Category Archives: Classic Film
The 17th Annual San Francisco Silent Film Festival
In case you missed it on Facebook, Tumblr and Twitter (I’m not sure how many of you just subscribe to these updates and don’t follow me elsewhere; and if that’s the case, why don’t you?!), I have been covering the 17th Annual San Francisco Silent Film Festival for YAM Magazine all weekend. Here are all my posts:
TCM To Remember Ernest Borgnine with 24-Hour Marathon On Thursday, July 26
Turner Classic Movies will remember the life and career of Academy Award-winning actor Ernest Borgnine with a 24-hour marathon of his films on Thursday, July 26. Borgnine, who passed away Sunday at the age of 95, was a dear friend to the TCM community through his appearances at the TCM Classic Film Festival, on the TCM Classic Cruise and during TCM’s annual Road to Hollywood tour.
TCM’s 10-film memorial tribute is set to begin at 6 a.m. (ET) with The Catered Affair (1956). The daytime lineup will include such films as Torpedo Run (1958),Ice Station Zebra (1968) and The Dirty Dozen (1967). Primetime will kick off with an encore presentation of TCM’s 2009 special Private Screenings: Ernest Borgnine, an hour-long, in-depth interview with the actor and TCM host Robert Osborne. It will be followed by Borgnine’s Oscar-winning performance inMarty (1955), as well as memorable roles in films like From Here to Eternity (1953), The Wild Bunch (1969) and Bad Day at Black Rock (1955).
“Ernest Borgnine was a great friend of ours here at TCM, an actor we all greatly admired because of his talent and ability to play everything from nasty tough guys to likeable fathers to comical sailors,” said Osborne. “We saw firsthand how much he loved life, loved being an actor and enjoyed meeting his fans when he joined us at our TCM Classic Film Festival, TCM Classic Cruise and Road to Hollywood events. He was a joy to be around. Thank heavens for film. Ernie may have left us physically, but we’ll have his talent and film image with us forever.”
The following is a complete schedule of TCM’s Thursday, July 26, tribute to Ernest Borgnine (all times Eastern):
6 a.m. – The Catered Affair (1956) – with Bette Davis and Debbie Reynolds.
8 a.m. – The Legend of Lylah Clare (1968) – with Kim Novak and Peter Finch.
10:30 a.m. – Pay or Die (1960) – with Zohra Lampert and Al Austin.
12:30 p.m. – Torpedo Run (1958) – with Glenn Ford and Diane Brewster.
2:30 p.m. – Ice Station Zebra (1968) – with Rock Hudson and Patrick McGoohan.
5:15 p.m. – The Dirty Dozen (1967) – with Lee Marvin, Jim Brown, John Cassavetes, Robert Ryan, Charles Bronson, Donald Sutherland, George Kennedy and Telly Savalas.
8 p.m. – Private Screenings: Ernest Borgnine (2009) – hosted by Robert Osborne.
9 p.m. – Marty (1955) – with Betsy Blair and Joe Mantell.
10:45 p.m. – From Here to Eternity (1953) – with Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, Deborah Kerr, Donna Reed and Frank Sinatra.
1 a.m. – The Wild Bunch (1969) – with William Holden, Robert Ryan, Edmond O’Brien, Warren Oates and Ben Johnson.
3:30 a.m. – Bad Day at Black Rock (1955) – with Spencer Tracy, Robert Ryan, Anne Francis, Dean Jagger, Walter Brennan and Lee Marvin.
5:00 a.m. – Private Screenings: Ernest Borgnine (2009) – hosted by Robert Osborne.
TCM To Remember Andy Griffith
Turner Classic Movies will remember the life and career of actor Andy Griffith on Wednesday, July 18. Veteran of the big and small screen, Griffith passed away this morning at the age of 86.
I’ve actually only seen one of these films, but I cannot recommend A Face in the Crowd enough. Actually, I believe TCM is showing the film on July 5th as well.
8 p.m. – A Face in the Crowd (1957) – with Patricia Neal, Anthony Franciosa, Walter Matthau and Lee Remick. Directed by Elia Kazan.
10:15 p.m. – No Time for Sergeants (1958) – with Myron McCormick, Nick Adams, Murray Hamilton and Don Knotts. Directed by Mervyn LeRoy.
