My thoughts on the 2015 TCM Classic Film Festival Schedule

Robert Osborne at last year's TCM Classic Film Fesitval

On Monday TCM released the much anticipated (and rather late) festival schedule. Reactions were mixed however when everyone had time to analyze the full schedule and make their selections. I’m thrilled by many of the festival offerings, most notably the special events and guests, but I did notice fewer conflicts this year because many of the films were a pass for me. I consider this a blessing because it gives me a lot more flexibility and a lot less heartbreak.

Folks online have complained about an increase of newer films added to the line-up as well as some missed opportunities. There has been a slight shift but as my Excel chart below shows it isn’t very much. Most of the films still cluster in the 1930-1970 time frame and this year TCM tested the waters with films from the edges of film history, most notably from the 1910s and the 1990s. There was a shift in which titles selected and which ones got the big venues and prime spots. The term “classic” is very subjective and everyone has a different definition. While I like to see the older classics, my husband likes to see the more modern ones. Our festival experiences are very different from each others because of that.

Quick count by decade and festival year. Not a final tally.

I think the 2015 festival has a lot to offer and personally I’m very excited about it! Looking back at previous festivals the 2013’s schedule was really the best in terms of films selected but this one has even better events. My biggest disappointment was the cancellation of the Spartacus (1960) restoration event. I was hoping to see this film on the big screen, possibly with Kirk Douglas in attendance, but it wasn’t meant to be. Also, actress and singer Monica Lewis has been reaching out to the folks at TCM for years but keeps getting overlooked for the festival. TCM missed an opportunity having her there this year at the screening of Earthquake (1974) which features Lewis and was produced by her late husband Jennings Lang.

I noticed TCM was much later in their communications this time around. We knew very little from the start and even with an earlier festival the information was released much later than in the two previous years. TCM’s restructuring as well as the hiring of a new top-level executive might have had some big effects on the festival and how it was put together.

The TCM Classic Film Festival can be compared to a subscription box much like Birchbox, Quarterly, etc. You pay up front, not exactly knowing all of what you’ll get but having a rough idea of what to expect. The element of surprise makes it a gamble. You could be very happy with what you get or you could be disappointed. You trust the brand to deliver but still cross your fingers that they do.

This year I’ll be covering the 2015 TCM Classic Film Festival as a member of the media and below is what I plan to cover. I have back-ups for everything and my focus is primarily on seeing the special guests. My picks are subject to change.

Too Late for Tears (1949) - Photo Source

Thursday
Opening night red carpet event for The Sound of Music (1965)

Too Late for Tears (1949)
Special Guest: Eddie Muller of the Film Noir Foundation

Ann-Margret in The Cincinnati Kid (1965)

Friday

Christopher Plummer Imprint Ceremony
Special Guest: Christopher Plummer, Shirley MacLaine, William Shatner and more.

Reign of Terror (1949)
Special Guest: Norman Lloyd

The Cincinnati Kid (1965)
Special Guest: Ann-Margret

Fonda The Actor, Fonda the Man Panel
Special Guest: Peter Fonda

On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969)
Special Guest: George Lazenby

The Apartment (1960)

Saturday
A Conversation with Norman Lloyd
hosted by Ben Mankiewicz (to be televised at a later date)

1776 (1972)
Special Guests: William Daniels, Ken Howard and Peter H. Hunt

The Apartment (1960)
Special Guest: Shirley MacLaine

The Loved One (1965)
Special Guest: Robert Morse

The Diary of Anne Frank (1959) - Photo Source

Sunday
The Diary of Anne Frank (1959)
Special Guests: Millie Perkins & Diane Baker

TBA
TCM repeats earlier screenings so I left this spot open as a surprise

Marriage Italian Style (1964)
Special Guest: Sophia Loren

Malcolm X (1992)

My husband has a Palace Pass this year and here are a few of the events he’s excited about.

Malcolm X (1992)
Special Guest: Spike Lee

The Man Who Would Be King (1975)
Special Guest: Christopher Plummer

On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969)
Christopher Plummer Imprint Ceremony
The Cincinnati Kid (1965)

The Apartment (1960)

Here are some films I might not be able to see at the festival but I highly recommend:

42nd Street (1933)
Adam’s Rib (1949)
Calamity Jane (1953)
Imitation of Life (1959)
My Man Godfrey (1936)
The Philadelphia Story (1940)
Steamboat Bill Jr. (1928)
They Won’t Forget (1937)
Why Be Good? (1929)

What are your picks for the 2015 TCM Classic Film Festival?

A Custom-Made Classic Film Calendar

A few months ago I was shopping online for a movie themed calendar. My search was in vain. What's available on the market is not great and for classic film fans like me the only calendar available is the same movie posters one that's been recycled year after year.

I wrote to Kate Gabrielle on the chance that she might be able to create a custom classic film calendar suited to my movie tastes. And what I got was beyond my wildest dreams!

I emailed Kate some of my ideas. I picked some of my favorite stars and a couple of my favorite films, suggested a couple of themes and an emphasis on New Year's because it's my favorite holiday. She put together a fantastic calendar and I'm very happy to share it with you.

