Saturday, March 10, 2018

The Latest TCM Classic Film Festival Announcements

On March 8th TCM made several interesting new announcements regarding this year's TCM Classic Film Festival.

Most exciting for many attendees was the announcement that for the second year in a row the Egyptian Theatre will host four nitrate screenings.

The films to be screened in 35mm nitrate at the festival are A STAR IS BORN (1937), STAGE DOOR (1937), SPELLBOUND (1945), and LEAVE HER TO HEAVEN (1945).

I'm especially excited by the prospect of seeing LEAVE HER TO HEAVEN in nitrate, in all its Technicolor glory. Leon Shamroy won the Oscar for filming LEAVE HER TO HEAVEN, which stars Gene Tierney (right).

STAGE DOOR is also a longtime favorite of mine, which I was fortunate to see at UCLA in 2013, though not in nitrate!

Some appealing pre-Code titles are also now on the schedule, including an old favorite, FINISHING SCHOOL (1934), with Frances Dee and Ginger Rogers (below).

Additional pre-Codes now on the schedule are GIRLS ABOUT TOWN (1931), a Kay Francis-Joel McCrea film I've never seen, and I TAKE THIS WOMAN (1931) which I saw at last year's UCLA Festival of Preservation. I TAKE THIS WOMAN stars Gary Cooper and Carole Lombard.

Nancy Olson, who was Oscar nominated for Best Supporting Actress for SUNSET BLVD. (1950), will be on hand to introduce it, a real treat for festival-goers.

Eva Marie Saint, another actress beloved to festival visitors, will introduce A HATFUL OF RAIN (1957) and GRAND PRIX (1966). GRAND PRIX, in which she starred with James Garner, will be screened at the Cinerama Dome.

Nancy Kwan will introduce THE WORLD OF SUZIE WONG (1960), also starring William Holden, and Jacqueline Bissett will attend the previously announced 50th anniversary screening of BULLITT (1968). Ruta Lee will appear at WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION (1957). It's been so long since I've seen that one I'd forgotten she was in it! Really hope it fits my schedule. Lee is seen here with star Tyrone Power.

A few additional festival guests are included in this press release.

The full festival schedule isn't even out yet and I'm already hoping that films on my "must see" list won't conflict! Another recently announced film which I'd love to see is Marion Davies in SHOW PEOPLE (1928), accompanied by Ben Model.

The TCM Classic Film Festival takes place in Hollywood, California, from April 26th to 29th, 2018. Additional festival details may be found in my posts linked below. Please also visit the official festival site for further information, including the films announced to date. The complete schedule, which usually totals somewhere around 80 films, is typically released a couple weeks or so ahead of the festival.

Previously: TCM Announces 2018 Festival Dates and Theme; TCM Classic Film Festival Announcements; More TCM News: New Co-Hosts and Robert Osborne Award.

Update: The 2018 TCM Classic Film Festival Schedule.

4 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Laura, always a good post. I have a question. Does the Turner Classic Movie Film Festival ever show a Western Movie?

8:13 PM  
Blogger Laura said...

Hi Walter,

Thank you!

Westerns are not the favored genre at the TCM Classic Film Festival, but they usually show at least a couple of good ones each year. For example, the highlight of the 2017 festival for me was seeing RED RIVER (1948) in 35mm on the huge screen at the Egyptian Theatre. It was a rather profound experience for this Westerns fan!

John Ford films regularly show up at the festival -- in years past I've seen STAGECOACH (1939), MY DARLING CLEMENTINE (1946), and SHE WORE A YELLOW RIBBON (1949) at the festival.

They've also screened LAW AND ORDER (1932) at the festival although I didn't get a chance to see that one.

I wish they showed even more Westerns, but at least I can also look forward to the Lone Pine Film Festival every fall, where I spend an entire long weekend watching nothing but Westerns! LOL. And I do see a really nice variety of titles at TCMFF every year -- musicals, film noir, pre-Codes, silents, foreign, dramas, comedies, Disney, etc. There's definitely something for everyone!

Best wishes,
Laura

9:08 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Laura, thank you for the information. There is nothing better than a John Ford Western on the big screen.

LAW AND ORDER would have been a good one to see on the big screen. The first movie to portray Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday and the Tombstone story on film, although writer William Riley Burnett changed their names and some of the story. His novel SAINT JOHNSON was published in 1930. The real Wyatt Earp died in 1929 and his widow Josephine Sarah Marcus Earp was still very much alive and you didn't want to cross her when it came to the image of her Wyatt.

Thank goodness for Turner Classic Movies and Lone Pine Film Festival, because these institutions help keep the Western Movie alive and well.

10:29 AM  
Blogger Laura said...

Hi Walter,

LAW AND ORDER sounds really interesting. I have a copy of it thanks to a kind friend and need to bump it up in the mile-high viewing stack! :)

"Thank goodness for Turner Classic Movies and Lone Pine Film Festival, because these institutions help keep the Western Movie alive and well."

Definitely!

Best wishes,
Laura

10:51 AM  

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