Anna Karina and Band of Outsiders (1964)

Anna Karina in Band of Outsiders (1964)

Band of Outsiders, known in French as Bande à part, is a Jean-Luc Godard film from 1964 starring  Godard muse Anna Karina. She plays Odile, a naive young woman studying English with fellow students Franz (Sami Frey) and Arthur (Claude Brasseur). Odile becomes the object of fascination for both Franz and Arthur. They lust after her and when she reveals a crucial bit of information about a store of money in her aunt’s home, they use her as a means to an end. Arthur owes his uncle some serious cash to his uncle so he needs to get his hands on this money right away. Things spiral out of control as the urgency grows and things don’t go according to plan. There are some lighthearted moments in the film including the iconic scene of Karina, Frey & Brasseur dancing in a nightclub. That scene inspired Uma Thurman and John Travolta's dance in Pulp Fiction and the film as a whole made a mark on director Quentin Tarantino.

I first saw this film at the 2016 TCM Classic Film Festival in Hollywood. It was a very special event because the film’s star Anna Karina was in attendance and the audience was treated to an interview with her by Ben Mankiewicz of TCM. This event had been buzzed about for months before the festival, especially by me and other fans of French cinema and Karina herself. Mankiewicz kicked off the interview by saying “we're celebrating a movie that's over 50 years old and... the buzz at this festival from the moment we announced you were here was palpable." French New Wave films like Band of Outsiders still resonate today because of actresses like Anna Karina. She was a major influence on culture and is mesmerizing to watch on screen. Karina remains modest about her influence saying "I'm very excited to see that so many people still like the film".

Anna Karina and Ben Mannkiewicz at the 2016 TCM Classic Film Festival

From a young age, Karina loved the movies. She started off singing and dancing in her native country of Denmark. She was an extra in Danish films as a young teen. Karina remembers, "One day someone saw me in the street and he said would you like to be in my film?" She said why not but had to ask her mother because she was 14 years old. She got her mother's permission and made the film The Girl with the Shoes, aka Pigen Og Skoene (1959)  . Four years later the short got a prize at the Cannes Film Festival. By that time she was already an established actress in France.


Karina moved to Paris while still a teen. She didn't have much money so she did some work in TV commercials including one for Palmolive soap. Godard saw the commercial and offered Karina a part in his upcoming film Breathless (1960) and he said "but you have to take your clothes off." Karina’s response was direct, "I'm not talking my clothes off." She later reminisced about turning that iconic film down:

"I didn't want to do it so I didn't do it. [Godard] didn't understand because he thought I was nude in the soap film. But you only saw a bit of shoulder... It was in his imagination.” - Anna Karina

Anna Karina at the 2016 TCM Classic Film Festival

Three months later she got an offer for a lead part in a Godard film. By that time she had forgotten all about him. She consulted her friends who pointed out that Godard had made an amazing film called Breathless with Jean Paul Belmondo. She went to meet Godard and asked him if she had to take her clothes off. His response was, "no it's a political film". Karina was concerned because she was so young and still learning how to speak French. How would she make a political film? Godard responded "Don't you worry about it, you just do what I tell you to do". There was a bit of a snafu because Karina was still underage and needed permission. Her father wasn't in her life anymore and her mother was living in Copenhagen. Godard offered to bring her mother to Paris. Karina hadn't seen her mother in 8 months and called her up saying "Mommy I'm doing a political film in Paris with a great director called Jean Luc-Godard. You have to come to sign the contract.” Her mother didn't believe her and hung up the phone. She finally convinced her mother to come to sign the contract and the rest is history.

Ben Mankiewicz asked if Karina had ever auditioned for Godard. She hadn’t. She signed the contract and that was it. There was a test where Godard filmed a sort of interview with Karina to see how she’d do on screen. One of the questions he asked her was how many boys she had been with and she told him it was none of his business.

Karina eventually let her guard down and she and Godard fell in love. He was a romantic and she was his muse but they still had to work together. Mankiewicz asked Karina if Godard was a difficult director. "In a way yes", replied Karina. For Band of Outsiders, they had no script and had to learn their dialogue every morning. The dynamic between the actors and director meant that they knew what to do and what Godard wanted even without a script. Godard said that if he had a script in the end he wouldn't have wanted to do the film. He made a kind of script for the producer so they knew what to do.  Karina remembers that Godard didn't direct very much because he trusted the actors. Karina likened the acting to music. You just felt it and it made sense.

Jean-Luc Godard and Anna Karina

And about that famous dance scene Karina remembered that they had to rehearse for three weeks. Every night after shooting, they would go to a night club and practice for an hour before the night club opened to patrons.



Note: this piece was transcribed from the 2016 TCM Classic Film Festival interview with Ben Mankiewicz and Anna Karina. Quotes and paraphrasing are used.

Cry Terror! (1958)

Cry Terror! (1958) has a plot so taut with tension that I watched it wide-eyed at the edge of my seat in wonder and a bit of terror. Based on an original story by director Andrew L. Stone, this fantastic Film Noir from MGM benefits from a brilliant cast, a fast-moving storyline, great editing, excellent build up of suspense and a MacGuffin. A term made famous by director Alfred Hitchcock, a MacGuffin is something in the story that drives the characters to action. What's interesting about a MacGuffin it's only purpose is to drive the plot but ends up being of little importance in the overall scheme of the story. For Cry Terror! the MacGuffin is a bomb on a airplane with the threat to plant more. The real story however is about the kidnapping of the bomb's inventor and his family by terrorists.

Paul Hoglin (Rod Steiger) hires his old army buddy Jim Nolner (James Mason) to develop a bomb.
Jim thought he was working on a government project. Much to his surprise Paul is the head of a terrorist group and the bomb winds up in a commercial airplane. At first no one is hurt but the threat mobilizes FBI into action. Just as Jim was about to report his friend to the FBI, Paul shows up to the Nolner home and kidnaps Jim, his wife Joan (Inger Stevens) and their young daughter.  The kidnapping gives the terrorists time to put their plan into action which includes extorting the FBI for $50,000 which Joan must pick up and deliver to them.

Paul's terrorist group is made up of a bunch of misfit characters including Neville Brand as the Benzadrine addicted Steve, Angie Dickinson as Paul's girlfriend Eileen and Jack Klugman as Vince the thug. The FBI team led by Kenneth Tobey as Agent Frank Cole still believe Jim was part of this original group of terrorist. Once they learn that Jim was merely a pawn in the terrorist group's game they work to help save the kidnapped family. Little do Paul Hoglin and his co-horts know that they messed with the wrong family. The Nolners are never complacent and constantly scheme to fight back against the terrorists and protect their young daughter.

