Coming October 4th-8th: The 29th Lone Pine Film Festival

The 29th Lone Pine Film Festival will take place in Lone Pine, California, from Thursday, October 4th, through Monday, October 8th.

I'm fortunate that this will be my fifth consecutive year at the festival! Links to my coverage of the past few years may be found at the bottom of this post.

As usual, the festival will open with a gala at the Museum of Western Film History on Thursday evening. This year the opening night entertainment will be a new film directed by and starring Perry King, THE DIVIDE (2018). It will be introduced by actress Sara Arrington (BOSCH), who appears in the film.

This year's festival is titled "Hell Bent for Westerns," and the terrific guest list includes Robert Wagner, Patrick Wayne, Ben Mankiewicz, Scott Eyman, William Wellman Jr., Vanda Krefft, Wyatt McCrea, Jay Dee Witney, Ed Hulse, and Diamond Farnsworth.

Live piano accompaniment for the silent movies will be provided by Jay C. Munns, who always does a terrific job.

This year we'll be attending one locations tour, for the Bill Cody film FRONTIER DAYS (1934). It will be conducted by the outstanding Lone Pine tour guide Don Kelsen.

My husband will also be participating in the Friday morning horseback ride led by wranglers from McGee Creek Pack Station, which he always thoroughly enjoys.

Some of the other schedule highlights:

*UNDER WESTERN STARS (1948), a restored print of Roy Rogers' first starring film introduced by Ed Hulse, Jay Dee Witney (son of director William Witney), and Julie Rogers Pomilia (granddaughter of Roy Rogers).

*A talk and book signing by Vanda Krefft, author of the highly regarded biography THE MAN WHO MADE THE MOVIES: THE METEORIC RISE AND TRAGIC FALL OF WILLIAM FOX.

*TRAILING TROUBLE (1930) starring Hoot Gibson

*THE BIG TRAIL (1930) starring John Wayne, followed by a discussion with Patrick Wayne, John Wayne biographer Scott Eyman, Ben Mankiewicz of Turner Classic Movies, and moderator Ed Hulse.

*THE WILD HORSE STAMPEDE (1926), a silent Western starring Jack Hoxie and Fay Wray, which I missed at the Cinecon Festival last Labor Day Weekend.

*BROKEN LANCE (1954), followed by Ben Mankiewicz interviewing Robert Wagner and Scott Eyman.

*A talk by Don Kelsen and Dennis Liff on "Iverson Ranch: The First Location Ranch" (I have toured Iverson with Don and Dennis a couple of times; read more about our 2016 visit here).

*THE ARIZONA RANGER (1948) starring Tim Holt.

Due to overlapping events I won't be able to do every single thing on this list, but I'll do as much as I possibly can! This year we'll be staying until Monday for the first time, so I'll also have the opportunity to participate in "Cowboy Church" Sunday morning and see the parade down Main Street Sunday afternoon.

There are at least 15 tours during this year's festival, focusing on everything from GUNGA DIN (1939) to Audie Murphy movies to RAWHIDE (1951) starring Tyrone Power to a "lost" John Wayne Western, THE OREGON TRAIL (1936). (THE OREGON TRAIL costars Ann Rutherford and is seen in the photo to the left; this year's issue of "Lone Pine and the Movies" is entirely devoted to the history of this lost film.) In addition to movie-themed tours, there are also tours on the Owens River 1900 Water Wars, Arches of the Alabama Hills, the Geology of Owens Valley, and a Sunrise Photo Tour.

Please visit the festival website for complete details on tours, screenings, and much more.

Looking forward to another terrific Columbus Day Weekend in Lone Pine!

Links to my complete coverage of the last four Lone Pine Film Festivals may be found in each of these annual overview posts: 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017.

And please also visit my new column at Classic Movie Hub, "Lone Pine Favorites," which provides a brief historic overview of filming in Lone Pine along with a look at five movies filmed in the area.

Updates: Off to Lone Pine!; Back From Lone Pine!.

Links to all 2018 festival coverage may be found here: The 29th Lone Pine Film Festival.