TCM Classic Film Festival Day #4 Recap

Saturday was the third official day of the festival but my fourth day of TCM Classic Film Festival festivities. It started off with a bit of a disappointment. We got there a bit late to check-in to the Jane Fonda Handprint Footprint Ceremony at the Grauman's Chinese Theatre. I didn't realize that I had to RSVP as a member of the press to attend so I couldn't get press access. Carlos and I ended up going across the street and watched a bit of it from afar. A lot of celebs were there. Eva Longoria, Jim Carrey, Maria Shriver, Jane's son Troy Garrity, Lily Tomlin and Jane's brother Peter Fonda. I didn't really care about any of them except for Jane and Peter Fonda to be honest. Robert Osborne introduced and mentioned that Jane Fonda's hand and footprints would be placed next to her father Henry Fonda's hand and footprints. Later Jane thanked TCM for all that they do for classic films and also recalled that her father told her not to let anyone in Hollywood walk all over her and now they will both have everyone in Hollywood walking all over them. From what I heard later, Jane Fonda did a peace sign with one hand when she did her handprints. The rest of the day was so incredibly amazing that not being close enough to the ceremony didn't end up mattering at all.


After seeing the Handprint Footprint ceremony from afar, I headed to the Chinese Multiplex next door for my first movie of the day. The festival had a great power station at the Multiplex. It was sponsored by Delta Airlines and at the station you could plug in your cell phone, laptop or any other electronic device in order to charge up. It was a fantastic service and one I wish were available at the other locations of the festival. While I was charging up my iPhone, I got a chance to speak to speak to TCM's executive producer Tom Brown. He was waiting to go pick up Burt Reynolds for an event.

I met with Laura of Laura's Miscelleanous Musings afterwards and we got in line for The Lady Vanishes (1938). I had never seen the film before and I was excited to see Norman Lloyd again. Carlos also attended and at one point, he got to shake hands with Robert Osborne. LUCKY!

The screening of The Lady Vanishes (1938) was hosted by Leonard Maltin and special guest Norman Lloyd got two standing ovations. For being 98 years old, Norman Lloyd is in really good shape. He's very mobile, Maltin told us that he plays tennis every day and his mind is very sharp. A lot of other guests needed help getting to the stage and back but Norman Lloyd needed no assistance. He was incredibly funny and charming. I will be writing a more in depth post in the future and I hope to include a little of the video I shot of the interview. And as an added bonus, Norman Lloyd watched the film with us and actor Marvin Kaplan was there to watch the film too!

After The Lady Vanishes (1938) screening, Carlos and I headed to Club TCM at the Roosevelt Hotel and attended the Conversation with Max von Sydow event which was also hosted by Leonard Maltin. Max von Sydow was fashionably late and the event lasted just under an hour. At the beginning of the event, the announcer told the audience that there would be no pictures and no autographing after the interview per Max's request. I think this should be the case for all these Club TCM interviews. I overheard someone say that the Conversation with Tippi Hedren event had gotten out of control. People started pushing and shoving to get an autograph or picture. Not cool, people! It is a privilege to see these stars, not a right.

Max von Sydow's interview was great. I plan to do an in depth post on it later. We were disappointed they didn't discuss Three Days of the Condor (1975). It was really fantastic to see Max von Sydow so up close (we were in the second row!). And to top it all off, Carlos and I got to shake hands with Leonard Maltin afterwards.

Afterwards, I went to the Club TCM lounge and stumbled upon Ann Blyth being interviewed by Robert Osborne for a TCM special. I cried. These taped interviews for TCM promos are not scheduled or announced so if you catch one it is just an added bonus.

Ann Blyth is so beautiful. I overheard that the segment will be used for an Ann Blyth Summer Under the Stars day. I'm not in the background of the interview because I was crying so I hid away from the camera. I didn't take notes on this so I won't be doing a post. I was too emotional anyways because Ann Blyth was at the top of my list of classic film stars I wanted to see at the festival. She is just so stunningly beautiful and that perfect smile of hers still dazzles to this day. Wow. She was super sweet too and would pose for pictures. Robert Osborne was totally flirting with her and kept telling her that she found the fountain of youth because she still looks so good. She's 88 years old, has 5 children, 10 grandchildren and 1 great grandchild on the way. I loved the fact that she said she exercises with a Bosu ball and does weight lifting because I do the same.

I didn't think this day could get any better but it did. After the Ann Blyth taping, we went to go play a trivia game called "What's the Score?" with Alex Trebek at Club TCM. Our team "Musical Chairs" came in 4th place. On my team was Karen from Shadows and Satin. I have no ear for music so I was pretty terrible at the trivia but everyone else on my team was great. We lost the 4 way tie-breaker. It was so much fun to do a trivia game with Alex Trebek. I am a huge Jeopardy! fan and have always dreamed of being on the show but I'm not very good at quick trivia. So if this is the closest I'll ever come to Jeopardy! then I'm okay with that. Alex Trebek was charming and a lot of fun. He was great with the audience and we just had a blast. This same game had been played on the last TCM Cruise and Trebek mentioned the cruise several times too.

TCM Photo

Darnell, Dan, myself and Carlos at the trivia game.

Afterwards, Laura of Laura's Miscellaneous Musings and Aurora of Once Upon a Screen... and I left to go wait in line for Mildred Pierce (1945) screening at the Grauman's Egyptian. We were pretty early in line. Ann Blyth was interviewed for 15 minutes by Robert Osborne. There were a couple standing ovations and lots of clapping. It was a very appreciative audience and great screening. A more in depth post to come.

