start in the morning and a list of Hollywood sights to see that I got from the Message Board, I walked, took the train and rode the bus throughout Hollywood. I walked Hollywood Boulevard from the Pantages to the Roosevelt Hotel. I saw a great many things I've only seen in photos. The Pantages, Capitol Records, the Frolic Room, and much much more. I went to Musso and Franks for lunch (the salmon was delicious) and then I went over to their bar to have a drink. I met two of the bartenders who took me under their wing, one of them giving me a complimentary drink. Manny and Mario were so nice and regaled me with their stories of hobnobbing with the stars. And they treated me very nicely. (Thanx boys!!)

I went to the El Capitain to see Disney's "African Cats." It was suggested that one HAS to see a movie there when one is Hollywood. So I did. (The film by the way is great...but just know that some animals make it...and others don't. Ugh!) I ran into a couple of schools having a class trip. (I run from kids) and the Ushers said it might be better for me to see the movie upstairs in the balcony. Now all my friends who know me know that I am a first three rows movie watcher. But I decided to do the balcony. When I walked into the balcony area, tears came to my eyes. This place was like a cathedral (no disrespect to all you spiritual folks out there). But I can't think of any other way to describe it. It was beautiful...majestic. I sat in the very very last row to take it all in. Even the opening of the curtain was a little unexpected show. The first movie shown there was Welles' "CITIZEN KANE." And here I am...little miniscule me, in the same theatre, restored to what it used to be. My tears surprised me...but I guess it shouldn't have. I get silly emotional about movie stuff. Geez! Go on laugh. I'm corny.

To cap off my pre-festival activities, I attended the screening of "BYE BYE BIRDIE" The crowd was in the spirit of things with the screening of "BYE BYE BIRDIE." The movie was such fun...not campy or dated. But let's face it...it was all about ANN-MARGRET.

"...BIRDIE" is the first movie my parents let me go to without grown-up supervision. A bunch of kids went to see it as part of a double-feature with "KING KONG vs GODZILLA." We screamed at the monsters and screamed at the rock 'n roll. This movie for reasons I can't explain that will make sense always holds a special place in my heart. I feel like a kid. It starts with her bursting on the screen in that yellow sundress. She grabs you and doesn't let you go for the rest of the movie. The film's perfectly cast...but filmlover posted a good question to me: would the movie be the same, and held in such high regard, if it wasn't for that opening and closing shot of Ann-Margret singing the theme song.

Simply....No. It would not.

After the film, she and Bobby Rydell came out for a brief discussion. A long live dream of mine was realized when I actually saw Ann-Margret in person. She is 70 and she is beautiful. She looked so elegant in a lovely black dress with a string of understated diamonds around her neck. Her trademark red hair and her whispery voice. The host asked her about Elvis compared to the Birdie character in the film. She replied:

"I don't ever speak about Elvis Presley."

She is a lady. And this fan...this kid, if you will, was very very happy to finally be able to see her. This was truly a thrill.

To Be Continued With...THE FESTIVAL

[feaito]

Wow Theresa how thrilling. "El Capitan" sounds like out-of-this world....and Ann-Margret a Class Act.

[CineMaven]

Feaito...I don't know what was more breathtaking, El Capitan or Ann-Margret...but they were BOTH beautiful.

THE FESTIVAL

Thursday - April 28th: Here At Last!!!