James Mason gets top billing but the two real stars of this movie are Rod Steiger and Inger Stevens who both deliver powerful performances. Steiger is truly terrifying and delivers a powerful yet nuanced performance as the lead villain. Stevens plays Mason's wife and while she is in a constant state of terror, she rises above being just a victim and proves to be a strong character. She fights tooth and nail to protect her family and never allows herself to be paralyzed with fear. The Nolners are a true power couple. When they're first kidnapped, the terrorists threaten to separate them from their daughter. This is simply unacceptable to the parents. They decide to walk out the door together to their certain death than to bear a separation. Such a move forces the terrorists to regroup and modify their plans. This is the first of many brave acts.

Steiger and Stevens dominate the film but James Mason has his moments to shine. There is a wonderful scene when Mason makes a daring escape through an elevator shaft.

Jack Klugman, Rod Steiger and Angie Dickinson in Cry Terror! (1958)

I'm a big fan of Angie Dickinson and Jack Klugman so I was delighted to see them both in this film. Neither of them though are truly effective as villains but Neville Brand makes up for it in spades. Brand's Steve is a serial rapist and murderer and we fear for Joan (Stevens) when they are left together. Those scenes are unsettling and add to the growing tension in the film.

Inger Stevens and Neville Brand

A few points in the film, the inner monologue of Joan (Inger Stevens) or Jim (James Mason) takes over as narrator. In most movies this sort of narration is not always effective. In this film it worked beautifully. Their thought processes help audiences understand their fear and gave us insight into their scheming.

The film was shot on location in New York City and Hoboken, NJ. There is an extended sequence where Stevens travels from NYC to NJ to deliver money and there are lots of great views of the drive. Rod Steiger and Inger Stevens suffered carbon monoxide poisoning when they filmed a scene in a real subway tunnel. They were given oxygen and suicidal Inger Stevens at first refused the help because she wanted to die. Stevens committed suicide 12 years later at the age of 35.

Provocative and effective and with excellent pacing, Cry Terror! (1958) is a must-see for Film Noir fans.

Cry Terror! (1958) is an MGM film available on DVD-MOD from Warner Archive.

Warner Archive Wednesday - On (random) Wednesdays, I review one title from the Warner Archive Collection. Thank you to Warner Archive for sending me this title for review!

2016 Summer Reading Challenge - Final Round-Up and Winners

That's a wrap! The 2016 Summer Reading Classic Film Book Challenge is officially over. A big thank you to everyone who participated. I'm impressed at the variety of books read and reviewed. And a special shout out to those who were inspired to read more books this summer even if they didn't participate in the challenge. I love that you took the time out to participate in your own way!

First Round-Up

Second Round-Up

Danny of Pre-Code.com

Dangerous Men: Pre-Code Hollywood and The Birth of the Modern Man by Mick LaSalle

Grezilda of Doesn't She Ramble

Hollywood Love Stories by Gill Paul

Java's Journey

Joan Crawford by Anna Raeburn

Karen of Shadows and Satin

Review of all her books

Strangers May Kiss by Ursula Parrott

Leave Her to Heaven by Ben Ames Williams

Star-Crossed: The Story of Jennifer Jones and Robert Walker by Beverly Linet

Scarlett O’Hara’s Younger Sister: My Lively Life In And Out Of Hollywood by Evelyn Keyes

Virginia Bruce: Under My Skin by Scott O’Brien

The Magnificent Heel: The Life and Times of Ricardo Cortez by Dan Van Neste

Kate Gabrielle of Silents and Talkies

Shoot the Piano Player by David Goodis

Truffaut: A Biography by Serge Toubiana and Antoine de Baecque

The Cinema of Cruelty by Andre Bazin

The Films in My Life by Francois Truffaut

Kristen of Journey

Doris Day: The Untold Story of the Girl Next Door by David Kauffman

Room 1219: The Life of Fatty Arbuckle, the Mysterious Death of Virginia Rappe, and the Scandal That Changed Hollywood by Greg Merritt

Le of Critica Retro

Casablanca: Creating an Involuntary Masterpiece by Renzo Mora

Lindsey of The Motion Pictures

Five Women I Love: Bob Hope's Vietnam Story by Bob Hope

Marya

Grand Hotel by Vicki Baum

Noelle

The Garner Files: A Memoir by James Garner

'Tis Herself by Maureen O'Hara

Phyllis of Phyllis Loves Classic Movies

Star Style: Hollywood Legends as Fashion Icons by Patty Fox

The finalists who completed the challenge having read and reviewed a total of 6 books (or more!) include:

Danny of Pre-Code.com

Karen of Shadows and Satin

Java of Java's Journey

Lindsey of The Motion Pictures

Marya on Instagram

Raquel of Out of the Past

Vanessa on Goodreads

I don't qualify for the prizes and Danny graciously bowed out of this portion so that leaves 5 possible winners. Chosen by Random.org here they are!

Grand prize winner is Java of Java's Journey! She wins a copy of Conversations with Classic Film Stars, Helen Twelvetrees: Perfect Ingenue by Cliff Aliperti and a Warner Archive DVD.

Runner-up Marya on Instagram! Marya wins a copy of Conversations with Classic Film Stars.

Thanks again to everyone who participated. Any suggestions for changes to the challenge are welcome and will help me in planning for 2017!

The Unconscious Actor by Darryl Hickman

The Unconscious Actor: Out of Control, In Full Command
The Art of Performance in Acting and in Life
by Darryl Hickman
312 pages
April 2007
Small Mountain Press
Hardcover ISBN: 9780977680924

Amazon - Barnes and Noble - Powells

At the 2016 TCM Classic Film Festival, I had the wonderful opportunity to talk to actor Darryl Hickman on the red carpet. You can watch our discussion on my red carpet YouTube video. I asked Hickman about any interesting memories he had from being a child actor. He told me I should read his book. And so I did.

But let's be clear, this book is not Darryl Hickman’s memoir. First and foremost, and as the title and subtitle strongly conveys, Hickman’s book is a guide on becoming an “unconscious actor”. That is to say, how to tap into that reserve of instinct and emotion that will allow you to become an effective performer. How do you do this? By being simultaneously out of control and in full command. Those might sound like contradictory terms but with well plotted out instructions, explanations and insights Hickman makes the connection between the two clear.

“Acting in its purest form is an urge from deep in the human psyche to celebrate our aliveness, to act our dreams and fantasies in a public display of our most private selves.” – Darryl Hickman

Hickman tapped into the concept of unconscious acting as a child actor. The decision to pursue the craft came from Hickman’s mother who had aspirations of stardom but was too shy to pursue them. As Hickman reflects in the book, “my career would be her career; it was as simple as that.” At the tender age of 3, Hickman didn’t know what he was doing. Any parts he played he did unconsciously and not with the control that comes from methodical training. This made him an effective and sought after child star. Bing Crosby gave Hickman’s career a boost while they were making the film The Star Maker. Crosby guided the young boy, encouraged him and set him up with an agent. Soon after, Hickman became a regular at MGM thanks to a long-term contract.

