TCM Classic Film Festival Day Two Recap

TCM 20th Anniversary Photo Booth and Interview Back Drop

Day two at the TCM Classic Film Festival was the first day of festival activities. It was such a whirlwind! The day started off at the Chinese Multiplex theater. TCM staff was setting up the lobby with an anniversary photo booth and a charging station that looked like a living room. While I was waiting for the press conference to start, I took a look at some photos of actors and actresses at their hand and footprint ceremonies.

Steve McQueen at his Hand and Footprint Ceremony

Sidney Poitier at his Hand and Footprint Ceremony

When it was time for the press conference Robert Osborne was up first. Some key takeaways from his Q&A: Jane Darwell and Lucille Ball were incredibly influential in Osborne's life and career, they were making plans to bring Olivia de Havilland over for the festival but the last time she traveled that far it took her a year to recover, Osborne's excellent style comes from his personal stylist, she picks all of his outfits for him. Stay tuned! I'll have a more in-depth post on his talk later on.

Next up was Ben Mankiewicz who is always a hoot to listen to. He discussed how he is terrified of  interviewing Jerry Lewis and two other interviewees who made him nervous were Max von Sydow and Peter Bogdanovich. Mankiewicz said something really interesting about the art of interviewing: "you want them uncomfortable in their seat but you don't want to knock them off their chair." More on that Q&A to come.

The last part of the press conference included a Q&A with Charles Tabesh and Genevieve McGillicuddy. I love listening to Osborne and Mankiewicz talk abut Tabesh and McGillicuddy give you a lot of valuable insight into the workings of TCM as a channel and a brand. I learned that their #1 sought after star to have at the festival is Doris Day. It was Maureen O'Hara but she is finally attending this year!

Nicole, Millie, Sara, Kate Gabrielle and Casey

After the conference, we ran into these lovely ladies. I'm not going to lie but out of all of the experiences I was hoping to have at the festival, I was most excited and nervous about meeting them in person. From left to right: Nicole of Vintage Film Nerd, Millie of ClassicForever, Sara (formerly of Cinema Splendor) of The Wicker Bar, Kate Gabrielle of Scathingly Brilliant and Casey of Noir Girl.

This year's festival design theme includes a lot of amazing behind-the-scenes shots. I was looking for this billboard of director George Cukor and the cast of The Women (1939). Thanks to Diane of Classic Movie Blog for directing me to it!

I headed to the Roosevelt Hotel to pick up my media pass. Thanks again to Diane who took this picture! How perfect is this? The Women (1939) is one of my top favorite movies. And hat tip to Paul of Art, Wood, Movies and Whatnot who pointed out to me that I was also wearing Jungle Red nail polish. Perfect!

Laura of Laura's Miscellaneous Musings did a filmed interview with TCM. Here is a behind-the-scenes shot.

From noon to 4 pm, they were doing various interviews with festival guests. I happened to catch part of   Robert Osborne's interview with Mel Brooks! It's a blurry photo but I love that action shot! What an entrance. Mel Brooks was as hilarious as you'd expect him to be. Maybe even more so! He had us all cracking up.

Later that evening, Club TCM hosted a TCM at 20 Exhibit. For the 20th anniversary, several artists painted original pieces inspired by classic films.

Actress Kim Novak, actor/playwright Charles Busch, actress Jane Seymour and artist/producer Bruce Eric Kaplan were on hand to talk about each of their pieces.

Don't let anyone tell you otherwise, Kim Novak is stunning.

The opening night party extended to the pool of the Roosevelt Hotel. This is also where they had a screening of American Graffiti. They also had dancers and even a Wolfman Jack DJ.

Ben Mankiewicz interviewed Bo Hopkins, Cindy Clark and Paul Le Mat about the film. More on this event to come!

I had to leave the American Graffiti screening early to make sure I made it in time for Bachelor Mother (1939). If you know me you'll understand how important this film is to me. It's my top favorite film, currently fighting with Ocean's 11 (1960) for the top spot and it's changed my life. It was absolutely necessary for me to attend this screening and I'm forever grateful to TCM for showing the movie at their festival.