Visiting the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel the day before the TCM Film Festival, I see the hubbub of activity in the lobby. (It will be nothing compared to the day of...)TCM has the stage set for an area for television interviews and an area for its boutique where festival memorabilia will be sold. (Hmm...someone asked for a Medium). I see Robert Osborne doing interviews with Mickey Rooney, Barbara Rush (who is stylishly dressed with a lovely pair of shoes she hand-painted), singer Marni Nixon and Walt Disney's daughter. (I wonder if she got to ride in Disneyland for free when she was a kid?? That must be like saying your Dad invited ice cream). I had also been asked to do a brief interview with Robert Osborne (as many other people also were) so with this day OF the festival finally arriving, I checked into my room at the Roosevelt and then dove into the festival head first. I have a Spotlight Pass, so I picked up my packet of "swag" (a big goodies bag with postcards, t-shirt, etc.) and then waited for my interview. Yes, Mr. Osborne remembered me from my Guest Fan Programmer stint, and, what felt like in a blink of an eye...my brief on-camera chit chatty appearance with him was done. I read the teleprompter and announced the next TCM movie that was up: ”They Made Me A Criminal.” Then I boldly gave him a kiss. < Sigh! > He didn't leave me hanging. He told the crowd I was a guest programmer and then I held up a pix of him and I to show the crowd. It was all over so quickly and I was flattered to be invited to speak on-camera. I must thank Hlywdkjk for letting the good people at TCM know that I would be attending the festival.

After my interview, I went over to one of Hollywood's premier burger spots: "IN & OUT" where the UN-Official TCM Message Board Meet & Greet would be held. It was a whirlwind of introductions of folks who write on this Message Board. I'm not good at remembering names...unless you're a movie star from ninety years ago like Mary Miles Minter, THAT I'll remember. (Yeah. Go figure). It was lovely and surreal to see the faces of actual real people behind the some of the names I've seen on our Message Board.

My Spotlight Pass had a couple of perks and one of them allowed me to walk down the red carpet to attend the first big film of the festival "AN AMERICAN IN PARIS." What the heck am I doing on the Red Carpet? Oh brother, it was equal parts great and embarassing to be stared at by all these people....all the while I was trying to film Eva Marie Saint and Mickey Rooney as they walked down the carpet beside me (separated by iron barriers). This was just the beginning of my night in heels. (To my friends who know me...yup, I was in heels and the "little black cocktail dress" too!) "...Paris" played in the famed Graumann's Chinese Theatre. Leslie Caron was the first guest up to help talk about her film. She looked regal. Walked up to the stage with great style. Once a dancer...always a dancer. She looked great!

There was a VANITY FAIR party for the Spotlight Passholders as well. Talk about swanky...whew! Folks were dressed to the nines and many celebrities were there as well. Peter O’Toole and Mickey Rooney were there though I didn't see them. (Too much of a crowd around them in that corner). But who I did see with my own four eyes were George Chakiris, Anne Jeffries (who looked stunning in a red gown. Her cheekbones are to die for). Ann Rutherford was there along with Jane Withers. Jane Powell & Dick Moore literally passed right in front of me. I took a stroll around the party with two other passholders who became new fast friends and we went celebrity spotting. We saw Mary Ann Mobley, Priscilla Presley, character actors Ed Faulkner, Ron Perlman and James Karen. Chris Isaak and Emma Thompson were there as well. I saw TCM Personnel at the party who came up to me and said hello. They remembered me from my April 2009 stint as guest fan programmer. It was a great day and a great night with an overwhelming whirlwind of activity.

But I had to get out of those heels...

Tomorrow, I start to see films in earnest...and make some of the most difficult decisions a classic film fan could make.

[feaito]

I only can say another BIG WOW .....Leslie Caron, Anne Jeffreys, Dickie Moore, Jane Powell, Mickey Rooney, Eva Marie Saint......amazing!! Thanks again Theresa for sharing your experiences with us.

[moira finnie]

Thank you so much for posting your account of your road to the TCM Festival. I love the way people just meet you and start to pour their lives out to you! You know that this sort of thing makes those of us who can't come near affording the trip very happy to read about seeing films and those who love them and make them in person seem much more real. I loved that Robert Osborne remembered you, that got to be on-camera and that you saw Anne Jeffries, George Chakiris, Ann Rutherford, Jane Withers, Jane Powell & Dick Moore. I hope that James Karen is able to speak to you. He was a friend of Buster Keaton's when he was a young man and seems to have been a truly thoughtful fan and fellow actor.If the name is unfamiliar, many people know his face from a kajillion tv shows and movies.