  

He worked with top directors such as Ford, McLeod, Ratoff, C. Brown, Thorpe, Minnelli and Cukor as well as experienced actors and actresses too.  The child actor learned by working with them and listening to their guidance and advice. Hickman details the strengths and differences between each of the major directors and shares some background of working on films such as The Grapes of Wrath, Men of Boys Town, Keeper of the Flame, Song of Russia and others. Several of his most well-known films, including Leave Her to Heaven, are left out.

“Acting is reacting.” – Spencer Tracy

What drew directors to Hickman was his unconscious acting. He wasn’t trying to prove something or to be something. He was just a normal kid. This would prove vital in the second phase of his acting career. Hickman was out of work for several reasons: he was an awkward teen, briefly flirted with the idea of being a Passionist monk and was drafted into the army. Unsure if would ever be a Hollywood actor again, to his surprise he was offered a part in Tea and Sympathy.  Robert Anderson, the playwright, wanted Hickman in the role because he was the only actor “who didn’t look or act like an actor.” Unconscious acting was on Hickman’s side again.

Influenced by these early years but also by studying the masters Stanislavsky and Strasberg, the Method and reading extensively from many sources, Hickman developed his own methodology. He put it into practice first when he had the opportunity to be a substitute teacher in an acting class. From there he developed the ideas and practices that are clearly outlined in this book. It’s the heart of the text and Hickman’s passion for teaching acting shines.

By reading The Unconscious Actor, budding performers will learn Hickman’s 7 Principles of Acting and will be offered plenty of examples of how to be out of control yet in full command. Hickman’s book is a valuable resource and I would be doing him a disservice by giving away too much of the methodology in this review. Instead I thought I’d share a handful of my favorite quotes and reflections from Darryl Hickman:

“Go with the flow always. Don’t push the river.” 

“In any field, it’s the relaxed interviewee who gets the job.” 

“Visual information trumps the dialogue every time.” 

“A cast of professional actors is, from star to bit player, a true democracy, each individual equal to his or her fellow players, interdependent, open-hearted, a member of a team.” 

“Too much conscious mind mucks up the artist’s natural creativity.”

“Intellect and intuition must accommodate each others differing functions, embracing a partnership in which they work together as a creative team.”

“Dramatic art is about nervous, frightened, anxious, on-edge people. Good characters are forever in trouble.” 

– Darryl Hickman

Darryl Hickman told me to read his book and so I did. I was looking for some of those childhood stories but instead read a magnificent guide to unlocking creativity and imagination. Hickman's writing is superb and I could tell this book was written by a well-read and wise man. Even though I don’t have any aspirations to become an actress, if I ever change my mind I’ll have Hickman's guidance to kickstart my career.

Note that “The Unconscious Actor” and “ Out of Control, In Full Command” are trademark terms by Darryl Hickman.

This is my sixth and final review for the 2016 Summer Reading Classic Film Book Challenge.

Every Frenchman Has One by Olivia de Havilland

Every Frenchman Has One
by Olivia de Havilland
Crown Archetype
2016 Reissue
ISBN: 9780451497390 - 144 pages
Amazon - Barnes and Noble - Powells


Imagine sitting down for a nice long chat with actress and living legend Olivia de Havilland. Unless your Robert Osborne or some lucky soul, de Havilland’s book Every Frenchman Has One is as close as you’ll get to that experience.

Originally published in 1961 and reissued for Olivia de Havilland’s centennial year, this book explores the actress’s early days living in France during the 1950s. Why did she move to France in the first place? It all started when she was invited to the Cannes Film Festival to promote My Cousin Rachel (1952). She was in the middle of a divorce with her first husband Marcus Goodrich and thought a continental adventure would be a nice change of pace. She accepted the invitation but on one condition, that she would be able to bring her 3 year old son Benjamin. Little did de Havilland know that she’d soon meet her next husband Frenchman Pierre Galante. The two married, had a daughter Gisele and settled in France. De Havilland stayed long after both her children grew up and after she divorced Galante. But those first years in France took some getting used to.

Every Frenchman Has One explores all the stages of culture shock de Havilland experienced as she settled into her new life across the pond. Each chapter is an essay on the cultural differences between France and the USA and how she dealt with them. Topics include: nuances of the French language, traffic in Paris, French medicine vs. American medicine, the metric system, French stubbornness, living in old houses, hiring a French maid, Protestantism vs. Catholicism and more. Even though the subjects seem serious, de Havilland explores them in a jovial way. Each chapter is full of humorous and thoughtful anecdotes. When I read this I felt like I was transported back to 1950s Paris and was living these experience right alongside de Havilland.

Olivia de Havilland - Every Frenchman Has One

This book is only 140 or so pages and can be read in a day. The publisher Crown Archetype (an imprint of Penguin Random House) reissued the book in a slim and petite little hardcover edition that can practically fit in your pocket. It also has a gorgeous self-cover. For the 2016 edition, they added a very short interview with de Havilland about the book. It’s not the best interview. It doesn’t say who conducted it or what the circumstances were. It’s obvious the interviewer hadn’t read the book because the initial question would have been answered by reading the first chapter.

This was such a fun read and I’d recommend it to anyone who has an interest in Olivia de Havilland or French culture. I particularly loved reading about converting Fahrenheit to Celsius (it caused quite a stir when she wrote a piece for the New York Herald Tribune about it) and I was laughing out loud at her story of her disastrous home remodel. Her writing is sharp and witty and very entertaining. She's self-deprecating in the most charming way possible. A must read.


This is my fifth review for the 2016 Summer Reading Classic Film Book Challenge.

Celebrate #HispanicHeritageMonth with #DePelicula

I'm excited to join forces with Aurora of Citizen Screen to celebrate #HispanicHeritageMonth with a special social media and blog campaign: #DePelicula. I worked with Aurora to expand this once Blogathon to reach a bigger audience using social media.

Message from Aurora of Citizen Screen:
Hispanic Heritage Month, the roots of which go back to 1968, begins each year on September 15 and ends on October 15. In previous years I’ve celebrated the month by hosting The Hispanic Heritage Blogathon. Although both years of that blogathon were great successes with bloggers spotlighting Hispanic players and Hispanic-themed movies and such to commemorate the imprint Hispanics have made on Hollywood, this year I’m doing something quite different. In a joint effort with the lovely and talented Raquel @QuelleLove of Out of the Past blog I am spearheading a social media campaign to spotlight Hispanic Heritage in movies and in entertainment.

