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Now on DVD and Blu-ray-Promised Land -
Reacher Coming to DVD and Blu-ray -
Coming to Blu-ray and DVD-Django Unchain ... -
John Ford's Favorite Film -
Coming to Blu-ray and DVD-The Impossible
Now on DVD and Blu-ray-Hyde Park on Huds ...
MAKING FILM SCHOLARSHIP FUN
Now on DVD/Blu-ray—This Is 40
Playing Nationwide: On the Road
Celeste and Jesse Forever on DVD and Blu ...
Photographic Memory—Now on DVD and Blu-R ...
HOORAY FOR 1933—EIGHTY YEARS LATERMore Cinefest Adventures…
Today’s movies show off their visual effects, but back in 1920 director Emmett Lynn used a simple device to enhance the storytelling in his Tom Mix Western The Untamed. A bad guy and his henchmen are sleeping around a campfire; in a series of simple superimposed shots, we see what each man is dreaming about (killing Mix’s horse, conquering Tom’s girlfriend, etc.). This was an “adult western” in every sense of the term, and not nearly as flamboyant and kid-friendly as Mix’s later starring vehicles.
A special guest this year was the former curator of motion pictures for the Museum of Modern Art, Eileen Bowser, whose interest in silent comedies was underscored throughout the weekend with screenings of rare one and two-reel shorts featuring everyone from Stan Laurel to Paul Parrott. The Laurel short, The Pest, was shown in 35mm, which enabled us to read the signage on the streets of Los Angeles where it was filmed, in a newly-built neighborhood filled with young trees and Craftsman-style houses. (Side note for comedy buffs: Florence Vidor’s oafish suitor inHail the Woman is played by that stalwart of two-reelers Vernon Dent!)
MoMA’s Katie Trainor brought along a reel of tantalizing Clara Bow sequences the archive just acquired. It was apparently assembled decades ago by a projectionist who had access to prints, as many of the films represented are now lost! Katie agreed with my assessment of this as a “Clara Bow fetish reel.”
For the fourth year in a row, Ray Faiola compiled an enjoyable hour of coming attractions previews—although some of the programmers they touted looked notably uninviting. And for the third year, Richard Barrios (author of A Song in the Dark) presented musical numbers from a variety of mostly-obscure early talkies. What fun! I was humming “Never Swat a Fly” the rest of the weekend.
It would be impractical to discuss every title on the program, and I had to take periodic breaks for “power naps” to keep up as best I could. But I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the Mack Sennett short Matchmaking Mamma (1928) with radiant young Carole Lombard and Sally Eilers, including a scene in two-strip Technicolor…a demonstration reel of the Multicolor process produced by Howard Hughes…an interesting Paramount feature, The Street of Forgotten Men (1926), featuring Percy Marmont as a successful beggar who uses a Lon Chaney-like device to pretend he is missing one arm…the 1940 version of Gene Stratton Porter’s bucolic novel Laddie featuring Tim Holt and a fine supporting cast (which raises the question, where is the 1935 version directed by George Stevens?)…and an amazing new find, in 35mm, featuring the Three Stooges in 1937 promoting a Pillsbury cardboard “movie projector” premium to be given out “in this theater.” (If only…)
Even if a film isn’t great, or even good, it may have redeeming qualities, like the “swell modernistic house” where Sylvia Sidney and her sorority sisters live in the silly Confessions of a Co-Ed (1931). Bing Crosby and the Rhythm Boys make a brief appearance in a party scene, and the rest of the film features strains of such current songs as “My Ideal,” “Just One More Chance,” and “When I Take My Sugar to Tea.”
Being in a belt-tightening mode these days I didn’t buy as much as I have in past years in the dealers’ rooms, but there’s no charge for browsing, and there was the usual assortment of posters, books, stills, DVDs,16mm prints, and assorted memorabilia. More of the same turned up in the Sunday morning auction, which I conduct, including two unlikely pieces that led to spirited bidding: a box of miscellaneous 16mm shorts, and a Bolex 16mm camera in its original case.
Cinefest 33 will be held next March, and if I’ve piqued your interest, you really ought to come. It’s a wonderful way to escape from the daily grind and see movies you’d be hard pressed to find anywhere else. I can’t say enough about the Syracuse Cinephile Society, whose members put in so much time and effort (securing and shipping prints, booking the hotel and buses to take us to the Palace Theatre, arranging for a box lunch there, manning the registration tables, and more). They deserve praise and thanks for everything they do. For more information, and to sign up for an e-mail list, click HERE.
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5 Comments
TC Kirkham | April 24, 2012 12:42 PM
We have read Mr. Maltin's praises for Cinefest each of the last three years, and even though my wife and I aren't as versed in old time cinema as we should be, we feel it's time for an education - and we'll be there for Cinefest 2013 - already have been making our plans and can't wait to check it out!
rafael castro | March 23, 2012 11:07 AM
one i want to do the day i hit the lottery is attend at one of this festivals and attend a live performance of this small film jewels and also enjoy the free popcorn.
Dae Kirwan | March 23, 2012 9:46 AM
I haven't attended in a few years and your after-the-fact comments always make me regret I skipped another year! ALWAYS a lot of fun!
Norm | March 22, 2012 6:53 PM
Really , power naps are the secret...? This event sounds first class...Hope to attend one day..The search for early films and their preservation is an important endeavor..The History of the Industry is important and valuable...Helps explain how we got to this point...Maltin is everywhere...Maybe they will have Mamba on TCM...
Philippe Spurrell | March 22, 2012 5:52 PM
Yes! Cinefest was another great success in 2012. If you are a fan of Golden Age classics and have yet to attend, do check it out. You will love it. A long time ago, friends bugged me about going to this event for years. When I finally went, I was thrilled by the magic flickers on screen, the friendly people and the fun dealer's room full of cinematic treasures. I have been attending for over 16 years now. Free popcorn too!