I hope you can keep your account coming!

[CineMaven]

Hi there Feaito...Moira. James Karen didn't speak to me, which was fine. I didn't talk to any celebrity at the party. I was just happy to see them in person. I'm glad you're enjoying my tales. But a trip like this is not out of this world for you. I say start saving now. TCM will be doing a third year and if you put a little away each month, this will add up. You owe it to yourselves as classic film fans to check it out. TCM really knows how to do it right. I didn't do the festival last year...but after reading others' accounts of their trip...I was darn tootin' not going to miss the second one. And that can be YOU in year three. I'd love to read about your experience with it.

Think about it. A penny saved is...alright, it's just a penny. But those pennies add up.

Friday - April 29th

10:00AM "THE CONSTANT NYMPH"

A true get for the TCM Film Festival is "The Constant Nymph" starring Charles Boyer, Joan Fontaine and Alexis Smith. Robert Osborne introduced the film, telling of some legal glitches to getting this film screened. He said he thought Joan Fontaine gave the performance of her career.

Uhhmmm...yeah, right. < Yawn! >

I don't dislike Joan Fontaine...I've just never really been a big Joan Fontaine fan. Oh I've respected her ("REBECCA" "THE WOMEN" "SUSPICION") but she never really had my heart like her sister. By the end of this film, Fontaine captured my heart with her boundless energy and enchantment. She made my heart soar and shattered it by the end. She left me sobbing. I could not stop my tears.

Robert Osborne thought Joan Fontaine gave the performance of her career.

Uhhmmm...yeah. He was gloriously right!

12:45PM "BIGGER THAN LIFE"

I didn't stay to see the film...but stayed for the pre-film discussion Robert O. had with Barbara Rush. She's always been one of my favorite actresses. She was beautiful and vivacious and had a wealth of memory. Robert remarked how instrumental Ms. Rush was in helping him start a career in Hollywood and he is still grateful for that: "Everyone should have a Barbara Rush in their life," says Osborne. Rush worked with Kirk Douglas, Marlon Brando, Paul Newman, Rock Hudson, James Mason among her leading men. She felt Mason was like a Lord Byron. Re her leading men: "I've had them all!" said Ms. Rush.

Mr. Osborne replies: "You'd better re-phrase that."

She was delightful.

3:45PM "NOW, VOYAGER"

"What man would ever look at me. I'm my mother's well-loved companion...I'm my mother's servant. My mother! My mother! My mother!!"

Actress (and granddaughter of Melvyn Douglas) Ileanna Douglas introduced this Bette Davis film. You know the movie... a romantic classic. ("Don't lets ask for the moon...") She's so understated here... injured and vulnerable. It's one of my favorites and I had to see it on the big screen; watch Bette transform from an old maid aunt on the verge of a nervous break-down, to a chic sophisticated confidant young woman. This has my favorite Claude Rains performance and there's not one false note from Bette. There were two young men two rows behind me who had never seen the movie and I overheard them say they liked it. Good! The movie is still a good one. And perhaps on the big big screen you can see some of the flaws, but there were none in "Now, Voyager." Irving Rapper did a fantastic job telling this story. And Bette Davis tamped down her volcanic personality for the entire picture. Sweet and tender and grateful for the crumbs of a relationship. Bette Davis settling for crumbs? You believed it here. She makes you believe her.

In her introduction, Ileanna Douglas reads an e-mail from actor James Woods on his admiration for Bette Davis. In fact, she reads part of the eulogy he delivered at Bette's memorial:

"Bette Davis was the greatest single actor of either sex in the history of cinema, bar none. And then there's everybody else."

Everybody's entitled to their opinion. This opinion just happens to be fact. And who am I to disagree?

8:00PM "SPARTACUS"

I went to this screening to see the legendary Kirk Douglas interviewed. They showed a montage of clips from his films. It was fantastically put together and it was great seeing him young and robust. And when Douglas actually came out, he came out to a standing ovation (natcherally). I met Kirk Douglas before. Yup, I did.

