The 2022 UCLA Festival of Preservation, May 20-22

The UCLA Festival of Preservation returns to Westwood this year!

The festival will follow the 2019 format, taking place over a single weekend rather than spread over a month. The festival dates are May 20-22, 2022; it will take place at the Billy Wilder Theater in the Hammer Museum.

Thanks to a donor, tickets to this year's festival are free. Those planning on attending simply need to register for the films of interest and show up early enough to be sure to get a seat.

The first feature film on opening night will be ALL THAT MONEY CAN BUY (1941), aka THE DEVIL AND DANIEL WEBSTER, starring Edward Arnold, Walter Huston, and Simone Simon, plus favorites Anne Shirley and James Craig.

The second film of the night is a favorite I'd really like to see, COVER UP (1949), a Christmastime mystery starring and cowritten by Dennis O'Keefe. It's being shown in 35mm. However, COVER UP doesn't start until after 10:00 p.m. which is a little too late for me, given that I have to make a long drive home from Los Angeles afterwards. (It's not as late, though, as a 2019 screening which didn't start until 11:20 p.m.!) I'm hopeful that COVER UP will turn up elsewhere at some point, perhaps at the Arthur Lyons Film Noir Festival.

I'm planning to go on Saturday morning, May 21st, and see Laurel and Hardy in the 21-minute short SCRAM! (1932), followed by the very first BLONDIE (1938) film starring Penny Singleton and Arthur Lake. Both will be shown in 35mm.

After a short lunch break I also plan to see the Fleischer cartoon BUZZY BOOP AT THE CONCERT (1932) followed by INNER SANCTUM (1948), starring Mary Beth Hughes and directed by "B" favorite Lew Landers. The cartoon will be shown digitally and INNER SANCTUM in 35mm.

That's it for me on Saturday. The top film showing Saturday evening will be John Garfield in FORCE OF EVIL (1948).

The next morning I plan to return for the Ub Iwerks cartoon SINBAD THE SAILOR (1935) followed by TOPPER RETURNS (1941). I saw this film many times on TV as a kid, in poor public domain prints, but I haven't seen it in years. TOPPER RETURNS has a cast of faves including Joan Blondell, Roland Young, Carole Landis, and Dennis O'Keefe. Both the cartoon and the film will be shown in 35mm.

That's probably it for me for the festival, as it's going to be part of a busy few weeks, although there's a chance I'll stick around after lunch for the Hallmark Hall of Fame production of THE FANTASTICKS (1964) starring Ricardo Montalban.  I haven't requested a ticket for that one but it might be a last-minute option.

The festival will conclude Sunday evening with a tribute to Betty White followed by Harold Lloyd in a 35mm print of THE SIN OF HAROLD DIDDLEBOCK (1947).

It should be a marvelous weekend, and I'm so excited to have many wonderful opportunities this spring to see films theatrically once more!

A look back: The 2011 UCLA Festival of Preservation, The 2013 UCLA Festival of Preservation, The 2015 UCLA Festival of Preservation, The 2017 UCLA Festival of Preservation, and The 2019 UCLA Festival of Preservation.

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