The TCM Classic Film Festival returns for its 15th edition next week, and it comes a few days after TCM’s 30th anniversary. With all these notable milestones for Turner Classic Movies, this year’s event is set to be a special one, and for me personally, it’ll be even more so as my dad will be joining me for much of the festivities! While I’ll have my usual Classic Pass, my dad however will be doing standby, so fingers crossed he gets into all the screenings he wants to attend. After going through the schedule with him, here are our tentative plans…
Thursday
Films I Haven’t Seen: Only Yesterday, Made in England: The Films of Powell and Pressburger, Gambit
Films I’ve Previously Seen In Theaters: Pulp Fiction
My day begins at Club TCM with the first panel “So You Want to Put on a Classic Film Festival”. Last year I ended up skipping the annual “So You Think You Know Movies” trivia contest, and this year I’ll probably skip it again to meet up with my dad before heading over to the red carpet bleachers to see the stars heading into the Pulp Fiction screening, including John Travolta. Though I would’ve loved to see two of my favorite stars Doris Day and Rock Hudson in Send Me No Flowers, or James Cagney projected in 35mm in White Heat. I was also curious about the other films I haven’t seen in this block, but hopefully, they air on TCM in the future. My dad has his eye on the Powell and Pressburger documentary so he may end up going to that on his own.
As is my TCMFF tradition, I like to check out the first poolside screening of the festival, so I’ll head to the Roosevelt after the red carpet wraps up. This poolside screening is set to be a fun one with Clue being introduced by one of the movie’s stars, Lesley Ann Warren. I have yet to stay the whole time for a poolside screening, but this might be the year I finally do so. It’ll depend on if I have a decent view of the screen and if I’m not feeling too anxious about getting to my late-night movie pick. For the ambitious purposes of this post, I’ll plan on sticking around.
I like to try to choose movies I haven’t seen before where I can, so in this last block my choice goes to Gambit as it’s the only film here I haven’t seen, and a nice bonus is that it’s a world premiere restoration screening at the Egyptian. This is a first-time watch for my dad too, who plans to join me and see his first movie at the newly renovated theater.
My Tentative Picks: Clue, Gambit
Friday
Films I Haven’t Seen: Three Godfathers, The Model and the Marriage Broker, Dad’s Choice, Paths to Paradise
Films I’ve Previously Seen In Theaters: N/A
There are a lot of great choices in the first block of the day; I would’ve had a tough time deciding between the underrated William Wyler film The Good Fairy in 35mm introduced by his son David Wyler, and One Hundred and One Dalmatians at the El Capitan introduced by Disney legend Floyd Norman with Mario Cantone. But I’ve never been to a hand and footprint ceremony during TCMFF, and with Jodie Foster getting the honors this year, it seems like a good year to check it out since it’s not up against any of my top festival picks. It also at least allows me to get a little extra sleep, though I’ll still try to head over there early enough to try to get a good spot to watch. Not sure what my dad’s plans are for the morning, but he may check out The Caine Mutiny being introduced by Fred MacMurray’s daughter Kate MacMurray.
I’ll probably skip the next block to get a meal with my dad, though I may be tempted to catch the special presentation of Them! by Craig Barron and Ben Burtt, but it’ll all depend on when I get out of the hand and footprint ceremony. The other screening I would’ve liked to go to is The Model and the Marriage Broker, but it conflicts with my late afternoon plans, so I’m hoping it’ll be one of the TBA screenings I can attend on Sunday. If I do end up going to anything during this time, it’ll be “The TCM Archive Project” presentation, which would be the only good time for me to catch something in Club TCM this year.
For the late afternoon time slot, I’ll be going to another Jodie Foster event: The Silence of the Lambs in IMAX at the TCL Chinese Theatre. Since I was lucky enough to see Foster in person at a Nyad screening just a couple of months ago, I might’ve considered seeing another movie in this block if I was on my own, such as It Should Happen to You starring Judy Holliday and Jack Lemmon in his film debut, or sitting in for the conversation with Billy Dee Williams at Club TCM. But I probably would’ve gone with The Silence of the Lambs anyway even if my dad weren’t joining me, as I’d like to hear what Foster has to say about the movie for which she earned her second Academy Award. And if I remember correctly, my dad told me that when he was a young boy he had a crush on Foster, so it’ll be sweet to see her with him, along with finally seeing one of my favorite movies on the big screen.
My Tentative Picks: Jodie Foster Hand & Footprint Ceremony, The Silence of the Lambs
Friday (continued)
Films I Haven’t Seen: The Prisoner of Shark Island, Frank Capra: Mr. America, The Bellboy, The Road to Ruin
Films I’ve Previously Seen In Theaters: Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Rear Window (multiple times)
Though I’ve seen Close Encounters of the Third Kind in a theater before, this screening will feature the legendary filmmaker himself Steven Spielberg talking about one of his best movies with Howard Suber. I did see Spielberg at a previous TCMFF for a screening of Giant, as well as at a screening of The Fabelmans, but as this film is a favorite for both me and my dad, it’s a no-brainer choice in this slot. I will say though that I had not heard of The Prisoner of Shark Island before I saw it on the schedule, and upon reading the synopsis and seeing that Keith Carradine would introduce the movie in which his father John Carradine began his collaboration with John Ford, that would’ve probably been my alternate choice, with Lady Sings the Blues with Billy Dee Williams being another consideration. I also wouldn’t have minded at all seeing Rear Window in a theater again as that’s always a great time with an audience.
For the late-night block, I thought about seeing the restoration of Se7en in IMAX with David Fincher, but that’s too gruesome a film to close out the day with, plus I saw Fincher at a screening of The Killer at the grand reopening of the Egyptian last year. I’ve been itching to see It Happened One Night again, especially in a theater as I missed when it played at the New Beverly recently, so that’s where my dad and I are heading. As interested as I am in seeing the pre-code The Road to Ruin playing at midnight, I’ll likely have to pass it over and get some sleep, but since it’s just over an hour long, I might check it out depending on if I have enough energy to stay up a little longer.