Carlos got into a screening of Le Mans (1975) with special guests Chad McQueen (Steve McQueen's son) and two race car drivers Vic Elford and Derek Bell.

I loved these two pictures I took of Norman Lloyd and Max von Sydow putting their hands up in appreciation of the standing ovations they received!

God Speed Deanna Durbin

Image Source

Deanna Durbin (1921-2013)

Many people love Deanna Durbin as that bright eyed child star with the voice of an angel. I enjoy her later films and marvel at how she developed into such a gorgeous and voluptuous young woman. Personally, I have always had a girl crush on her, wishing I could be that spectacularly beautiful.  I know she was very private in her later years and I had always hoped we'd get to know her a little better. She leaves behind a legacy of films, many of which kept Universal afloat during the Great Depression and World War II. 

God Speed Deanna!

If you are interested, here is a transcript of Deanna Durbin's only known post-retirement interview from 1983. (Thanks to Lou Lumenick for the link!)

TCM Classic Film Festival Day #3 Recap

Friday was the second official day of the TCM Classic Film Festival but my third day. As I had predicted, I didn't wake up early enough to go see Libeled Lady (1936). I wish I had more energy and a personal driver to take me everywhere I need to go.

I spent the day with my husband which was nice because we had been on different schedules for a couple of days. First stop was to the Chinese Multiplexes to see River of No Return (1954).

Leonard Maltin hosted the screening and introduced special guests producer Stanley Rubin and his wife Kathleen Hughes.

I plan to do a most in depth post later but I really enjoyed Maltin's talk with Rubin and Hughes. When the movie started, something happened. I started to cry and couldn't stop. It was a really emotional moment for me. I think this was for a few reasons. 

River of No Return (1954) is the second Robert Mitchum film I ever saw with Out of the Past (1947) being the first. And as most of you know, Robert Mitchum is my favorite actor. I have always been a fan of Marilyn Monroe too and have seen almost all of her films. Also, I've been to the river in the film. The movie was shot on the Athabasca River in Alberta, Canada and I have very happy memories visiting the river and the Rocky Mountain town Jasper which is situated alongside the river. River of No Return isn't a perfect film but it's one I have loved for as long as I have been a classic film fan. It has a special place in my heart and to see the producer of the film up on stage talking about the movie, sharing his stories and talking about Mitchum and Monroe was truly an honor.  Not only that, Rubin stayed to watch the film with us.

Then it hit me. This is truly amazing. Truly fucking amazing. And then the tears just flowed. Wow.

We left the Chinese Multiplexes and hoofed it over to the Avalon for a taping of Eva Marie Saint: Live from the TCM Classic Film Festival. This event will be televised on TCM so I won't be doing an in depth post but I did want to share a little about it.

 We got absolutely terrible seats because everyone got there super early and we had only gotten there 10-15 minutes before it started. We were in the nosebleed section and there was a lot of moving around to get the best view. 

This event was a taping of the one hour interview for TCM so it took about 2 hours with several stops for make up, clean up, retakes, etc. Tom Brown kicked it off with talking with the audience and getting laughter, titter and awws so they could record those sounds and use them later for editing. Then they brought out Robert Osborne and he fielded some questions from the audience which I thought was very nice of him! 

Out came Eva Marie Saint and at the age of 88 she still looks stunning. We couldn't photograph during the event but she did post for pictures afterwards (hence the photos above). Eva Marie Saint flirted with Robert Osborne calling him her second husband. Her real life husband of 61 years Director Jeffrey Hayden. She called out to him numerous times during the interview which I thought was so sweet. They seem like a very close couple and still very much in love. Eva Marie Saint credited that to the fact that they are Actress and Director and not both Actors or both in different businesses. Because they are both in show business they get the nature of the business. If they were both actors they would in competition with each other. She noted a few couples and used Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward as an example of an exception to that rule.

Eva Marie Saint spoke very fondly of Yves Montand her co-star in Grand Prix (1966) and also mentioned that her daughter had such a huge crush on him and corresponded with him by mail for years. She also spoke about working with Cary Grant, Elia Kazan, Marlon Brando, Paul Newman, Otto Preminger, Montgomery Clift and more. She was absolutely charming, you could tell that she felt very at ease with Robert Osborne which I think made a huge difference. She mentioned that she enjoyed her role in the contemporary movie Because of Winn-Dixie (2005). OMG. I work for that book's publisher! I hope that bit makes it on air.

Overall a good experience even though I got terrible blisters hoofing it there.

The last thing we did was attend the World Premiere Restoration/50th Anniversary screening of The Great Escape (1953). It was screened at the Grauman's Chinese theatre (which I refuse to call by it's new name). It was magical being in such an important and historic theatre.

My husband and I got seats close up. Carlos wasn't happy but I needed to be close to the guests! Before it started, I had gone to the bathroom and I SAW WALTER MIRISCH! It was definitely him because a TCM staffer referred to him as Walter. It was so cool to be that close to him. Also for some reason I keep running in to Ben Mankiewicz. It's happened like 5 or 6 times but I'm too shy to say hi.

An in-depth post on The Great Escape (1963) screening is to come. It was a fun experience. We ended up being too tired to attend the On The Waterfront screening right after and the line for that was long. I hope to have more energy on Saturday and Sunday!

Remember, follow me on Twitter or Instagram at @QuelleLove for live updates of all the TCM Classic Film Festival activities I do as they happen.