TCM Classic Film Festival 2018: Recap #4

Day #3 of the TCM Classic Film Festival kicked off with one of the screenings I was most excited about: the 50th anniversary of one of my very favorite movies Bullitt (1968).

I got in line a couple hours early (by accident) and it was lucky for me that my husband and Robby, of Dear Old Hollywood, who were both doing standby, were able to get in. They sat with me and Jay of the Cinema Shame podcast. It was great to share this screening with them.

TCM host Eddie Muller presented. The special guest was going to be Jacqueline Bisset but she had to cancel at the last minute due to a family emergency. Muller promised us that he'd try to get her back to the festival next year. While I'm usually all about the special guests, this screening was a must for me not because of Bisset but because I wanted to witness this amazing movie on the big screen. At the TCL Chinese IMAX theater the screen is almost three stories tall. Seeing the famous San Francisco car chase with Steve McQueen in his Highland green Mustang on that giant screen was nothing short of epic. In fact the also thrilling airport chase scene was quite amazing to see on that screen as well, even if the audio was a bit overwhelming for sensitive ears.

And of course we had to take a commemorative photo afterwards. I love that we're all wearing sunglasses. Too cool for school.

I made my way to the Chinese Multiplex for one of the other films I was super excited about seeing at TCMFF: Maurice (1987). Because of my love for Call Me By Your Name (2017) and all things Merchant-Ivory, watching Maurice, a recently discovered favorite, on the big screen was a must. Before I ever became a classic movie fan, I was a teenager who was seriously into period pieces. I wish I had seen Maurice at that age but I'm making up for it as an adult. I'll be writing more in-depth about this experience soon but let me just say that hearing James Ivory talk and watching this film for a second time was a real treat.

I sat with Meg, Jeff, Marya of TCM and Michelle of the Nerdist for this screening.

After dinner I wandered over to the Hollywood Roosevelt hotel for a poolside screening. I hadn't done one of these in years. They are always a lot of fun. But if you have your heart set on watching the entire movie, make sure you dress warm because it gets really cold in this space. They set up poolside heaters and offer towel-blankets but you are still in for a chilly night.

Saturday's poolside screening was for Where the Boys Are (1960), one of my absolute favorite films (which seemed to be the theme of the day for me!). I was really, really hoping for a special guest from the film. Most of the cast, except for Jim Hutton, are still with us. I wish they had held out for a screening of this one with Paula Prentiss, Connie Francis, George Hamilton and/or Yvette Mimieux (Dolores Hart would be great too but I'd imagine it'd be much more difficult to get her there). In fact, Connie Francis was listed on the website for a hot second so there might have been plans to have here there.

The screening was introduced by Illeana Douglas. I had recently done some research on this film for my blog post, which you can read here, so nothing Douglas said in her intro was news to me. She assumed we didn't know that Dolores Hart became a nun. I'm pretty sure we all knew that. A young singer performed the title song Where the Boys Are before the screening. She did a lovely rendition.

Stay tuned because tomorrow I'll have my final recap of the TCM Classic Film Festival!