Kate's work is incredible. I've commissioned a few works from her, including this excellent painting of Norma Shearer, and her Flapperdoodle artwork plus her excellent classic film Christmas cards adorn my cubicle at work.

I encourage you to visit Kate's shop and blog to see her amazing work. Now on to the calendar!

January
Bachelor Mother (1939)
 Design by Kate Gabrielle

February
 Sidney Poitier
Design by Kate Gabrielle

March
Robert Mitchum
Design by Kate Gabrielle

April
Doris Day
Design by Kate Gabrielle

May
Bonita Granville
Design by Kate Gabrielle

June
Joan Blondell
Design by Kate Gabrielle

July
Susan Peters
Design by Kate Gabrielle

August
George Sanders
Design by Kate Gabrielle

September
Edward G. Robinson
Design by Kate Gabrielle

October
The Rat Pack/Ocean's 11 (1960)
Design by Kate Gabrielle

November
Kirk Douglas
Design by Kate Gabrielle

December
Norma Shearer
Design by Kate Gabrielle

What did you think of the calendar? If you had your own custom calendar made, which of your favorite stars would be featured?

Charlie Chaplin: A Brief Life by Peter Ackroyd

Charlie Chaplin: A Brief Life
by Peter Ackroyd
Hardcover, 304 pages
ISBN: 9780385537377
October 2014
Nan A. Talese (Knopf - Doubleday, an imprint of Penguin Random House)

Barnes and Noble
Powell's
IndieBound


“Like a dancer he needed the full revelation of his art. He seemed to have a speed and movement that distinguished him from other performers.” - Ackroyd 

Charlie Chaplin is one of those major figures of whom I know little about. I’ve been eager to fill the gaps in my classic film knowledge and it was essential that I learn about the man who has such an enormous impact on film history. Peter Ackroyd’s biography follows the life and career of this legend in a neatly packaged 300 pages. It’s not all-inclusive but seems to hit all the main highlights.

“South London would remain the source and center of his inspiration.” – Ackroyd

Chaplin had a very difficult childhood growing up in London. Chaplin and his family lived in abject poverty, his mother was in and out of asylums and it’s not clear who is father was. Facts in the book are often presented with observations about the effects certain events in Chaplin’s early years affected his adult life. These observations also note patterns, influences, themes and symbolism later to be found in Chaplin’s work. He was poorly educated and what he learned was from experience.

Ackroyd draws parallels with Chaplin to figures like Charles Dickens and Adolf Hitler. He also spends quite a lot of the book discussing in details Chaplin’s relationships with women. I learned many of the sordid details involved with the disastrous marriages to Mildred Harris, Lita Grey and Paulette Goddard. It was quite a relief to finally get to Oona O’Neill. Oona was Chaplin’s fourth and final wife. Their marriage was a mostly happy one. They were devoted to each other, had 8 children together and Oona was instrumental in helping him get through a major scandal.

“They had a delight in one another’s company that seemed sometimes to be at the cost of excluding their children. They held hands constantly...” - Ackroyd

If you want to learn about Chaplin’s many films, there is plenty of detail here too. Films covered extensively include The Kid (1921), The Gold Rush (1925), The Circus (1928), City Lights (1931), Modern Times (1936), The Great Dictator (1940) and Monsiuer Verdoux (1947). Chaplin worked with Fatty Arbuckle, Marie Dressler, Edna Purviance, Rollie Totheroh (his principle cameraman for 38 years), Mabel Normand, Stan Laurel, Mack Sennett, Jackie Coogan, Virginia Cherrill, Marlon Brando, Sophia Loren among others.

The author refers several times to Chaplin’s autobiography with the understanding that while it can be an unreliable source of facts it is also an insight into Chaplin as a person. Ackroyd navigates a minefield of mistruths, exaggerations and outright fabrications to get at the true story of Chaplin. Doing so he seems to capture Chaplin’s personality and it shows when reading the book. Chaplin was a man of many quirks. He was a loner, perfectionist, clean freak, a penny pincher and a fiercely independent man. Chaplin bounced from studio to studio and worked best independently. He was notoriously difficult to work with because of his controlling nature.

“Chaplin was a fearsomely cruel man... probably the most sadistic man I’d ever met.” – Marlon Brando

There are good things about the book and bad things about it. I struggled reading it and was very disconcerted by Ackroyd sometimes judgemental tone. Structurally the book reads well. It sticks to a chronological timeline of Chaplin’s life and has a very approachable narrative. There is not much for extras in the book, it’s really just a straightforward biography of Chaplin. There are a handful of black-and-white photos throughout the book that are awkwardly placed and could have been more thoughtfully arrnaged. A small photo often takes up an entire page. I thought this was wasteful and unnecessary. Over the years I’ve become particular about photograph placement in biographies but this was just flat out poorly done. If this goes to paperback, I hope they’ll reconsider the placement of photos.

Charlie Chaplin: A Brief Life is a primer on all things Chaplin. It’s a problematic book but does its job as a good introduction to Chaplin for those who are unfamiliar with him. Fans of Chaplin who are well-versed should look elsewhere or pick up this book solely as a refresher.

Note: "A Brief Life" refers to Ackroyd's series of short biographies. It does not refer to the number of years Charlie Chaplin lived.

Thank you to Penguin Random House for sending me a copy of this book for review!