Research in France, Classic Movie Events and Upcoming TCM Programming

I am back in the United States after a wonderful August researching Marion Davies in France. The research is going well, and I did have some downtime to enjoy the country with a good friend, including several days in beautiful, rugged Corsica and tranquil northern Provence. I came back in late August, and am happy to be returning to blogging!

There are several classic movie events going on right now that I would like to touch on, and I would also like to give an update on what will be happening on TCM soon, an important special programming note for the month of October.

Cinecon, the oldest classic film festival in the country, wraps up today in Hollywood. This was its 51st year of showing rare movies from the archives, alongside a magnificent memorabilia dealer room that is worth the price of admission in itself. Cinecon prides itself in the obscure and the unknown, so if you go to this festival, do not expect to celebrate your old standby classic stars. Instead, you will hear hearty cheers for such names as Ted Healy, Will Ryan, and Lynn Bari, names dear to those who often attend Cinecon every September. It takes place at the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood over Labor Day weekend, and boasts a huge number of returnees each year–Cinecon is a true mecca for fans of the obscure.

While not specifically a classic film festival in itself, the Telluride Film Festival is happening this weekend in Telluride, CO. This is one of the preeminent film festivals in the United States, and this year is host to several classic film-related showings. Today is a showing of the new Swedish documentary Ingrid Bergman: In Her Own Words, screened at the Cannes Film Festival this year and making waves at film festivals internationally. Through letters, diaries, and interviews with her loved ones, the movie tells the story of one of the most captivating women in Hollywood (and one of the most controversial at the time of her stardom) on the 100th anniversary of the year of her birth. The festival is also screening Hitchcock/Truffaut, an interview with filmmakers regarding how François Truffaut’s 1966 book Cinema According to Hitchcock has had an impact on their individual styles.

In addition, I am sad to have missed most of TCM’s Summer Under the Stars programming during the month of August, but my friend Kristen at Journeys in Classic Film hosted a blogathon during the entire month of August that chronicled each day of Summer Under the Stars. Check out the blogathon entries and see how the month played out on TCM. Next month, however, I am looking forward to TCM’s look at the women who shaped the movies. Hosted by Ileana Douglas and co-hosted by such luminaries as writer Cari Beauchamp (the author of Without Lying Down: Frances Marion and the Power of Early Hollywood) and director Alison Anders (director on Sex and the City and the movie Gas Food Lodging), the month will be filled with classic and contemporary movies made by women working behind the camera. It promises to be a fascinating look at an integral part of Hollywood that gets little attention, even today. The series begins October 1.