Cinecon Classic Film Festival Opens in Hollywood August 29th

The Cinecon Classic Film Festival opens in Hollywood two weeks from today, on Thursday evening, August 29th.

Cinecon will take place at the Egyptian Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard through Labor Day, September 2nd.

This is the 55th edition of Cinecon, founded in 1965 and "dedicated to showcasing unusual films that are rarely given public screenings." I love the focus on relatively obscure films, most of which date from the silent era through the 1940s; a trio of films from the 1950s are accompanied by appearances by festival guests Barbara Rush, Ann Robinson, and Gigi Perreau.

I attended a day and a half of the festival in 2017 and two and a half days in 2018. I expect to duplicate my 2018 attendance this year, attending from Saturday afternoon through Monday evening.

Some of the titles being shown during the time frame I'll be there which interest me the most:

*OH MEN! OH WOMEN! (1957), a film I've never seen starring Ginger Rogers, David Niven, and Barbara Rush, who will be in attendance for the showing.

*The "Saturday Nitrate Fever" program which features the cartoon COBWEB HOTEL (1936) followed by the feature NIGHT OF MYSTERY (1937), a Philo Vance film starring Grant Richards and Roscoe Karns.

*PRIVATE NURSE (1941), a 20th Century-Fox "B" film starring Brenda Joyce and Sheldon Leonard. (It's only an hour long but it doesn't start till 10:50 p.m. Saturday night, so it's dubious whether I'll make it through this one despite my interest!)

*THE SHAMROCK HANDICAP (1926), a Janet Gaynor film directed by John Ford.

*FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE (1950), a favorite of mine on TV when I was growing up, which I haven't seen for decades, starring Joan Bennett, Robert Cummings, and Clifton Webb; costar Gigi Perreau will take part in a Q&A after the movie.

*ALOMA OF THE SOUTH SEAS (1941) starring Dorothy Lamour and Jon Hall, Technicolor escapist fare from the summer before the U.S. entry into WWII.

*ON STAGE EVERYBODY (1945) with a cast including Peggy Ryan, the King Sisters, Julie London, and Ilene Woods (CINDERELLA).

*HIT PARADE OF 1941 (1941) with Frances Langford and Ann Miller.

*CHATTERBOX (1943) with Judy Canova, Joe E. Brown, and, sparking my interest, Rosemary Lane.

*ON THE AVENUE (1937), with Dick Powell, Madeleine Carroll, and Alice Faye, which was scheduled for last year but mislabeled cans instead turned out to contain THE PIED PIPER (1942).

Other titles of interest I won't be able to attend include DANGER! LOVE AT WORK (1937) with Ann Sothern and Jack Haley and THE STRANGER FROM TEXAS (1939) with Charles Starrett and Lorna Gray (also known as Adrian Booth).

I've seen some really wonderful films at the last two Cinecon festivals; in numerous cases I approached the films "cold," knowing little to nothing about them in advance, and had a great time seeing some very interesting movies.

Complete review links for my visits to the last two festivals may be found at the end of my 2018 introduction and at A Visit to Cinecon 53 (2017).

For more on the festival, Kim has interviewed Cinecon President Stan Taffel at her site I See a Dark Theater.

Update: Tonight's Movies: Oh, Men! Oh, Women! (1957) and Night of Mystery (1937) at Cinecon; Tonight's Movies: The Shamrock Handicap (1926) and The Delicious Little Devil (1919) at Cinecon; Tonight's Movies: Mills of the Gods (1934) and For Heaven's Sake (1950) at Cinecon; Tonight's Movies: Hit Parade of 1941 (1940), Crooked Streets (1920), and Chatterbox (1943) at Cinecon.