My Tentative Picks: Close Encounters of the Third Kind, It Happened One Night
Saturday
Films I Haven’t Seen: Dirty Harry, El Cid, Annie Get Your Gun, Queen of the Mob
Films I’ve Previously Seen In Theaters: Night Has a Thousand Eyes, North by Northwest (multiple times)
I’m still debating if I want to see a film in the first block of the day, but for now, I’m planning to finally see Dirty Harry, a movie I’ve been meaning to watch for years (my dad might go watch Four Weddings and a Funeral). However, I may just take this opportunity to get a little more sleep again, especially since I’m anxious to get a good seat for my dad and me for one of my most-anticipated screenings of the festival: A Little Romance with Diane Lane in attendance to discuss the film in which she made her big screen debut. She’s an actress I admire a lot and this movie is an underrated favorite of mine, so it’s a must-see for me. Though I will say I’m bummed this is up against the nitrate screening of Annie Get Your Gun, which was a movie I had high on my list to see before the schedule was released, but it’s not TCMFF without some tough decisions!
The late afternoon also has a bit of a dilemma, as my choices were between a new restoration of North by Northwest introduced by Nancy Meyers or The Mad Miss Manton on 35mm. If it were just me I may have gone for the latter, but as we’re big fans of Meyers in my family, my dad and I have to go see her and hear what she says about Cary Grant and this Alfred Hitchcock film. As I said with Rear Window, North by Northwest is always great fun with an audience, and it’ll be even more exciting to see it on a huge IMAX screen.
My Tentative Picks: Dirty Harry, A Little Romance, North by Northwest
Saturday (continued)
Films I Haven’t Seen: Footloose, Heavenly Bodies
Films I’ve Previously Seen In Theaters: The Shop Around the Corner, Dog Day Afternoon, On the Waterfront
A similar challenge in the evening block, where my choices are between the films playing at the Egyptian and the Chinese IMAX. Westward the Women was another movie I had near the top of my list before the schedule was out, as I would love to see it on a big screen after watching it a few years ago on FilmStruck (RIP). But The Shawshank Redemption was an easy pick for my dad with Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman both being on hand, so we’ll be sticking around for another star-studded screening. I’ve only seen the movie all the way through once years ago, so I look forward to seeing it again and hearing what the stars have to say about it.
The late-night time slot is still a bit undecided between Little Women with stars Trini Alvarado, Eric Stoltz, and Samantha Mathis set to attend, and Dog Day Afternoon introduced by Jeff Daniels. I’m personally leaning toward Little Women as the 1994 film is probably my favorite version of the classic story, and I’ve seen Dog Day Afternoon on the big screen before (with Al Pacino speaking at that screening no less). However, the Little Women screening is a tight turnaround after The Shawshank Redemption, plus my dad is more interested in the Dog Day Afternoon screening. My dad and I may end up splitting up in this last block, but we’ll see how the night plays out. Saturday will be a long day of movie-watching so I doubt I’ll have the energy to stick around for the midnight movie Heavenly Bodies, though I’d be curious to check it out, especially with former TCM Underground programmer Millie De Chirico introducing the film.
My Tentative Picks: The Shawshank Redemption, Little Women
Sunday
Films I Haven’t Seen: Law and Order
Films I’ve Previously Seen In Theaters: Double Indemnity (multiple times), Lawrence of Arabia, Sabrina
I plan to start the last day of the festival with the new restoration of Law and Order, which will be a discovery for me as I wasn’t familiar with it before seeing it among the films playing this year. My dad will try to join me for this screening too, though it’s playing in one of the smaller venues so we’ll see how that goes. As usual with Sundays at TCMFF, most of the day is pretty flexible for me, as I’m not super attached to what’s scheduled in the next couple of time slots. So it’ll depend on what films are announced for the TBA screenings, but for now, I may finally get to one of the events with Billy Dee Williams and see The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings with my dad, who’s a big baseball fan anyway.
My Tentative Picks: Law and Order, The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings
Sunday (continued)
Films I Haven’t Seen: N/A
Films I’ve Previously Seen In Theaters: Chinatown, An American in Paris
Unless there’s a film I want to see in the first TBA slot of the afternoon block, I’ll likely be seeing the new restoration of The Searchers playing in 70mm at the Egyptian with an introduction from Alexander Payne (whom I saw a few times in person last year, including on the TCMFF red carpet). My dad is very interested in this screening, which I imagine will be popular, so I hope he’s able to get in on standby. After that, we’ll head to the TCL Chinese Theatre for the official closing night film: Spaceballs with the one and only Mel Brooks! I also would’ve loved to stick around the Egyptian for the screening celebrating the 100th anniversary of Sherlock Jr. with a live orchestra, but I can’t pass up the opportunity to see the legendary filmmaker introducing one of my favorites of his films, and it immediately became my most-anticipated screening when it was announced he’d be attending. It’ll surely be an incredible film finale to the milestone year for the festival and TCM.
My Tentative Picks: The Searchers, Spaceballs
Based on my tentative picks, I’ll be seeing 14 films, with 3 of them being movies I haven’t seen before. But the trend of my previous TCMFF experiences has been seeing 12 films total each time, despite the number of my initial choices always exceeding that. So I wouldn’t be surprised if I hit that exact tally yet again, especially since as I mentioned, there are a couple of blocks that will depend on my mood in the moment. Regardless of how many I see, it’ll be another wonderful time in Hollywood, and I’m excited to share the experience with my dad for his first time at the festival.
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