When Message Board poster ChipHeartsMovies used to write here, he invited me to come with him to the Barnes and Noble bookstore. He had a lot of memorabilia he was going to have Mr. Douglas sign for his AIDS foundation. I jumped right on that. When we got to the bookstore, I thought we were going to be waiting on line for his signature. Nope. A B & N employee who knows Chip gestured for us to follow him to a back room. He talked to like a handler or something and we were allowed to approach this door. When the B & N guy opened the door, there was Kirk Douglas sitting there. Chip approached him first. When it was my turn, this 90-plus year old man stood up to shake my hand. I urgently told him he didn't have to stand for me, but he did. "I always stand for a lady," and we shook hands. Later that night, I did buy the book and waited on line for him to sign it. I showed my father the book with Douglas' autograph. He was really impressed and nothing impresses my father.

My father might keel over when he views the footage I shot during the festival. Kirk Douglas is a movie star. And he was ev'ry inch a star sitting onstage at the Chinese theatre. He was just so comfortable with himself and the crowd. I wasn't going to stay to see all of the very long "Spartacus" but just a taste of it. HA! There's no such thing as a taste. Once the movie gets going... you're totally vested in it. And for just one reason.

...Because it IS Kirk Douglas.

[feaito]

Thanks to our very exclusive and sophisticated reporter Theresa La Maven, I almost feel as if I had been there! To think of watching a good print of "The Constant Nymph" (1943) on the big screen...a dream come true.

What are your impressions of the quality of the print? Was it a 35mm print? I have seen a rather murky print I got from a private collector. How do the shots set in Switzerland -filmed at the studio- look on the big screen? Too fake?

Was there any talk of releasing the movie on DVD or Blu Ray? It is a pity that Joan Fontaine doesn't grant interviews or appear at this kind of events. It'd be superb to listen to her accounts (she's 93?)

"Now Voyager" (1942) and "Spartacus" (1960) -which I watched recently on Blu-Ray- must look awesome on the big screen.

[sandykaypax]

Maven, thank you so much for your posts on your trip to the TCM Festival. I LOVED them. I've always wanted to take the train out west to L.A. or San Francisco, and now I REALLY need to talk my husband into saving up for that. Your posts brought tears to my eyes.

Sandy K

[knitwit45]

Sandy, I took the train from KC (Southwest Chief) to Los Angeles, then boarded the Coast Starlight up to San Francisco. Came home on the California Zephyr (S.F. to Chicago) with a sleeper compartment (really fun!). All meals are included (or were) with the compartment booking. Food was great, people were very friendly without being intrusive. It's a wonderful way to see the US without the hassles of driving. The trip from LA to SF was incredible, there are times you are literally on the edge of the world. From SF, you go thru 3 mountain ranges, the Sierra Nevadas, the Wasatch,and the Rockies. Fabulous trip!

now back to your scheduled programming....

[ChiO]

now back to your scheduled programming....

Not quite, as an old man must remember while he can.

The Zephyr...my one long distance trip on a train. It seemed we went around the world. My first glimpse of the Mississippi River...from the upper deck with a kindly conductor and steward looking after me. Who knew there was that much water in the world? Union Station in Chicago...who knew there was a space that expansive full of so many people walking so quickly? Whatta trip...all the way from Indianapolis to Minneapolis.

And the best part? Because the train left Indianapolis so early in the morning, I got to stay up late at my Aunt and Uncle's and watch a vile, dirty-talkin' late night show for the first time. And I thought Jack Paar was entertaining.

[CineMaven]

HELLO THERE SANDY - ”Maven, thank you so much for your posts on your trip to the TCM Festival. I LOVED them. I've always wanted to take the train out west to L.A. or San Francisco, and now I REALLY need to talk my husband into saving up for that. Your posts brought tears to my eyes.”

Thank you Sandy. The trip is well worth it. Save up for it and you and your husband can have a very relaxing time. Yes, do talk to him. I tell ya, I’d do it again.