What Raquel and I have in mind is a cross-promotion campaign using the #DePelicula hashtag in order to spread the word about actors, filmmakers or films that celebrate, depict or examine aspects of Hispanic culture in film and entertainment. I will be spotlighting several Hispanic movie-related themes and persons on this blog and posting #DePelicula-related content across social media. Raquel and I would love to have you join the effort. You are welcome to blog about a movie or person as you may have done in the previous blogathons or you can design a series of posts on a social media platform of your choice. The sky’s the limit and creativity is welcomed. If interested, here are the #DePelicula details:

#DePelicula

How to participate:
1) Pick one platform: Blog, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, YouTube or Vine.
2) Pick a theme or type of content – this could be a focus on one Hispanic actor, several actors, filmmakers, movies or a combination of these.
3) Chose the Frequency: one post, daily posts or anything in between. Content should go up between 9/15 and 10/15.
4) Sign-up in the comments section below by letting us know your idea and/or plan. Please include your platform (with a link), theme and frequency.
5) Use the hashtag #DePelicula in all of your posts so we can easily share your content. Also, make sure the content is made public so everyone can see your #DePelicula posts.
6) Feel free to use the image above on any and all promotions, blog posts, etc. It is the official #DePelicula graphic.
7) Have fun! Follow the hashtag and encourage others to participate. Liking, retweeting, commenting and replying are encouraged.

While this event will focus primarily on “classic” Hollywood cinema and players, we recognize the impact Hispanics are making in films today so if you choose a contemporary Latin American actor, filmmaker or film, that’s fine, too. #DePelicula commemorates all Hispanic contributions to film and entertainment.

Help us spread the word and make this year’s Hispanic Heritage Month one for the social media record books!

If you can’t think of a topic or topics here are a few lists to get you started:

Latinos in Film from Wikipedia
Famous Hispanic from Ranker
Famous Hispanic Actresses from Ranker
Films Set in South America from Wikipedia
Golden Age of Mexican Cinema from Wikipedia
13 Films Set in Latin America
10 Early Film Actors You Need to Know
10 Early Film Actresses You Need to Know


Here's how I'll be participating:
Platform: Twitter @Quellelove
Theme/Type of Content: Quotes from Hispanic Actors and Actresses
Frequency: Daily

Will you celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month with us? #DePelicula

The First Film: The Greatest Mystery in Cinema History

Who created the first film? It may not be who you think.

During the late 19th century, several inventors were working furiously on the technology that would produce moving pictures. Some of these figures are well-known including the Lumiere Brothers, Thomas Edison and others not so much. But have you heard of French inventor Louis Le Prince? Chances are you haven’t and this film seeks to rectify that.


Film-maker David Nicholas Wilkinson sets out on a quest to prove Le Prince produced the first ever films in October 1888. What’s odd about Le Prince’s story is that two years later, after he had been working on the technology to project the films he had made, he got on a train from Dijon to Paris and was never seen again. No one knows what happened to him. What adds to this mystery is the fact that Le Prince’s final trip was supposed to be one leg of a much longer journey to New York where he was going to showcase his invention and his films. Was he murdered? Would he have been recognized as the first inventor of motion pictures if he had been able to complete his journey?

Image from The First Film (2016)

A plaque above the Leeds Bridge in Leeds, England reads "Louis Aime Augustine Le Prince came to Leeds in 1866 where he experimented in cinematography. In 1888 he patented a one-lens camera with which he filmed Leeds Bridge fro this British Waterway building. These were probably the world's first successful moving pictures." 

Wilkinson spent 30 years looking for answers to all of these questions. Seven of those years were spent researching and working on this documentary including 14 months of filming. Along with writer and researcher Ifran Shah, Wilkinson sets out on a journey of discovery with lots of surprises and setbacks along the way. Wilkinson has 40 years of experience working in the British Film Industry as a film-maker, distributor, actor and author. He’s originally from Leeds, where it is said that Le Prince filmed the very first motion picture. As a young man, a teacher once told him about Le Prince. He was skeptical at first but then became fascinated with the mystery and made it his passion project to seek out answers.

Most of The First Film (2016) is comprised of on-location shooting in Leeds as well as countless interviews with film historians, critics, curators, researchers, screenwriters and other expert. Wilkinson traveled across the pond to Cleveland, Ohio, Memphis, Tennessee, Washington Heights, NY and Fire Island, NY to do research. We see in-depth discussions with Le Prince’s great-great granddaughter, the leading expert on Le Prince and many others.

There are three surviving clips of Le Prince’s films, all of which pre-date the work of Edison, the Lumiere Brothers and other inventors at the time. This documentary examines the Rhounday Garden Scene. Wilkinson and Shah find the original filming location and the crew recreate this short with Le Prince's camera. As did many other inventors, Le Prince tinkered with the technology over many years. He and his wife Lizzie started a technical school of arts which lead him to many other opportunities. Le Prince worked on Civil War panoramas. These were meant for public consumption and meant to go beyond a single photograph. This might have been the seed that developed the idea for moving pictures. In The First Film, we learn about Le Prince’s progression as an inventor, about his 16 lens and single lens cameras and also about the other 10 inventors who were working on the same technology at the time.

Louis Le Prince

Wilkinson makes the bold claim that Le Prince was the world’s first cameraman, director and producer. Is he right? You'll have to watch the documentary to find out. I’ve always been drawn to stories of underdogs, especially ones whose life and work have been overshadowed by others. In this case, Le Prince’s achievements were forgotten and his mysterious disappearance possibly deprived him of the title of the maker of the first film.

The First Film (2016) is a quirky documentary that shows much passion for its subject and a determination to seek out the truth of an old but very important mystery. It’s a film for anyone who has a love of history, is curious about the early technology of film or loves a good research project. This documentary premieres online September 12th from Guerilla Films.

Many thanks to Erskine PR for the opportunity to view this film.

Watch the trailer here:

Hitchcock by Truffaut

Hitchcock
by François Truffaut
Simon & Schuster
Revised edition 1985
ISBN 9780671604295 - 368 pages
Amazon - Barnes and Noble - Powells

Alfred Hitchcock is considered to be one of the best directors of all time but that wasn't always the case. At the height of his career, many critics saw Hitchcock as a commercial director whose films thrilled audiences with their suspense but weren’t meant to be taken seriously. All that changed when French director François Truffaut drastically altered the narrative of how we discussed Hitchcock’s work and he did so with this book: Hitchcock by Truffaut.

