2011 TCM Festival

[pvitari]

The print of The Devil is a Woman was indeed in splendid shape. Dietrich was like a creature from another planet, she was so otherworldly with her painted on eyebrows, false eyelashes, and makeup applied probably dot by dot and then carefully brushed to make shadows and highlights in all the right places. (I say this as a good thing -- she was sublimely amoral as a sexual sociopath.) And of course the lighting...! Have I mentioned an incredibly young and handsome Cesar Romero? Picture me smacking my lips every time he came on screen. :)

Night Flight was in equally grand shape and the nighttime aerial scenes were magnificently photographed -- transcendent even. But the story is nowhere near as good as The Devil Is a Woman. They did it a lot better in Only Angels Have Wings. But boy, those close-ups of Myrna Loy... gorgeous!

[feaito]

You might be right Moira, I feel that maybe at the beginning in Switzerland, some scenes involving the Sanger sisters had been edited; maybe to highlight Fontaine's role?

Hi Paula, thanks for those further details on TDIAW and NF!

[Moraldo Rubini]

May I chime in? I suppose I really cannot add anything to The Constant Nymph comments, but I'm compelled to blather a bit because I was absolutely knocked out by this film. Joan Fontaine has never really captured me. Her fragile Peggy Day (The Women), Maxim's timid wife (and Mrs. Danvers' submissive lady), and Suspicion's shy wallflower usually annoyed me. The Emperor's Waltz, Damsel in Distress and [the otherwise enjoyable] Gunga Din didn't help matters. Then to see her blossom into this entirely unique character; this gangly creature scampering about and inspiring a great artist... it was a revelation! She is completely believable as the young Swiss miss and now I will bravely go forth to discover more of her potential.

Brenda Marshall was a cunning beauty as Toni, her sister. Alexis Smith created a complex character as Lewis' tortured wife. Boyer's lost composer tugged at my sappy heart. Yet the second lead in this surprising movie was Korngold's/Lewis' music. I'm a sucker for movies about art and its creation (Horse's Mouth and Red Shoes!) and to me this movie was about the process of creating a masterpiece. Tessa is the muse and when she has successfully completed her noble task... well, the finale happens (trying to avoid spoilers here). I was extremely moved at the close of this picture, and was dabbing my streaming tears all the way down Hollywood Boulevard, as I rushed to the next movie (Royal Wedding). Did anyone else notice what was hanging on the wall of Tessa's father's study? Behind the wise composer's piano hung a poster for the opera Die Tote Stadt -- Korngold's own masterpiece from 1920. It seemed that Korngold must have advised them, at least with the dialogues regarding what makes great music. His generous score infused sincerity regarding the subject. And Charles Coburn's delightful disdain for all music, provided the balance to all these heady discussions.

Oh, the backdrops: yes, they were unfortunate and I labored to ignore them. At one point the "sky" in the background was wrinkled. They couldn't pull the cylcorama taut?

Fernando, the print we saw was 35mm.

Regarding the print of Devil is a Woman, though it looked good, I believe it was missing about 10 minutes.

[feaito]

Marco, thanks for your insight and for confirming that it was a 35 mm print. Have you seen Joan in "Letter from an Unknown Woman" (1948), "September Affair" (1950), "Ivy" (1947), "Born to be Bad" (1950) and "The Affairs of Susan" (1945)? You should try those!

I have no shame to admit that the two or three times I've seen this film -the rather murky copy I have on DV-R- the combination of the music and what happens in the end, has moved me to tears too...And that is due to Fontaine's great performance and Korngold's awesome music.

[moira finnie]

Ditto, Fernando! Especially Fontaine in Letter and September Affair.

I have encountered a gentleman online named Brendan G. Carroll who has written The Last Prodigy, a biography of Korngold and has posted very rare recordings of the composer's work on youtube. Here is what he describes as "the only commercial recording (to date) of the special overture to the 1942 film THE CONSTANT NYMPH created by its composer, Erich Wolfgang Korngold for the film's gala premiere in July 1942 and performed only on that occasion by the Warner Brothers Studio Orchestra and conducted by Korngold himself."
Enjoy, and you might like to check out Mr. Carroll's channel on youtube for more.

