Dear readers, I apologize profusely for my absence over the past 2 weeks. As many of you know, I am also a cellist, and have been occupied with preparing 2 very big pieces to be played at a master class next week. Hence, I’m afraid I will have to be absent some more next week–I will try to post at least once, but I’ll be very busy. There have been some significant classic film events that have happened since I’ve been gone, including our loss of the great Esther Williams and Judy Garland’s 91st birthday. I promise I will cover those, but it might be rather late. Stay tuned.
Tonight I will be going to San Francisco to cover the Hitchcock 9 Festival–a 2.5 day screening organized by the British Film Institute, Rialto Pictures/Studiocanal, and Park Circus/ITV. The program consists of 9 Hitchcock silents newly restored by the British Film Institute. It promises to be quite a few days, and as usual, I will be live tweeting and blogging about the events. To see the complete program, click here.
Again, I apologize for my absence but I hope you will enjoy my coverage of Hitchcock 9 this weekend. See you soon!
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Backlots 
Enjoyed your comments about Silent Era Hitchock & Norma Jean/Marilyn Monroe. The people who were entrusted w Marilyn Monroe’s Estate used that legal position to their full advantage & much of that legacy is the distasteful proliferation of coffee mugs & other “memorabilia for less,” that has nothing at all to do with her as a person or even as a public figure. Those who were left in charge violated an important ethical trust. Your words about her were with respect & kindness, a breath of fresh air compared with what I have usually seen. Thank you for sharing both–it was a joy to see the early genius of Alfred Hitchcock & gain the understanding that behind much of that was the brilliant insight of Alma, which means “Soul.” I think she was his soul & kept him in balance.