Carlos and I at the Bachelor Mother screening with Trevor from TCM Party photobombing!

Comedian Greg Proops introduced Bachelor Mother and had us all in stitches. I loved his presentation and I'll be doing a separate post about this experience soon!

TCM Classic Film Festival Day One Recap

Wednesday was the start of my TCM Classic Film Festival activities. Carlos and I headed over to the Warner Bros. lot to meet up with Robby from Dear Old Hollywood. Robby was just as kind, friendly, generous and easy-going as I thought he would be. Robby works for Warner Bros. and offered to give us a tour of the lot. Carlos and I had done the VIP Tour last year but having a one-on-one tour with a friend who is as well-informed about the lot and about Hollywood as Robby is made it all that more special. I plan to do a dedicated post on our time with him soon!

Carlos, Robby and me

Robby and me

Here I am with my long lost son Matt Patterson

Before we left the Warner Bros. lot, I stopped by the Warner Home Video building to say hi to Matt Patterson from Warner Archive. We had a blast chatting with him last year and I was glad I got another chance to pick his brain. Matt and I chatted about WonderCon, the Warner Archive podcast, Mickey Rooney, commodity history books and more. I could talk to him for hours. And speaking of the Warner Archive podcast, my letter was read on this week's edition! It's not on the Warner Archive Tumblr yet but once it is I'll post it here. Once you listen to it you'll understand the meaning behind the caption above.

Matt hooked me up with some serious Warner Archive swag. These should all be future Warner Archive Wednesday posts!

Next up, I took a taxi from the Warner Bros. lot and headed to Larry Edmund's Bookshop on Hollywood Blvd. There I met up with Laura of Laura's Miscellaneous Musings, her husband Doug (who is my new hero) and I met K.C. of a Classic Movie Blog for the first time. I bought a copy of Swanson on Swanson, Gloria Swanson's autobiography. It's my number two most wanted book. My #1, Memoirs of a Professional Cad by George Sanders, wasn't in the shop but I hope they'll contact me once it's in. I also bought a book for my friend Frank. He recently did a Warner Archive Wednesday post for this blog. You should check it out.

As I was walking back to my hotel, I saw this wreath of flowers by one of Mickey Rooney's stars on the Hollywood fame. He came up in conversation several times today and he's been on my mind since his passing. I stood at this spot and had a moment of silence for him.

I picked up Casey from Noir Girl at her hotel and we walked over to Sadie's Kitchen and Lounge for a special TCM Classic Film Festival Tweet-up. About 50 bloggers and journalists were there. It was a really fun time. I got to see some folks I had met at last year's festival and meet some new faces too. As an added bonus Ben Mankiewicz, Scott McGee and Illeana Douglas from TCM were there! There was a trivia game and some roundtable discussions but the best part really was socializing, talking about the festival and tweeting the event!

We got this TCM pin for tweeting. At the festival this year you can get pins for Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Vine, for having the Watch TCM app on your phone and more.

Casey, me, Laura, Ben Mankiewicz, Marya, Illeana Douglas and Kellee

Nora of TCM. She handles the @tcm Twitter and organized the Tweet-up.

Paula and Trevor from @TCMParty and Fan Guest Programmers Tiffany and Peter

Laura, Jessica, me and Aurora

Lindsay, Jessica, Kellee and Me

After the TCM Tweet-up, a lot of us headed over to another Tweet-up at Formosa. It was organized by Marya (@oldfilmsflicker) and Warner Archive joined as well. It was a great time! Stay tuned. I'll add to this post the list of people I got to hang out with last night.

The tweet-up got crowded fast!

Matt Patterson talking to Casey

Out of the Past: A Classic Film Blog at the TCM Classic Film Festival 2014

The 5th annual TCM Classic Film Festival kicks off Thursday evening but for me the festivities start early! Today I'll be hanging out at the Warner Bros. lot with Robby from Dear Old Hollywood,  shopping at Larry Edmunds Bookshop and attending a Tweet-up. I'm so excited to meet some folks for the first time and to see some familiar faces from last year's festival. Tomorrow I'll be at the TCM press conference and then in the evening the festival starts with some amazing star-studded events.