FEAITO, MY GOOD MAN - ”What are your impressions of the quality of the print? Was it a 35mm print? I have seen a rather murky print I got from a private collector. How do the shots set in Switzerland - filmed at the studio - look on the big screen? Too fake?”

We were shown a 35mm print which looked fine. There was not a moment that I believed they filmed in Switzerland. As soon as I have time and the cobwebs are cleared, I’d like to ramble about the movie. The emotion in that movie just blew me away.

HOWDY KNITWIT - ”The trip from LA to SF was incredible, there are times you are literally on the edge of the world. From SF, you go thru 3 mountain ranges, the Sierra Nevadas, the Wasatch,and the Rockies. Fabulous trip!”

Hmmmmmmmm...you’ve totally whetted my appetite for that trip.

HELLO CHIO - ”The Zephyr...my one long distance trip on a train. It seemed we went around the world. My first glimpse of the Mississippi River...from the upper deck with a kindly conductor and steward looking after me. Who knew there was that much water in the world? Union Station in Chicago...who knew there was a space that expansive full of so many people walking so quickly? Whatta trip...all the way from Indianapolis to Minneapolis.”

Your account sounds like something out of Mark Twain. Visual. Wonderful. I’m glad my telling of my cross-country trip has inspired all of these recollections.

Saturday - April 30th

This whole trip hasn't just been about movies and sightseeing. 5% of the time was about eating. Yeah I had a Subway hero sandwich, but I did treat myself to a burger at the famed IN 'N OUT, linguini at MICELI'S, angel hair pasta at the PIG 'N WHISTLE, and the tenderest salmon filet at MUSSO & FRANK (along with magic tricks from the waiter, and stories of celebrities from the two bartenders). But I'm no foodie. I'm a film buff:

12:30PM CONVERSATION WITH KEVIN BROWNLOW

Club TCM did double...triple duty as a breakfast place, a panel discussion auditorium and a general gathering place for passholders.

Today, historian, archivist and recent Academy Award winner Kevin Brownlow holds court regaling tales of Hollywood; he was informative, riveting, emotional and passionate about silent films and talked of how he started to take interest in these great films. I sat in the first row, mesmerized by his gentle accent and tales of Louise Brooks and Buster Keaton and how good a director Clarence Brown really was. I must get thee to a bookstore and find Brownlow's masterworks including his groundbreaking documentary "HOLLYWOOD" and his book "THE PARADE'S GONE BY." He was a wonderful raconteur. An hour went by in five minutes.

JULIE or MARILYN?!!

There were a couple of hard choices I had to make during the festival between which films I wanted to see. The worst of the choices I had, happened b'cuz TCM added a surprise guest to the viewing of "BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S." Before the screening JULIE ANDREWS was to appear. My historical sensibility dictated that I go see Julie Andrews speak. I mean it's JULIE ANDREWS! But at the same time in a neighboring theatre, TCM was screening Marilyn Monroe in "NIAGARA." Now who wouldn't want to see Marilyn in TECHNICOLOR on a gigantic screen.....
especially singing. Come on. You know the scene I'm talking about.

I wanted my cake, but I wanted to eat it too.

So I went to "BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY's." I couldn't pass up Julie Andrews. They showed another great montage of Blake Edwards' career (like they did with Kirk Douglas) and then introduced Ms. Andrews. WoW! She spoke of her life with him and he seemed to be a darkly humorous man who was still amazed by today's movies. ("How the hell did they do that?!" he said of "Avatar"). After Robert Osborne's interview with Ms. Andrews ended, I dashed to the "NIAGARA" theatre only to be told it was sold out...no more seats. I feebly replied, "...but I have a pass." No seats, I'm sorry.

I walked away like a little kid, I have to tell ya. I knew that I missed most of Marilyn's scenes but there was more to the picture still. As I schlumped away, the lady with headphones and clipboard came up behind me, took my arm and said: "I think I saw one seat."