“Hitchcock had been victimized in American intellectual circles because of his facetious response to interviewers and his deliberate practice of deriding their questions.” – Truffaut

Recorded over one week in August 1962, François Truffaut sat with Alfred Hitchcock and interviewed him about his body of work. Because Truffaut and Hitchcock had a language barrier, Helen G. Scott of the French Film office of New York was on hand to help translate. Every single Hitchcock film from his early work in British silent films up until The Birds was dissected, analyzed and debated. Truffaut had intimate knowledge of all of Hitchcock’s films and this shows in how they discuss each one in detail. The reader ultimately benefits from having Truffaut, a celebrated director himself, ask the questions because they come not only from a deep understanding of the film-making process. It took Truffaut four years to transcribe their conversation into 500+ questions and answers that make up this book. His dedication to champion Alfred Hitchcock significantly changed how we view his body of work today.

On Hitchcock... “the most complete film-maker of all. He is not merely an expert at some specific aspect of cinema, but an all-around specialist...” – Truffaut

I had heard about this book before but it wasn't until I watched the documentary Hitchcock/Truffaut (2015), which tells the story behind legendary interviews, that I sought out the book in earnest. It had been out-of-print for some time and the documentary's release prompted the publisher to reissue the revised 1985 edition, which includes more content on Hitchcock's films after The Birds.

Still from The Trouble with Harry and chapter opener - Hitchcock by Truffaut

Screen cap sequence from Saboteur with Norman Lloyd and Robert Cummings

The structure of this book makes it pleasantly readable. Each chapter begins with a list of topics discussed within and Truffaut and Hitchcock's conversations are broken up in a simple Q&A format. There are a generous amount of black-and-white photos used expertly to illustrate what's being discussed in the text. These photos include 1/4, 1/2, full page and two-page spreads of behind-the-scenes photos, film sequences, stills and I love that each chapter starts with a photo of the two directors in discussion. Their conversation flowed in a chronological order from Hitchcock's early days in cinema to the present day. Footnote description of movie plots are provided for those unfamiliar with the film. It helps if you know Hitchcock's films well because there are some spoilers. The backmatter includes a full filmography for reference. The revised edition extends the narrative with further conversations between Truffaut and Hitchcock about Hitchcock’s last films and Truffaut’s remembrances of the director in his final years.

“Under the invariably self-possessed and often cynical surface is a deeply vulnerable, sensitive and emotional man who feels with particular intensity the sensations he communicates.” - Truffaut

So what did Truffaut and Hitchcock talk about? Pretty much everything. But they kept it strictly to the movies, personal matters were avoided for the most part. Topics included: circumstances of the film, the preparation, the structure, any directorial problems, Hitchcock’s thoughts on commercial/artist success or failure of said film and more. Hitchcock’s work was his life. Truffaut offers many observations on how the director worked and the influence on film.

 “His assessment of the achievements and the failures was genuinely self-critical, and his account of his doubts, frustrations, and hopes was completely sincere.” – Truffaut

Hitchcock by Truffaut is film school in book form. Never have I read a book so full of enlightening information about the film-making process. I learned so much from both directors on how to build suspense, expert use of the camera as storyteller and how stories are adapted. Here are some of my favorite quotes:

 “Suspense is simply the dramatization of a film’s narrative, or if you will, the most intense presentation possible of dramatic situations.” – Truffaut

“A good book does not necessarily make a good film.” – Hitchcock

“The main objective is to arouse the audience’s emotion, and that emotion arises from the way in which the story unfolds, from the way in which sequences are juxtaposed.’ – Hitchcock

“... total plausibility and authenticity merely add up to a documentary.” - Hitchcock  

“The art of creating suspense is also the art of involving the audience, so that the viewer is actually a participant in the film.” – Truffaut

“There’s no relation whatever between real time and filmic time.” – Alfred Hitchcock

On the MacGuffin - "The only thing that really matters is that in the picture the plans, documents or secrets must seem to be of vital importance to the characters. To me, the narrator, they’re of no importance whatsoever.” – Alfred Hitchcock

“The camera should never anticipate what’s about to follow.” – Truffaut

“I’m very concerned about the authenticity of settings and furnishings. When we can’t shoot in the actual settings, I’m for taking research photographs of everything.” – Hitchcock

This book is chock-full of these kinds of insights. And for Hitchcock fans, myself included, there are lots of behind-the-scenes trivia bits that will delight and inform. Here are some of my favorites:

• Hitchcock avoided whodunits because all the excitement is at the end. Murder! (1930) is a rare example.
• Selznick invited Hitchcock to US to make a film about the Titanic but they ended up working on Rebecca (1940)  instead.
• Best Picture Oscar for Rebecca (1940) went to Selznick not Hitchcock.
•  Foreign Correspondent (1940) was made as a B picture because thrillers and adventures stories were not taken seriously by Hollywood.
• In Dial M for Murder (1954), Grace Kelly’s clothing go from very bright colors to more somber ones to match the mood of the film. 
• The house in Shadow of a Doubt (1943) was a real home chosen for authenticity. The gentleman who owned it was so excited to have his home featured in the film he had it freshly painted. They had to paint it dirty then paint it back.
• Some plots points in Hitchcock films were inspired by real life criminal cases.
• Hitchcock hated royal blue skies. This drove him crazy on the set of To Catch a Thief (1955).
• The United Nations lobby was recreated for North by Northwest (1959) down to the last detail. They were not allowed to shoot in the actual building.
• Hitchcock filmed Psycho (1960) in black and white because he didn’t want to show red blood on Janet Leigh.

After 1968, people took Hitchcock more seriously and we have director François Truffaut. Hitchcock by Truffaut is an essential book for any film lover's collection and a manual for any future film maker.


This is my fourth review for the 2016 Summer Reading Classic Film Book Challenge.

2016 Summer Reading Challenge - Second Round-Up

I'm so proud of all of you for getting your read on this summer! There have been lots of great reviews and I'm impressed how participants are deviating from traditional bios and trying out some interesting books. Memoirs, self-help books, novels and more. Kudos to Danny of Pre-Code.com for his dedication to Barbara Stanwyck!

A friendly reminder, if you're a summer reading participant please make sure you submit links to me. If you don't want to win the final prize just let me know. I still need the links however!

Here is the second set of classic film book reviews. You can find the first review round-up here.