I'm also very humbled to have been selected as part of TCM's Fest Social Media crew roster. Watch for our live #TCMFF updates by following our list on Twitter!

 Tweets from https://twitter.com/tcmfilmfest/fest-social-crew-2014


I'll be sharing updates and photos throughout the festival on my Twitter @Quellelove and on my Google+ page +Out of the Past . On the blog I'll be posting daily recaps and will do more in-depth posts on each event later on. You can find all of my current coverage and previous coverage on this festival here.

This year's festival will be really special. It's a time for us classic film lovers to gather together and celebrate history and entertainment together. TCMFF is our Comic Con. It's where we can get together with like-minded people and celebrate what we love. It's a magical time and this year will be even more magical. I hope you'll have fun following my journey!

Warner Archive Wednesday ~ The Vitaphone Comedy Collection: Volume Two: Shemp Howard (1933-1937)

Frank at his wedding

This week's Warner Archive Wednesday is a little different. We have a guest blogger in the form of my good friend Frank! He's a co-worker and a good friend. I love chatting with him about classic film and anything related to pop culture. I'm very honored that he was willing to do a guest post for me for Warner Archive Wednesday. In this post he tackles The Vitaphone Comedy Collection: Volume Two: Shemp Howard (1933-1937) from Warner Archive and does a fine job indeed. I hope to have more guest posts from in the future! Enjoy.

Thanks to Raquel I jumped at the chance to view and review this Vitaphone Comedy Collection Volume 2 with the big picture of Shemp on the cover. Twenty-one shorts totaling seven hours and one minute!

One of fun aspects of watching “classic movies” is spotting character actors as they appear in minor roles. Shemp Howard is one of those actors who provides me with enjoyment whenever I watch Another Thin Man (1939), Buck Privates (1941), In The Navy (1941), Hold That Ghost (1941), and The Strange Case of Doctor Rx (1942), to name a few.

Aside from the first short in this collection, where he is featured in only one scene totaling approximately thirty seconds, Shemp is featured quite prominently in the remainder as a part of the supporting cast or sharing or receiving top billing. All these shorts (with copyright dates from 1933 through 1936) contain the witty banter and physical humor that one would expect from a typical Stooge short. Shemp appears in a number of roles, such as a circus worker, an archaeological assistant, a vaudeville actor, a butler, a fireman, a baseball pitcher (playing a teammate of real-life major leaguers Jerome “Dizzy” and Paul "Daffy" Dean), a process server, a military man, a gambler, and a harried husband. I could not possibly begin to describe what makes this type of humor funny, so I will attempt to provide a few of the many high points contained in these shorts. Often the viewer knows what is going to ensue due to the movement of the plot, but the humor payoff remains high, and these shorts are very re-watchable.

The first short, “Gobs of Fun,” features Charles Judels and George Givot . They play sailors who try to outwit each other and their first mate as they attempt to woo the first mate’s less-than-faithful sweetheart.  I found their antics very amusing. As noted above, Shemp’s scene is brief (this is the only short in the collection in which he does not receive an on-screen credit) but hilarious as one of the sailors demonstrates to him how to “get women.” The reaction of Shemp and his female companion to this demonstration is priceless humor in my opinion.

Shemp Howard and Daphne Pollard in His First Flame

Shemp Howard and Daphne Pollard in His First Flame

The shorts which feature Shemp with Daphne Pollard (“Smoked Hams,” “A Peach of a Pair,” and “His First Flame”) are true highlights of the set- I enjoyed the chemistry they clearly shared on screen, and the verbal and physical humor is bountiful. “His First Flame” is memorable just for the plot point of firefighter Shemp and wife Daphne attempting to demonstrate to the chief of the fire department that Shemp’s homemade special fire-dispelling powder actually works. They go about doing this by setting a part of their house on fire. The inevitable house fire which ensues is quite spectacular and dramatic, as the outdoor location of this part of the short adds to the realism of the inferno. There is much more in this short which is funny, but I will leave it to the viewer to discover.

