The 2025 TCM Classic Film Festival: Day Three

April 25th was the first full day of the 2025 TCM Classic Film Festival, and I started it in line for the pre-Code classic THE DIVORCEE (1930).

There was a good-sized line started on McCadden, around the corner from the Egyptian Theatre, by the time I arrived at 8:00 a.m. for the 9:15 a.m. screening.

THE DIVORCEE was introduced by Jacqueline Stewart and professor Marsha Gordon, who discussed some of the film's production history. The movie was screened in 35mm -- the only existing print in that format.

It had been several years since I saw THE DIVORCEE; I found it highly entertaining, as well as moving. Norma Shearer certainly deserved her Best Actress Oscar for this film.

I remained at the Egyptian for my next film, SERVANTS' ENTRANCE (1934), also shown in 35mm. It was introduced by former Paramount Pictures archivist Andrea Kalas.

I ultimately named SERVANTS' ENTRANCE as my favorite discovery of the 2025 festival, calling it an "absolute charmer" and "unheralded delight."

It's a Fox screwball romantic comedy with a marvelous cast, and I was amazed that it even had a Disney animation sequence! This movie really needs to be on DVD or Blu-ray, for multiple reasons, including its role in Disney history.

The above pair of films were the only movies I saw at the Egyptian during the 2025 festival; the other 14 of my 16 films were all seen at the Chinese Multiplex, including nine films in the small, beloved House 4, where some of the rarest and most interesting films are shown. My husband even created a T-shirt for the 2025 festival that said simply "THEATER 4: The stuff that dreams are made of."

The next screening, in House 6 at the Multiplex, was also pretty special: A newly restored print of THE ENCHANTED COTTAGE (1495), shown in DCP format.

THE ENCHANTED COTTAGE was introduced with Ben Mankiewicz, whose grandfather Herman cowrote the film, chatting with actor James Cromwell, son of the movie's director, John Cromwell. Cromwell said THE ENCHANTED COTTAGE was one of his father's favorites.

I hadn't seen THE ENCHANTED COTTAGE for many years and found it...enchanted, so much so that I happily watched the new Blu-ray a few months later!

Then it was right back into House 6 for one of my very favorite movies, THE MARK OF ZORRO (1940), screen in DCP format. (Thanks to his schedule, my husband was again first in line, as he'd been for the first film of the fest!)

I had seen ZORRO theatrically at the Vagabond Theater on Wilshire as a teen, but this was my first big-screen viewing in decades. Is there anything better than seeing this film with an enthusiastic audience? I think not.

My final Friday film, wrapping up a five-movie day, was another I saw at the Vagabond as a teen: LILI (1953), shown in 35mm.

The movie received a charming introduction by the Academy's Matt Severson, accompanied by a puppet friend! Those who have seen the movie know that was the perfect touch.

It had been a very long time since I last saw LILI, which was directed by Charles Walters. I was fortunate to meet "Chuck" several times as a teen and thought of those experiences as I viewed it in his honor.

I'd forgotten just what a unique and special film LILI is; it was the perfect ending to a very uplifting day of great cinema.

Check out photos from Day One and Day Two; coming soon: Day Four.

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