Laura's Miscellaneous Musings: The 2025 TCM Classic Film Festival: Day One

Monday, January 26, 2026

The 2025 TCM Classic Film Festival: Day One

The 2025 TCM Classic Film Festival took place in Hollywood from April 24th through 27th, 2025.

As plans gear up for this year's 2026 TCM Fest, to be held in Hollywood from April 30th through May 3, 2026, over the next few days I'll be providing a photographic look back at the most recent festival.

These fun photo posts will supplement the detailed overview I posted immediately after the 2025 festival, and perhaps they will encourage anyone "on the fence" about attending this year to take the plunge!

Last year I followed my usual habit of arriving at my hotel, the Hollywood Celebrity, a day ahead of the festival opening. It's a "no frills" boutique hotel; we are always treated very well there, and indeed, the longtime breakfast room attendant welcomed us back with hugs! It was a great start to the festival weekend.

TCM's "headquarters" and Club TCM were once again at a venue which is a classic in its own right, the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel.

I stopped in to pick up my media credential shortly after we arrived in Hollywood. This year the welcome for the media was very low-key, with no Club TCM media reception, hence I don't have the typical reception photos with TCM hosts to share this year.

It was unusual, as I think there's been a press conference or reception since I first covered the festival in 2013, but in the end the most important thing is the movies!

After a nice lunch at 25 Degrees in the Hollywood Roosevelt, where we had the pleasure of chatting with Eddie Muller and his wife Kathleen, we headed over to the Chinese Multiplex, which returned as one of the festival venues.

The TCM Classic Film Festival Boutique has been in the Multiplex lobby for the past couple of years, which is quite handy!

I always make it a practice to buy anything I'd like on Wednesday, as favored items sometimes disappear quickly. This year I think the hottest thing on sale in the boutique was this fabulous VistaVision shirt.

I also grabbed this colorful tote bag.

Later in the afternoon we headed to the Hollywood Heritage Museum for the annual reception held by the "Going to TCM Classic Film Festival" Facebook group. While I'm not on Facebook, my husband and numerous friends are, and it was great to say hello to many people for the first time at the 2025 fest.

The reception was very well attended, as seen below.

It was great to finally meet Lisa Royere at the 2025 festival! She's the co-author (with Paula Broussard) of ELEANOR POWELL: BORN TO DANCE from the University Press of Kentucky and signed copies at the Hollywood Heritage.

Lisa is currently hard at work on an upcoming biography of Irene Dunne, and during the festival she and Alicia Malone introduced A GUY NAMED JOE (1943), which starred Dunne along with Spencer Tracy and Van Johnson.