Danny of Pre-Code.com
Barbara Stanwyck: The Miracle Woman by Dan Callahan
Showmen, Sell It Hot! Movies as Merchandise in Golden Era Hollywood by John McElwee
Stanwyck: The Untold Biography by Jane Ellen Wayne
Starring Miss Barbara Stanwyck by Ella Smith
Warren William:Magnificent Scoundrel of Pre-Code Hollywood by John Stangeland 

Erin of Always Classic

The Hustler by Walter Tevis

Grezilda of Doesn't She Ramble
The Group by Mary McCarthy

Java of Java's Journey
Elizabeth Taylor Takes Off by Elizabeth Taylor
The Moon's a Balloon by David Niven
Searching for My Father, Tyrone Power by Romina Power
Walt Disney's Peter Pan

Keisha
Every Frenchman Has One by Olivia de Havilland

Kristen of Journeys in Classic Film
Conversations with Classic Film Stars

Laura of Laura's Miscellaneous Musings
Into the Dark by Mark A. Vieira

Lindsey of The Motion Pictures
The Good Stuff: A Reminiscence of My Father, Cary Grant by Jennifer Grant
LIFE Goes to the Movies 
The Real James Dean edited by Peter L. Winkler

Marya
Above Suspicion by Helen MacInnes
The Bad and the Beautiful: Hollywood in the Fifties by Sam Kashner and Jennifer MacNair

Raquel of Out of the Past
Into the Dark by Mark A. Vieira
The Dawn of Technicolor by David Pierce and James Layton

Rich of Wide Screen World
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith

Sarah
Kate Remembered by A. Scott Berg

Vanessa
The 100 Greatest Looney Tunes Cartoons by Jerry Beck and Leonard Maltin
Frank: The Voice by James Kaplan

If I missed your review, send me a link via the Google form, e-mail or on social!

Song of Russia (1944)

Robert Taylor and Susan Peters in Song of Russia (1944)

1944 was a good year for actress Susan Peters. She was nominated the previous year for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her performance in Random Harvest (1942) and MGM was grooming her for stardom. They were giving her more substantial parts including roles in Assignment in Brittany (1943), Young Ideas (1943) and the pro-Soviet Union propaganda film Song of Russia (1944). Tragedy would strike New Year's Day 1945 when a hunting accident left her paralyzed.

Song of Russia (1944) showcased Susan Peters at her best. Peters had a sort of lingering melancholy and her eyes glistened as though she were always seconds away from crying, whether from joy, pride or sorrow. The leading role of Nadya, opposite star Robert Taylor, was perfectly suited to her because it allowed her to play herself but with a fake Russian accent.


American conductor John Meredith (Robert Taylor) heads to Russia with his manager Hank Higgins (Robert Benchley) for a nationwide tour conducting the music of Tchaikovsky. Nadja, a talented pianist, is desperate to get John's attention. She and all of the musical prodigies that inhabit her small Russian village of Tschaikowskoye want John Meredith to conduct at their humble music festival. Nadja wins him over and they soon fall in love. But their happiness is short-lived as Russia is on the brink of war with the Nazis. Will Nadja and John's love for their home countries get in the way of their love for each other?

"We have serious differences. Socially, culturally. We cannot even discuss them." - Nadja

"We'll discuss them tomorrow. The day after." - John

Song of Russia was a WWII propaganda film to help strengthen the bond between the US and it's ally Russia as they joined forces to defeat the Nazis. This was last film Robert Taylor made before he joined the Navy. Years later during the HUAC hearings, the conservative and anti-Communist Taylor suggested he was blackmailed into making this film. His reluctance to star in it met with pressure from MGM and supposedly he was told if he didn't make the film there would a delay in him getting into the Navy. Taylor named names to the HUAC but didn't go so far as to say outright that he was blackmailed. Not only did MGM deny the claim made by Taylor, they also refused to admit that Song of Russia was a propaganda film.

“It is true, of course, that Russia was our ally in 1943, and that our government was very friendly to the Soviets. But that was not why Song of Russia was made.” – Louis B. Mayer

Despite what Mayer said, no one who watches this film will see it as anything but a pro-Russia movie. It was directed by a Russian, Gregory Ratoff, and although it was filmed on the MGM lot in Culver City travelogue and documentary scenes of actual Russia are woven into the film to make audiences feel like they were there. We go on a tour of Moscow and we see real war footage. Nadja orders John a traditional Russian meal at a fancy restaurant. In order to get as many Russian terms into the scenes as possible, she goes a bit overboard and requests Borscht, beef stroganoff, zakuski, pirog and other Russian dishes. Tchaikovsky's music is the soundtrack of the movie making it a quasi-musical. Robert Taylor's John Meredith is ignorant of Russian culture so as he learns about Nadja's country the audience learns as well.

Susan Peters, Robert Taylor and Russia are the stars of this film but it's important to note some of the smaller performances by other well-known actors. Child actor Darryl Hickman plays Nadya's nephew and the script gives him some substantial scenes. Robert Benchley is under-utilized as Taylor's publicist and manager. Jacqueline White has a small and sorry role as a young resident of Tschaikowskoye. John Hodiak, Joan Loring and Tamara Shayne also appear in the movie.

I was impressed with Susan Peters' performance in this film. She aptly plays the piano (no body double or camera tricks were used) and she even does some traditional Russian dancing. She's a good match for Robert Taylor and holds her own in the picture.

Song of Russia is a WWII curio that has its place in movie history. It's a must-see for history buffs. For all it's pro-Russian sentiment, in the end audiences came away from it with one final message: America is the greatest nation of them all. Once you see the film you'll know what I mean. Whether you agree with this message or not, it was a fundamental principle that drove 1940s Hollywood.

Song of Russia (1944) is available from the Warner Archive on DVD-MOD.

When you use my buy links you help support this site. Thanks!

Warner Archive Wednesday - On (random) Wednesdays, I review one title from the Warner Archive Collection.

Sources:
TCM article on Song of Russia

Film Producer Denies Song of Russia Red

The Dawn of Technicolor: 1915-1935

The Dawn of Technicolor: 1915-1935
by James Layton and David Pierce
448 pages - 9780935398281
February 2015
George Eastman House
Amazon - Barnes and Noble - Powells

Technicolor wasn't just a technology. It was a vision, a company, an aesthetic and a movement. Film scholars James Layton and David Pierce gave themselves the monumental task of detailing the early and complicated history of Technicolor. The end result was the book The Dawn of Technicolor published by George Eastman House (now known as the George Eastman Museum). The focus of this book iss the formative time between 1915 and 1935 when the film industry was still growing and changing and when the forces behind Technicolor defied all odds to bring color to the movies.

"In enduring these twenty challenging years, Technicolor solidified its position as a market leader in Hollywood and perfected its technology to set the standard for the industry." - Layton and Pierce

It's important to note that this book does not seek out to tell the history of Technicolor movies. Rather it seeks to tell the story of how Technicolor as a technology was invented, implemented and how it eventually became an industry standard.