[youtube][/youtube]

[feaito]

Thanks Moira...When I get home I'll check these...these sites are blocked at my workplace.

[Lzcutter]

The first day of the Festival and MrCutter (Jon) and I were up early and out the door for the commute to Hollywood. This festival is special for us because the Walt Disney Family Museum is presenting the Laugh-O-grams later this evening. He took the time off from work so that he could be there with me.

The boutique is now in the lobby across from the stage where each day Robert O and/or Ben will be interviewing celebrities and fans of TCM. The lobby of the Roosevelt has tall ceilings and a camera jib is up on the second floor so that they can overhead shots. Also upstairs was the Situation Room which at all hours of the day and night seemed to be filled with TCM staffers. I joked with one of them, "Is there anyone left in Atlanta to answer the phone?" I am assured there is.

First up for us and most other board denizens, the Meet the TCM Staff panel. While waiting for the panel to begin, we meet up with Kyle, Kingrat, Suex2, Cinemaven, CountessDelave, loveslilacs and others including my co-worker, Disney historian, JB Kaufman.

Last year the panels were held in a ballroom upstairs. This year they are in Club TCM. Rich, our tuxedo clad hero who managed the Club last year has returned and we are thrilled to see him. This year the Club is laid out a bit better to accommodate not only the panels but dancing as well. The walls are adorned with photos that have not been viewed before. The photographer, Jack Pashkovsky, took some beautiful portraits of Shirley Temple, Clark Gable, Walt and Lillian Disney and others. There are also large one sheets of foreign releases of some of the most famous musicals. Kyle was in heaven as there were a few posters he had never seen.

The panel begins and we are off to the races, as they say.

Scott McGee is the moderator and welcomes us all to the second TCM Film Festival.
He introduces Charlie Tabesh (Senior VP of Programming), Darcy Hettrich (Talent), Pola Changnon (On-Air Creative), Gen McGillicuddy (Brand Marketing and Festival Director), Richard Steiner (the website) and, ultimately, Tom Brown (Original Productions).

"Darcy has not slept since September." he jokes.

Darcy talks about her personal highlight from last year:

"Getting Louise Rainer. I was lying on the bed with a tweezer trying to get the battery out (of her hearing aid) and her daughter was sobbing". "It was finally time to go and once we got to the Egyptian Theater she realized she had forgotten her knit cap. She had to have that knit cap so we sent someone back to the hotel to get it."

She is looking forward to the interview with Peter O'Toole, The Cameraman and she declares, "I AM Spartacus". The crowd goes wild.

Charlie fields a question from Scott about what we can look forward to on the channel.

Buster Keaton is Star of the Month in October. Also in October, TCM will premiere Nick Ray's final film as part of the salute to Ray on his centennial. The singing cowboys and B-westerns being saluted later this summer.

"What makes TCM special to talent?"
"We're uncut and commercial free. You can tell by watching us that we care. We treat them like family, even the dysfunctional family. They trust us. It's the love and reverence for these people and our attention to detail."

Pola fields the question about the In Memoriams and tells the audience "it pains all of us that not everyone can be included."

Tom Brown arrives a bit late coming directly from the stage in the lobby where the taping is still going on and we can occasionally hear the roar of the audience.

He talks about upcoming Original Productions. They will include two more Genre Installments: Horror and Christmas Movies. He considers these small documentaries 'gateways"- introducing new fans to classic movies.

Charlie talks about the fact they have to rent all the films they air. "I hope we have a good relationship with the studios. We're seen as the home for classic movies. We're trying to establish a relationship with all the studios."

Richard Steiner talks about the upcoming app for the IPAD. It's almost done. Tom Brown shows off the app on his cell phone and cracks, "It's larger the closer you get."

He also notes that he is going to ignore the fact that his phone was vibrating and that we can no longer hear the cheering from the stage audience and he hopes the taping is going well.

Gen talks about the work involved in planning the Festival and how it is truly a team effort.

Scott throws it out for questions and the first one is, of course, about the film library. Charlie handles the question with his usual aplomb.

""We have to rent all the films we show. At one time we owned the Turner Film Library and that leads to a great deal of confusion because we no longer own that library. That is now owned by Time-Warner and administered by Warner Brothers."

