The TCM Classic Film Festival 2021 ended last night. Because of the ongoing pandemic, the festival was once again virtual. That having been said, it was a lot of fun and I am sad that it is over.
On the Wednesday before opening night, I watched an episode of Hollywood Forever Cemetery tour guide Karie Bible's series Hollywood Kitchen featuring Victoria Mature with her father Victor Mature's recipe for orange bourbon bread pudding. I am a huge fan of Victor Mature and I am fortunate to know both Karie and Victoria, so it was a lot of fun. If you haven't seen Karie's Hollywood Kitchen., you should do so. Episodes are available on YouTube and you can read the blog with the recipes here.
Part of what made this year's festival fun were the Zoom events they held each day. I was only able to attend one, the Opening Night Toast with the Hosts. The event was hosted by Scott McGee, TCM's Senior Director of Original Programming and included every host of TCM: Ben Mankiewicz, Professor Jacqueline Stewart, Eddie Muller, Alicia Malone, and Dave Karger. It was enjoyable watching the hosts answer various questions, and many of my TCMParty pals were there too. On Wednesday they had a Meet TCM Zoom Event, on Friday they had Curating the Classics, on Saturday they had Sight and Sound Makers: A Chat with Ben Burtt & Craig Barron, and on Sunday She May Be a Movie Star, But She's Just Mom to Me.
I do have to say that I wish I had been able to watch more movies during this Festival. It seems that it is harder to work TCM around my schedule in early May than it is mid-April! I did get to see some of my favourite movies. I watched West Side Story (1961) on Thursday. On Friday I watched SF Sketchfest's table read of Plan 9 from Outer Space and then the movie itself. Saturday was the big day for me. I watched the documentary Nichols & May: Take Two Saturday morning. I have been a huge fan of Nichols & May for years. In the afternoon I was the guest host for the TCMParty for Bullitt (1968). It was enjoyable tweeting trivia to the movie. It was made even more enjoyable by Speeding Bullitt, a podcast devoted to Steve McQueen. They tweeted a good deal of additional trivia (I am thinking next time they show Bullitt, they should guest host). Following Bullitt I watched the restoration of They Won't Believe Me (1947). Fifteen minutes that had been cut from the film were restored, using the original nitrate of the film to do so. The live tweet on TCMParty for They Won't Believe Me was hosted by the Czar of Noir himself, Eddie Muller. The last film I watched during the festival was I Remember Mama (1949). It is nearly the perfect movie for Mother's Day. An additional treat was that prior to the movie they aired one of Robert Osborne's old intros for the film.
Next year's TCM Classic Film Festival should be in person in Hollywood again. I am hoping that next year I will be able to attend it for the first time. That having been said, I have enjoyed both last year and this year's virtual festivals. Both were very enjoyable and it is always fun to take part in events with one's fellow TCM fans.
No comments:
Post a Comment