"Motion pictures are an art form enabled by technology." - Layton and Pierce

The level of technical detail in this book can be overwhelming. It is not a light read but one that is worth the time of any serious film student or budding scholar. Layton and Pierce thoughtfully lay out the history of the company that started Kalmus, Comstock and Westcott, Inc. in Boston, grew into Technicolor which expanded over the years and eventually made it's permanent move to Hollywood. There is much detail about the important figures in the company, many of whom were engineers from MIT. Biographical inserts go into detail about the life and careers of these figures.

Herbert T. Kalmus and company worked tirelessly to make Technicolor a functional and desirable part of making movies. They worked at a financial loss for many years.  Studios resisted Technicolor in those early years because of cost, availability of equipment and potential for failure. It was difficult for the engineers at Technicolor to ensure consistent quality when creating prints. Color film required more attention and money than a black-and-white film. According to the authors, "the film companies were vertically integrated operations, and they wanted to control as many aspects of their business as possible." 

Making Technicolor work required tenacity, constant tinkering and perfecting of the technology and a strong belief that there was a future in color films. The industry's transition to sound also resulted in a boom for color movies. As you read the book you learn about the ups and downs, the business and technological difficulties with Technicolor as well as it's eventual transition from the two colors of red and green to a three color process.

Interior spread of The Dawn of Technicolor. Note the green and red tinted pages and custom bookmark.

The Dawn of Technicolor is a scholarly work formatted as a coffee table book. This proved to be a challenge for this read. The text is rich with detail and there were not enough visuals for it to be the type of book that you can just flip through. It took me several hours to read this book and I carried it with me everywhere. It weighs a great deal, is very cumbersome to hold and it was inevitable that the spine would break from the strain. If I were the publisher of the book, I would have gone with a smaller format, still large enough to showcase the gorgeous visuals but small enough that one could spend hours reading it comfortably.

The book has over 400 glossy pages, red and green tinted pages to mimic 2-strip Technicolor and extensive backmatter. After the main body of text, there is an annotated filmography which is worth the price of the book alone. It is over 100 pages long and includes extensive detail on every single early Technicolor film ever made. Not only does it list basic information like title, director, studio, cast, synopsis, release date but also has information on the Technicolor elements, whether they exist, notes about the release and reception as well as the current status of archival holdings. Films in this filmography include all color silents and talkies, feature films with color inserts, shorts, animations and abandoned films like The March of Time (1930). It boggles my mind how much work must have gone into collecting all this information and laying it all out. It's worth going through these and learning about the different films. There is no information about home video release in this filmography.

The films discussed in the book start with The Gulf Between (1917) and end with Becky Sharp (1935). Other films discussed at length include:

Wanderer of the Wasteland (1924), The Toll of the Sea (1924), Ben-Hur (1925), Seven Chances (1925), The Black Pirate (1925), The American Venus (1926), The Mysterious Island (1928), The Viking (1928), Redskin (1928), On with the Show (1929), Rio Rita (1929), Sally (1929), The Show of Shows (1929), King of Jazz (1930), Follow Thru (1930), Mamba (1930),  Whoopee! (1930), Doctor X (1932) and more.

A heads up to my fellow Boston area classic film enthusiasts, there is a lot of detail in the book about Technicolor's origins in Boston. Our city was a hub of scientific innovation and it's interesting to see how a city so far away from Hollywood could have such an impact on the film industry.

Painstakingly researched, The Dawn of Technicolor is the definitive book on the history of this technology.  There is no resource anywhere that will have the level of detail and the volume of information on early Technicolor. It sets the standard for future scholarly works. This book comes highly recommend and is a must for your film studies library.

Now I leave you with a new-to-me discovery, the Fashion News color shorts of the late 1920s. I had never heard of these until I read the filmography in The Dawn of Technicolor. I found one from 1928 on YouTube. Enjoy!

This is my third review for the 2016 Summer Reading Classic Film Book Challenge. I purchased a copy of The Dawn of Technicolor at Cinefest in 2015 and got it autographed by both authors.

Capitolfest 2016

Capitol Theatre - Rome, NY

Last week we packed up the car and traveled 300 miles to Rome, NY for Capitolfest #14. This journey was filled with ups and downs but the end goal was always to watch rare movies from the 1920s and 1930s on the big screen with my fellow classic film enthusiasts. We marveled at the newly restored King of Jazz, scratched our heads in confusion as we tried to make sense of Just Imagine and marveled at Capitolfest’s star Gary Cooper whose smoldering good looks and on screen charm was only enhanced by his youth.

Capitolfest is a film festival that is hosted every August in Rome, NY at the historic Capitol Theatre. Each festival highlights one star with alternating years featuring an actress or an actor. This year’s highlight was Gary Cooper and out of the 14 feature films he was the star of 5 of them in addition to shorts and a film fragment.

The festival is three days but I was only able to attend the first two days before heading back home. In addition to the festival films, there were also several screenings of the King of Jazz (1930) in the smaller theatre next door. I took advantage of the opportunity to see a polished up version of this odd yet hypnotizing musical revue.

There are plenty of perks that come with attending Capitolfest. You're welcomed with a badge and a printed festival guide complete with a schedule and very thorough notes on each film. The majority of the movies were shown in 35mm, much preferred over digital by many. It doesn't make much difference to me but it made the world of difference to many of the attendees. Prints of the various films shown were provided Universal Pictures, UCLA Film & Television Archive, MoMA, The Library of Congress, private collectors and other sources. There were intermissions and extended lunch and dinner breaks. This made long festival days much more manageable. The dealer's room was stocked with goodies and festival goers often stepped away from the festival to shop for some gems and enjoy the air conditioning. There was a mixer, a barbeque, lots of snacks at the concession stand and friendly staff members ready to answer any question. And if you were lucky you caught a glimpse of Kallie hanging out in the Capitol Theatre window.