"In the beginning, the channel depended upon the Turner film library but we realized that, in order to grow, we would have to establish relationships with the other studios as well so we could expand."

"Today, we have relationships with most of the studios and as well as Warner Brothers. We have to rent the films from our former library through Warner Brothers but we now have limited access to the rest of their library as well."

The next question is about Hollywood Hideaways the short pieces starring Ben and Tom. The person asking the question wishes there would be more of them.

"The problem is" Tom deadpans,"you don't get to see the 50 minutes of footage of Ben forgetting to steer." We'd be driving along and talking and Ben would take his hands off the steering wheel. It's like, who's driving here?"

I asked a question. Would there be more SOTM promos like the one for Jean Harlow. Pola replied that it comes down to budget $$$. But I made the pitch for them!

Another attendee wanted to know why TCM wasn't available in Florida (he just moved there) on Comcast. Tom replied, "Have you unpacked yet? You could keep moving until you find us."

Someone asked what TCM was about. "TCM celebrates the beauty and the actors of classic film."

Tom noted that Robert O "wears the mantle with dignity" and is a joy to work with.

Someone from the audience shouted, "I can't live without my TCM"

A question about silent films was asked and Charlie replied: "I've been there 14 years and feel we haven't dimensioned silents in favor of other titles."

There is no interest or move to change the way the channel works in favor of newer titles. They will show newer films if it fits the theme.

Tom noted, "If you're doing Prison Break films it would be crazy not to include Shawshank Redemption."

"We won't run a new film just to run a new film."

The panel concluded and it was time for In-N-Out!

[movieman1957]

Keaton, Star of the Month in October? Happy Birthday to me. No word on McCrea, I take it?

[Lzcutter]

The In-N-Out gathering rocked.

I think there were at least twice as many people there than last year. We took up a whole wall of tables and chairs. Many were returnees.

Filmlover had copies of the secret menu for those who wanted to live on the wild side. MrC and I figured this was the one big meal we would get today and so we went for the cheeseburgers, fries and shakes.

MoraldoRubini and his alter ego, JackBurley, YanceyCravet, DaveinSeattle, the usual TCM City crew, VDOVault, wouldbestar, Cinemaven are some I remember being there. Suex2 flitted around the place making sure that everyone was having fun. She would make a great cruise director.

After In-N-Out, we returned to the Roosevelt where many people went to get ready for the opening party.

We weren't able to spend much time at the Opening Party but we did manage to say hello to Tom Brown who asked Jon, "How do you keep up with her, she's everywhere!"

We soon had to leave to join JB over at the Chinese Multiplex for the opening screening of the Festival, the Laugh-O-grams. We were able to go upstairs to the VIP/Green Room with JB.

The only downside was the air conditioning. Like last year, it had not been turned on early enough to cool the building down and it was a warm day in the City of Angels.

The VIP Room is very nice and we had a great conversation with JB and Rickey from Darcy's staff.

Then it was time to move into the Chinese #4 for the big moment. We even got to sit in reserved seats!

Shannon Clute, of TCM’s Brand Marketing department, introduced J.B. Kaufman, to a near capacity audience. J.B. set up the back story of the Laugh-O-grams.

"The Walt Disney Family Museum illustrates the life and career of Walt Disney, and one of my favorite parts of that story is the very beginning of his career, when he was basically a kid—I should say, a young man—living in Kansas City, and discovering animated cartoons for the first time, and getting intrigued with them. I discovered this part of his story when I was about nine years old, and I’m a Midwestern boy myself, so this chapter of Walt’s story has always had a kind of primal appeal for me. I just think there’s a tremendous romance in the idea of this bunch of young guys, all getting interested in animation—probably with a strong boost from Walt, whose enthusiasm for an idea could be highly contagious—and deciding to give it a whirl. And then going on to revolutionize an art form, and an entertainment form, all within the next two decades! And the best part is that most of the films still survive, so we can watch them taking those first steps. I think, as you watch the films—knowing, in hindsight, what was going to happen afterward—you can feel something of the excitement they were feeling as they started on their journey.“

J.B. described the details of how two of shorts, Goldie Locks and the Three Bears, and Jack the Giant Killer, long considered lost films, were found by David Gerstein and Cole Johnson.