12:30 a.m. – Hearts of the West (1975) – with Jeff Bridges, Donald Pleasance, Blythe Danner, Alan Arkin, Richard B. Shull, Herb Edelman, Alex Rocco and Marie Windsor. Directed by Howard Zieff.
2:15 a.m. – Onionhead (1958) – with Felicia Farr, Walter Matthau, Erin O’Brien, Joe Mantell, Ray Danton, James Gregory and Joey Bishop. Directed by Norman Taurog.
New From Flicker Alley: The Most Dangerous Game and Gow The Headhunter
Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack’s The Most Dangerous Game has been one of my favorite films since I first saw it about four years ago. I’m pretty sure Joel McCrea (man’s man), never looked better than he does running around the jungle in this film.
Clocking in at just around 60 minutes, it is one of the most thrilling films ever made; there is not a wasted frame. Flicker Alley has out a new Blu-ray of a restoration done by Lobster films.
Also included in this set is Gow, The Headhunter, which was released in various forms starting in 1928. The film is an exploration picture made by the same team and is a very interesting travelogue of the South Seas Islands. The version on this edition includes some pretty great/awful commentary by expedition member William Peck. It sort of reminds me of the commentary on The Endless Summer, only the comedy this time seems to be not on purpose.
Both restorations on this release are from the original 35mm fine gain master positives and boy to do they look amazing. This edition also comes with two full-length audio essays, a booklet containing notes on each film by Merian C. Cooper as quoted in David O. Selznick’s Hollywood by Ronald Haver and Eric Schaefer, and excerpts from an original audio interview with Merian C. Cooper conducted by film historian Kevin Brownlow. I would have included screencaps to show you how beautifully crisp this transfer is, but I don’t have a Blu-ray drive on my computer, so you’ll just have to trust me on this. The region free Blu-ray is available for pre-order now and will be released on July 3rd.
Disclaimer: This review is based on a review disc given to me by Flicker Alley, though the opinions are all my own.
From The Warner Archive: The Journey, 1959 (dir. Anatole Litvak)
Fans of The King and I, rejoice! The Warner Archive has released Anatole Litvak’s drama The Journey, which reunites co-stars Yul Brynner and Deborah Kerr. This film also served as the big screen debut of Jason Robards – and what a debut it was!
TCM’s Summer Under The Stars Celebrates 10th Anniversary
I remember the first time I saw one of their Summer Under The Stars days. It was the summer of 2005 and I was visiting relatives in southern California and I was at a hotel and it was Katharine Hepburn day. I watched Long Day’s Journey Into Night and Suddenly, Last Summer and then I was supposed to go meet people, but all I wanted to do was stay and watch more films. Summer Under The Stars 2010 is what got me into the habit of watching anywhere from two to seven films a day (Ingrid Bergman day that year I’m pretty sure I watched seven films). Summer Under The Stars makes me wish I still had cable and a DVR and TCM. Alas, I will have to live vicariously through those of you that do have this wonderful channel. After the cut I’ve listed the entire lineup.
From The Warner Archive: The Awakening, 1980 (dir. Mike Newell)
Die hard Charleton Heston fans will rejoice at the release of the cult classic mummy flick The Awakening, now available through the Warner Archive.
Spike Lee’s TCM Guest Programmer Picks Rule
This is maybe the greatest block of film picks I’ve seen in the few years I’ve been an avid TCM watcher (well, I haven’t had a television in over a year, but I still follow the happenings on TCM). I cannot recommend each and every one of these films enough.
Lee will be the guest programmer with Robert Osborne on July 5th. Check after the cut for his flawless picks.
Pre-Codes Coming To TCM Vault Collection
Columbia is releasing five of its Pre-Code films through the TCM Vault Collection on July 2nd. The collection will have five films on it: Arizona (1931), Ten Cents a Dance (1931),Virtue (1932), Three Wise Girls (1932) and Shopworn (1932).
From The Warner Archive: Two Featuring Red Skelton
The Warner Archive recently released two of the last films Red Skelton did with MGM: Half a Hero and The Great Diamond Robbery. Most of Skelton’s work I’ve seen was the Technicolor films he did with Esther Williams, so it was sort of strange to see him in black and white. Despite the lack of his trademark red hair, Skelton’s persona shines in these two films and fans will no doubt rejoice that they are no available for home viewing.
the diary of a film history fanatic 