Kallie the Capitol Theatre cat

Smaller Capitol Theatre screening room

Films at Capitolfest 14 included:

Features – Doomsday (1928), Linda (1929), Dude Ranch (1930), Children of Divorce (1927), Just Imagine (1930), The Texan (1930), Eleven PM (1926), The Poor Rich (1934), Dressed to Kill (1928), Up for Murder (1931), Too Much Harmony (1933), While New York Sleeps (1920), A Man from Wyoming (1930), Wolf Song (1929)
Presentations – George Willeman Presentation on the Edison Kinetoscope and The Dawn of Technicolor: Talkies
Kinetoscope shorts – The Old Guard (1913), The Edison Kinetoscope (1913), The Five Bachelors (1913), The Edison Minsters (1913), The Deaf Mute (1913), The Musical Blacksmiths, Nursery Favorites (1913), Jack's Joke (1913)
Shorts – Lightnin’ Wins (1926), Hit and Run (1935), Under the Daisies (1913), Me and the Boys (1929), Jack Theakston's Short Subject Follies (including a video of Joseph Breen discussing code enforcement)
Cartoons – Merry Mannequins (1936), A Boy and His Dog (1936)
Fragments – Arizona Bound (1927)

Here are some of my thoughts on some of the films I saw:

Linda (1929) – This was my favorite film of the festival. Directed by a woman (Dorothy Davenport, billed as Mrs. Wallace Reid), based on a novel written by a woman, starring a woman Helen Foster in the lead role of Linda and features a strong female character and a good role for the prolific actress Bess Flowers. This film has a nice twist to the married-the-wrong-guy story line and Linda can easily be seen as a feminist heroine. There was subtle hint that Flowers’ character Annette Whittmore is in love with Linda. This theme of suggested same sex relationships showed up in a few of the films at the festival.
King of Jazz (1930) - Out of all the festival films this was the only one I was familiar with. The restoration of this dazzling red, green and silver showcase of musical talent was sight to see. It's an assault of two-strip Technicolor on your eyes. So much so that you'll want to bury your face in some yellows, purples and blues. It's worth it though, especially for the wonderful the Rhapsody in Blue number which tries so hard to be blue but winds up more of a turquoise green.
Lightnin’ Wins (1926) - A short featuring Lightnin' the dog, a canine star of the silent and early talkie era. Features a young Gary Cooper who gets beat up over and over in the movie. It's a fun little movie.
Children of Divorce (1927) - Many were excited for this film but were left disappointed. I wasn't one of them. I quite enjoyed this dramatic silent picture about two girls, growing up as children of divorce whose bond follows them into adulthood. Starring Clara Bow and Esther Ralston as the best friends who are practically a couple themselves, they eventually fall for men, Gary Cooper and Einar Hanson. Bow meddles a bit too much in everyone's lives and things spiral out of control. The story plays with gender roles and even features a tender moment between Cooper and Hanson. It's a Jazz Age morality tale but with a bit of something something that will keep contemporary viewers interested.
Just Imagine (1930) - An El Brendel film from 1930 depicting what life would be like in 50 years time. I was born in 1980, I love retrofuturism so it was a must for me to see what Pre-Code Hollywood thought of my birth year. Man what a doozy. This one was a WTF film if I ever saw one. Everyone has numbers instead of names, people travel in flying cars, couples assigned marriage partners by a court of law which they can appeal, a dead El Brendel is frozen from 1930 and revived in 1980 and there is a trip to Mars. Female leads include Margaret O'Sullivan and Marjorie White.  Actors John Garrick and Frank Albertson have a strong bromance and El Brendel gets a Martian boyfriend. Fun moment during the screening, the Captiol Theatre's resident bat came out to enjoy the film.
Eleven PM (1926) - This film added some diversity to the line up. Directed by and starring Richard Maurice and featured a mostly black cast. It was an odd story and a bit difficult to follow especially after lunch when drowsiness starts to set in. This rare film was recently released as part of Kino Lorber's Pioneers of African-American Cinema.
The Edison Kinetoscope Presentation & shorts – George Willeman of the Library of Congress was on hand for this very special presentation. Willeman discussed the origins of the Edison Kinetoscope, the history of the shorts made and the story of how they were restored digitally synching the visuals and audio. Over the three days, Capitolfest attendees got to see several digital presentations of these shorts. Some of these films haven't been seen by the public in over 100 years.
The Dawn of Technicolor Presentation - James Layton, half of the team behind The Dawn of Technicolor book (I'll be reviewing this one shortly) and the Cinefest and TCM Classic Film Festival presentations, was on hand to discuss Technicolor talkies. The presentation included information about the history of Technicolor, clips from two-strip Technicolor musicals and more. Even though I was familiar with the book and had seen a version of this presentation at Cinefest last year, it was still a delight.
The Poor Rich (1934) - Take a bunch of beloved character actors and comedians put them in a crumbling mansion and what do you get? A hilarious Pre-Code treat. Edward Everett Horton, Edna May Oliver, Thelma Todd, Leila Hyams, Una O'Connor, Grant Mitchell and Andy Devine star and there are small performances by E.E. Clive, Ward Bond and others. Funny plot, great cast made this film such a delight.
Up for Murder (1931) - A 1930s feast for the eyes! Worth the price of admission alone to see Genevieve Tobin's glorious Art Deco apartment. A baby-faced Lew Ayres stars as an up-and-coming professional at a city newspaper. He falls in love with society columnist Tobin who is having an affair with the boss Purnell Pratt. They could only get away with the film's ending in Pre-Code Hollywood. Had it been made three years later the ending would have been very different. Beloved character actor Frank McHugh has a small role as Ayres' perpetually drunk best friend and coworker.

The Dawn of Technicolor Presentation

My experience at Captiolfest had its ups and downs. The pain from sitting in uncomfortable seats soured my long weekend (being trapped in a car for hours before and after didn't help either). Would I recommend it to fellow filmgoers? Yes but with one caveat: you must have a love early cinema and have the patience for oddities. Here are what I think were the pros and cons of Capitolfest:

Pros:
A chance to see rare films
A community of early film enthusiasts
An appreciation of 35mm over digital
An air-conditioned dealer’s room packed with movies, books, memorabilia
Lots of breaks ranging from 15 minutes to 2 hours
Nearby health food store and cafe Brenda’s was a wonderful lunch and snack spot
Coffee and tea available at the concession stand to keep you caffeinated
Two amazing presentations: Kinetophone and Technicolor
Mixer with free snacks and cash bar the day before the festival
Historic theatre with a lot of the original features in tact.
Plenty of free parking
No standing in line, plenty of seats. You're guaranteed a chance to see every film.
Watching Kallie the cat in the Capitol Theatre window

Cons:
Uncomfortable seats with scratchy upholstery and very little leg room. I was in pain for several days.
August isn’t ideal. The humidity and heat was overwhelming. The theatre is too large to air condition. (Added to note that the Capitol Theatre was indeed air conditioned.)
Little to no introduction to the films. You had to read the liner notes in the booklet.
I kept comparing it to Cinefest.

Original Capitol Theatre seat in balcony with wire rim for holding a hat.
They kept a few of these originals for prosperity.

One of the main draws for me was seeing familiar faces from the TCM Classic Film Festival at a venue that was a lot closer to home. I got to hang out with Aurora, Alan, Anne-Marie, Colleen, Nora, Jeff, Jocelyn, Beth Ann and many more. Below is a family photo of some of us courtesy of Aurora of Citizen Screen.

Capitolfest Family Photo - via Aurora

Capitolfest 15 will be held August 11-13, 2017 in Rome, NY and the featured star will be Fay Wray.