The shorts were well received with the film-loving audience enjoying all the historic silent film gags, and especially, the homage to Rudolph Valentino in Puss in Boots.

Pianist Ben Model provided the music for the screening.

After the screening, Jon and I went over to another of the theaters and heard the introduction with Andy Marx for A Night at the Opera and a must-see on Jon's list, What's Opera, Doc.

"Shhh, I'm hunting wabbits."

"Kill the wabbit"

After the cartoon was over, we left and went back to the Roosevelt for the poolside screening of Elvis Presley's Girl Happy.

Poolside at the Roosevelt was weather perfect, a balmy evening with a slight breeze. Blue and white beach balls silently floated around the pool.

The boy from Tupelo (Tom Brown) introduced the boy from Tupelo (Elvis).

Tom Brown, a major Elvis fan, had the honor of welcoming us to *Girl Happy*. He talked briefly about how much Elvis meant to him growing up. He also said he had the dream job of all time,
"I get to work with Robert Osborne."

He then introduced singer Chris Isaak and Elvis' co-star, Mary Ann Mobley. Both were delightful.

Isaak talked about how Elvis had influenced him and how much he enjoyed watching the old Elvis musicals.

"I love the mistakes they make. They get up to dance around the room and the whole band, including the drummer, follows them. It's a small band but I'm wondering, where are those horns I'm hearing?"

Mary Ann talked about how each time Elvis would move, someone would call her,
"Maryann, we have a new number. Elvis wanted you to have it in case you need it."

"Elvis was probably hoping you would need it!" Chris Isaak playfully said.

She also said, "I could stay here and talk for hours."

"But we could go eat." Isaak suggested.

"I was born talking." Mobley retorted in her soft southern drawl.

She finished up by telling the audience that the film was shot at MGM on Esther Williams' soundstage.

"Looks like it could have been shot right here (the pool is straight out of the early 1960s) except y'all need fake tans and bikinis. Ya need to work on that."

She couldn't sing in the film despite being a singer because of the success that Ann-Margaret had with Viva Las Vegas.

"The Colonel wouldn't allow it."

Then it was time for Mobley and Isaak to go eat. As the lights went down and Leo came up on the screen, Jon and I headed back into Club TCM to see if we could find anyone we knew.

We ran into Kyle and ended up going to the restaurant in the hotel for a snack and a chance to get caught up.

Before too long, it was time to call it a day and get some sleep.

Note to self. Next year, get plenty of sleep before the Festival. Don't come to the Festival tired as it will only make you more tired as the weekend goes on.

Tomorrow would start early enough!

[Lzcutter]

Keaton, Star of the Month in October? Happy Birthday to me. No word on McCrea, I take it?

Chris,

Nope, no word on McCrea yet but I am working on it! And I have a few new allies on the inside! So, don't tell anyone but there's hope!

[pvitari]

I went to the in and out burger gathering but I think I missed most of you. ;(

[moira finnie]

Thanks so much for adding to the account of your adventures, Lynn. I felt almost as though I were there--minus the calories! I'm so glad that the fabled MrCutter joined you for the festivities this time. I liked the line about you "being everywhere."

One question: You mentioned that twice as many people seemed to be at the Burger In 'n Out this time. Were there many more people attending the festival itself this year?

[Lzcutter]

One question: You mentioned that twice as many people seemed to be at the Burger In 'n Out this time. Were there many more people attending the festival itself this year?

Moira,

Oh my YES! It's estimated that 2,500 people attended this year's festival. That's at least 500 more than last year.

[Moraldo Rubini]

One question: You mentioned that twice as many people seemed to be at the Burger In 'n Out this time. Were there many more people attending the festival itself this year?

Moira,

Oh my YES! It's estimated that 2,500 people attended this year's festival. That's at least 500 more than last year.

I'd heard that all passes were sold out. Do you think there were more passes allotted this year?

[Lzcutter]

I'd heard that all passes were sold out. Do you think there were more passes allotted this year?

Marco,

I don't know for sure about more passes allotted but last year didn't sell out and the crowd was smaller. This year you had to carefully plan your schedule to get in line to ensure you got a seat.

Last year except for a couple of screenings, that wasn't the case.