With just over two months left before its star-studded opening-night gala, the 2013 TCM Classic Film Festival is packing its slate. Set to make appearances at this year's festival are actors Max von Sydow, Ann Blyth, Eva Marie Saint, Mitzi Gaynor, France Nuyen and Jacqueline White, as well as filmmakers Kevin Brownlow, Jerry Schatzberg, David Zucker, Jerry Zucker and Jim Abrahams. In addition, TCM will partner with the Academy Film Archive on a trio of screenings.
The TCM Classic Film Festival is also adding the legendary El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood as a festival venue. The El Capitan Theatre made its debut on May 3, 1926, as "Hollywood's First Home of Spoken Drama." Through an extensive museum-grade renovation, this grand theater has been restored to its original elegance, boasting a Spanish Colonial exterior and a colorful and lavish East Indian interior designed by San Francisco architect G. Albert Lansburgh.
The TCM Classic Film Festival, which takes place Thursday, April 25 – Sunday, April 28 in Hollywood, will pay tribute to von Sydow, who will be on hand for screenings of Ingmar Bergman's The Seventh Seal (1957) and William Friedkin's The Exorcist (1973). The festival will also pay tribute to Blyth, who will attend screenings of two of her most popular films, Michael Curtiz's Mildred Pierce (1945) and Vincente Minnelli's Kismet (1955). Saint will participate in a screening of Elia Kazan's On the Waterfront (1954), the film that won her an Academy Award®. And Gaynor and Nuyen will appear at the festival to participate in a screening of the Rodgers & Hammerstein musical South Pacific (1958).
White is set to attend Richard Fleischer's The Narrow Margin (1952), one of three screenings of new 35mm prints presented in partnership with Academy Film Archive. Also screening as part of this collection will be the hilarious sailors-on-leave musical On the Town (1949) and the jungle drama Tarzan Finds a Son! (1939), which will include an Academy Conversations presentation by Oscar®-winning visual-effects artist Craig Barron and Oscar-winning sound designer Ben Burtt.
Filmmaker and cinema historian Kevin Brownlow is set to introduce the world premiere of the newly restored silent classic The Big Parade (1925), while the Zucker brothers and Abrahams will participate in a screening of their zinger-filled comedy classic Airplane! (1980). And Schatzberg will be on hand for the U.S. premiere of the 40th anniversary restoration of his film Scarecrow (1973). The TCM Classic Film Festival has also added a rare screening of The Desert Song (1943), a film that has not been shown in decades.
Passes for the 2013 TCM Classic Film Festival are on sale now and can be purchased by calling the festival box office at (877) 826-5764 on business days between 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. (ET), or 24 hours a day through the official festival website: http://www.tcm.com/festival. The site also features additional information about the festival, including video and photos from past festivals.
The following are descriptions of the newly added films and events lined up for the 2013 TCM Classic Film Festival:
Tribute to Max von Sydow
The TCM Classic Film Festival salutes two-time Oscar nominee Max von Sydow with screenings of two of his most memorable roles. The actor will be on hand for The Seventh Seal (1957) and The Exorcist (1973).
The Seventh Seal (1957)
The first of eleven films Max von Sydow under the direction of Swedish master Ingmar Bergman, The Seventh Seal casts him as a knight returning home from the Crusades only to find his land tormented by the Black Plague and rampant superstition. The film's depiction of the knight playing a game of chess against Death is provides one of the most indelible images in cinema history. Gunnar Björnstrand, Bengt Ekerot, Nils Poppe and Bibi Andersson co-star.
The Exorcist (1973)
Max von Sydow turns in a Golden Globe®-nominated performance as an elderly priest called upon to perform an exorcism on a little girl possessed by the devil in one of the most potent horror films ever made. William Peter Blatty won an Oscar for adapting his best-selling novel for this blockbuster directed by William Friedkin. Linda Blair and Ellen Burstyn each scored Oscar nominations as the little girl and her mother, as did Jason Miller for his debut performance as a priest and psychologist struggling with doubts about faith. Mercedes McCambridge provides the bone-chilling vocal effects.
Tribute to Ann Blyth
The TCM Classic Film Festival honors actress Ann Blyth, who enjoyed a fabulous career as both a musical and dramatic actress. Blyth will attend screenings of Mildred Pierce (1945) and Kismet (1955).