YAY!!!

I saw Marilyn just after she 'faintly' recognizes the body in the morgue. A gentleman named Foster Hirsch had introduced the movie and I was told that he said before the film, and then afterwards...that after "NIAGARA" 20th Century never allowed Marilyn to play a role like that again in her career, and put her in a series of comedies. Seeing Marilyn Monroe on a large screen, she really looked breathtaking.

9:30PM "GASLIGHT"

Angela Lansbury spoke at the introduction to her first motion picture. I'm telling you, even with my fancy schmancy expensive pass, I had to get to these screenings very early to get a good seat for these interviews. I had seen her speak at the Road To Hollywood show of "The Manchurian Candidate" so I feel like she's an old friend. (Uhmmm...no, I'm not crazy and I realize that she and I are not friends). She came out, looking as elegant and tall-ly regal. She's got such a pretty smile (and looks so good next to our Robert O.). She spoke of how she got the role, and how mean she had to be opposite many people in her films when that was not what she wanted at all. (But that's what the parts called for).

I wasn't going to stay for the whole film. I cannot bear to watch Ingrid Bergman tortured. But again, as with "Spartacus" once I started watching I was hooked. Is that the same Charles Boyer who got his heart shredded in "The Constant Nymph"? Yeah buddy, it was. He was a cold calculating so and so. ("Paula, where is your broach?!!! FIND IT!!!") But why I still found him sexy as hell with his low baritone growl-y voice was my inner conflict that made me feel disloyal to Ingrid Bergman. Well...she comes out of it okay, but not after much psychological torture. "GASLIGHT" was and is a very well-done movie (IMHO) and Ingrid Bergman looked exquisite. Her terror was palpable and her Oscar, well-deserved.

Now the Olympics begin as I sprint about five/six blocks to the EGYPTIAN THEATRE. < Huff! Puff! Huff! >

MIDNITE - "THE MUMMY"

I didn't get there for Ron Perlman's introduction and I missed the credits of the movie. But the first image I saw of "THE MUMMY" had that cute blonde archaeologist reading a scroll, and having the mummy take it from him. "He died laughing."

A couple of people were chuckling throughout the movie (which annoyed me), but the majority of the audience was deadly silent. This is no comedy. This is nothing to camp up like an "ALL ABOUT EVE." This was a quietly done, fast-moving horror film of the brilliant kind. It's eerie to go to the Egyptian late at night because of the long courtyard you must walk through before you get to the theatre's entrance, so I felt slightly spooked to go there. But I'm glad I made the effort and the sprint. I waited for and felt warmly happy to hear many of my favorite lines and moments in "The Mummy." My very favorite is the last line of the film:

"Call her. He has dragged her back to ancient Egypt. Call her. Her love for you may bridge the centuries."

Again, I must say to those of you who choose to read my accounts of the film festival, that seeing this movie on the big screen made me see and feel things for the movie that I just didn't pay attention to on television. I never realized truly, how sad it is to see Karloff's Ardeth Bey's joy and pain, for finding and wanting to be with his lost love again.

My walk back to the Roosevelt Hotel along Hollywood Boulevard was quiet and slow and satisfying...even in the midst of the circus that is Hollywood Boulevard on a Saturday night.

[feaito]

Thanks for the info on Constant Nymph and the further account of your adventures in TCM-Land....

I'd like to see "The Mummy" on the big screen a booooh for the people who laughed when it was being shown..

[moira finnie]

I can't imagine laughing at Boris Karloff's visage in The Mummy, even if some of the action apparently caused a chuckle in the crowd.

I am so glad that you found The Constant Nymph's emotional impact wasn't diminished on the big screen, even if it was studio-bound in part. I don't think I've seen many movies that conveyed the depth of feeling that a young girl is capable of experiencing as well as this did, thanks to Goulding's understanding direction and that glorious cast, especially Joan Fontaine.

Did Kevin Brownlow say if he was working on any projects now?

Thanks again for taking the time to write this here.