Johnnie Berkes and Shemp Howard in While the Cat's Away 

Johnnie Berkes and Shemp Howard in While the Cat's Away 

The shorts pairing Shemp with Johnnie Berkes (“While the Cat’s Away,” and “Absorbing Junior,”) also are amusing. Johnnie also appears in most of the seven Joe Palooka shorts which I will cover below. “While the Cat’s Away” contains a hilarious little moment when Shemp, attempting to clean up all the empties in the room due to their wives’ imminent arrival, Shemp reacts to a framed photo of friend Johnnie’s wife which is on a dresser.

Shemp is also paired with Roscoe Ates, whose shtick is that he stutters. Ates plays the umpire in the short “Dizzy and Daffy” which features the Dean Brothers. This is humor that modern audiences might find uncomfortable, but audiences of the 1930s clearly did not- one of the Ates shorts is entitled “So You Won’t T-T-T-Talk.”

The seven “Joe Palooka” shorts feature Shemp as Knobby, the manager of young, slow-speaking, kind-hearted and polite boxer (and eventually heavyweight champion of the world) Joe Palooka, played by Robert Norton. Shemp and his cohorts Johnny (played by Johnny Berkes- billed in the earlier shorts as Johnnie) and Punchy (played by Lee Weber) do their best to manage and train Joe with a mixture of some know-how and a lot of incompetence and sheer blind luck. Knobby and his helpers genuinely care about Joe’s well-being. A sub-plot is Joe’s romance with Ann Howe, played by Beverly Phalon, who also cares deeply about him.

Kick Me Again

These shorts usually end with Joe being inspired to dispatch his opponent through some verbal misunderstanding- this plays out on screen much more effectively than it reads. Shemp also is involved with hitting and being hit quite often. (This brings me to another observation – Shemp in this collection often has moments where he appears to be playing the “Moe Howard” role, in that he is or thinks he is in charge and verbally and or/physically bosses his cohorts around.) I was very impressed with Lee Weber as Joe’s sparring partner Punchy who has a very large appetite. In “Here’s Howe” there is an impressive scene where Shemp directs a shadow-boxing Punchy in the ring which clearly demonstrates Weber’s talent for non-verbal humor. The boxing scenes in these shorts were to me surprisingly more brutal than I had anticipated.

I enjoyed the Joe Palooka cycle of shorts so much that I was sad when the last one was over.

After the first three shorts, the remaining eighteen were directed by Lloyd French. The first thirteen were photographed by E.B. DuPar, while the remaining eight were photographed by Ray Foster. The most common story writers listed were Jack Henley (who co-wrote all but one), Dolph Singer, Burnet Hershey, and Eddie Forman, with the writing done either in pairs or a few instances as a trio.

The picture quality is very good, as is the sound. Also, the background music is at an appropriate level throughout the shorts so the dialogue is always discernible.

Part of the enjoyment of viewing this set is the discovery of something new in something old, in this case something filmed around eighty years ago and probably not at all easily available to watch until this release. The big revelation for me is the quality of many of the lead performers and supporting players. I began viewing the set focusing on Shemp and came away with a much greater appreciation of the comic talents of his fellow (and previously unknown-to-me) performers. This reinforces the fact that the more famous comedy entities did not work in a vacuum. Non-credited performers also often have their comic moments to shine throughout the set.

I would highly recommend this collection to Shemp and Stooges fans and to anyone fond of slapstick!

The Vitaphone Comedy Collection Volume Two: Shemp Howard (1933-1937) is available from Warner Archive as a two disc DVD-MOD set. 

Warner Archive Wednesday - On (random) Wednesdays, one title is reviewed from the Warner Archive Collection. We received the The Vitaphone Comedy Collection: Volume Two from Warner Archive to review.