Mildred Pierce (1945)
Ann Blyth earned an Oscar nomination for her work as a neurotic young woman in Michael Curtiz's film version of James M. Cain's novel. Joan Crawford won for Best Actress as her mother, the title character whose attempts to build a restaurant empire paves the way for drama and eventually murder. Jack Carson, Zachary Scott and Eve Arden co-star.
Kismet (1955)
Ann Blyth and Howard Keel star in this tuneful Vincente Minnelli confection based on the popular Broadway musical. The Arabian Nights-inspired setup has Keel playing a poet who talks his way out of trouble while his daughter, played by Blyth, falls in love a young Caliph. Robert Wright and George Forrest's song score includes tunes based on the music of Alexander Borodin. Dolores Gray and Vic Damone co-star.
The Academy Film Archive and TCM Present…
TCM is teaming up with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' Academy Film Archive to present three films during the 2013 TCM Classic Film Festival, all with newly struck 35mm prints.
Tarzan Finds a Son! (1939) – Featuring an Academy Conversations presentation by Oscar®-winning visual-effects artist Craig Barron and Oscar-winning sound designer Ben Burtt
This fourth film in MGM's series of Tarzan movies features Johnny Weissmuller in the title role, with Maureen O'Sullivan in what was originally intended to be her last appearance as Jane and Johnny Sheffield as Boy. Visual-effects artist Craig Barron and sound designer Ben Burtt will introduce the film with a special presentation about the Tarzan series' visual and sound effects, which at the time were cutting edge. Print courtesy of the Academy Film Archive; screened courtesy of Warner Bros. Classics.
On the Town (1949)
Three sailors on a 24-hour leave hit the streets of New York in this brilliant film version of the popular Broadway musical. Gene Kelly, who co-directed with Stanley Donen, stars with Frank Sinatra, Ann Miller, Betty Garrett, Jules Munshin and Vera-Ellen. The score features music by Leonard Bernstein and Roger Edens and lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, with memorable songs like "New York, New York," "Prehistoric Man," "Come up to My Place" and "You Can Count On Me." Print courtesy of the Academy Film Archive.
The Narrow Margin (1952) – Featuring an appearance by star Jacqueline White
This gripping train-bound film noir by director Richard Fleischer stars Charles McGraw as a police detective assigned to escort Marie Windsor as the widow of a mob boss. But a case of mixed identities soon has a mob hitman going after a different woman, played Jacqueline White. Considered by many critics to be an excellent example of its genre, this film was nominated for an Oscar for Martin Goldsmith and Jack Leonard's story. Print courtesy of the Academy Film Archive.
Additional Screenings
The Big Parade (1925) – World premiere of new restoration introduced by filmmaker and historian Kevin Brownlow
John Gilbert and Renée Adorée star in director King Vidor’s influential World War I tale of an idle rich boy turned soldier who finds friendship, love and loss in the trenches of France. This presentation features a pre-recorded original score by composer Carl Davis. Filmmaker and historian Kevin Brownlow, one of the preeminent authorities on silent film, will introduce the film, which has been beautifully restored by Warner Bros. in partnership with Photoplay Productions.
The Desert Song (1943)
The TCM Classic Film Festival proudly presents a rare screening of this musical that has been out of the public eye for decades. Dennis Morgan, Irene Manning and Bruce Cabot star in the film, which is adapted from a Sigmund Romberg operetta and directed by Robert Florey. Shot in three-strip Technicolor, The Desert Song tells the story of a hero who joins forces with a nomadic Arab tribe to battle against Nazis, a topical reference designed to give the tale a contemporary twist. Charles Novi and Jack McConaghy's art direction earned an Oscar nomination. Print courtesy of Warner Bros. Classics.
On the Waterfront (1954) – U.S. premiere of new restoration, featuring an appearance by Eva Marie Saint
Eva Marie Saint, who attended the very first TCM Classic Film Festival to participate in a screening of North by Northwest (1959), returns this year for a screening of the film that earned her an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Restored in 4K by Sony Pictures Entertainment, Elia Kazan's grippingly realistic tale of corruption and social justice features Saint as the girlfriend of a young man (Marlon Brando, also an Oscar winner) who speaks truth to power. Karl Malden, Rod Steiger, Lee J. Cobb and Leif Erickson also star in this Best Picture honoree, which also features a powerful music score by Leonard Bernstein.
South Pacific (1958) – Featuring an appearance by Mitzi Gaynor and France Nuyen
Rodgers and Hammerstein's beloved musical gets a colorful treatment from director Joshua Logan. Golden Globe nominee Mitzi Gaynor stars as a naïve U.S. Navy nurse who finds love and drama in the South Seas. Rossano Brazzi is the French plantation owner for whom she holds a candle. France Nuyen is a young Polynesian woman who falls for an American lieutenant, played by John Kerr. The cast also features Ray Walston, Juanita Hall and Russ Brown, while the memorable song score includes "Some Enchanted Evening," "There Is Nothing Like a Dame," "I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair" and "Bali Ha'i."
Scarecrow (1973) – U.S. premiere of 40th anniversary restoration, featuring an appearance by director Jerry Schatzberg
Director Jerry Schatzberg will be on hand to introduce his film about two drifters – a fiery ex-con who wants to start a car wash and an ex-sailor who just left his wife – who head east from California to Pittsburgh to find a better life. This intriguing character study stars Gene Hackman and Al Pacino and features exceptional cinematography by Vilmos Zsigmond. Scarecrow, which has been newly restored by Warner Bros., earned the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival.
Airplane! (1980) – Featuring an appearance by writer-directors David Zucker, Jerry Zucker and Jim Abrahams
Zingers and one-liners fly by a mile a minute in this hilarious spoof of disaster movies from writer-directors David Zucker, Jerry Zucker and Jim Abrahams. Robert Hays plays a troubled pilot who must land a passenger jet crippled by food poisoning, with Julie Hagerty as his former girlfriend, a flight attendant. The all-star cast includes Peter Graves, Lloyd Bridges, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Leslie Nielsen, Robert Stack and a jive-talking Barbara Billingsley. Elmer Bernstein's score provides just the right touch. Airplane! served as the model for numerous spoof films to come, including the Zucker-Abrahams comedy The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad and its sequels.
About the 2013 TCM Classic Film Festival
Each spring, the TCM Classic Film Festival welcomes 25,000 movie fans from around the globe to Hollywood to celebrate the art and history of cinema. A destination event, the TCM Classic Film Festival features more than a hundred screenings of classic movies, along with appearances by legendary stars, live interviews, extensive panel discussions, special exhibits and more.
Set to take place Thursday, April 25 – Sunday, April 28, the 2013 TCM Classic Film Festival will open with a gala presentation of the newly restored musical classic Funny Girl (1968). The lineup for the festival includes appearances by Jane Fonda, who will have her hand and footprints enshrined at the TCL Chinese Theatre prior to a screening of On Golden Pond (1981); Tippi Hedren, who will be on hand for a 50th anniversary screening of the Alfred Hitchcock classic The Birds (1963); and documentary filmmaker Albert Maysles whose extraordinary career will be celebrated with presentations of his films Gimme Shelter (1970) and Salesman (1968). The festival will also celebrate Bugs Bunny's 75th Birthday, with a collection of shorts curated and presented by Leonard Maltin and Jerry Beck. And silent film composer Carl Davis will be on hand to conduct his score for the classic It (1927). Among the many restorations set to premiere at the festival are The Big Parade (1925), The General (1926), Giant (1956) and The Great Escape (1963), Badlands (1973) and Scarecrow (1973), plus many more.
TCM host and film historian Robert Osborne serves as official host of the 2013 TCM Classic Film Festival, with TCM's Ben Mankiewicz also introducing films and events during the festival. The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, which has a longstanding role in movie history and was the site of the first Academy Awards® ceremony, will once again serve as the official hotel for the festival, as well as a central gathering point for attendees. Screenings and events will also be held at the TCL Chinese Theatre, the Chinese 6 Theatres and the Egyptian Theatre. The Hollywood Roosevelt will also offer special rates for festival attendees.
Cinematic Journeys: Travel in the Movies, the theme for the 2013 TCM Classic Film Festival, will explore how movies can carry viewers beyond their hometowns to distant or imaginary locales, where they can be transformed by great storytelling. Often, the mode of travel provides the filmic inspiration, whether it's planes, trains, or automobiles. At other times, the trip itself serves as the central narrative, as in the case of many "road movies." With Hollywood as the starting point, TCM's cinematic excursion will take festival attendees on a fascinating journey to worlds both familiar and new.
The roster of official partners for the fourth-annual celebration includes Verizon, the official lead partner; Citi, the official card of the festival; Porsche, the official automobile of the festival; Delta Air Lines, the official Airline of the festival; Vanity Fair, a festival partner and co-presenter of the opening-night after party; and Bonhams, a festival partner that will provide film-related exhibit items, conduct an on-site valuation session for passholders and co-present a slate of British films as part of the festival lineup.
