Comedy is mostly without honor. Too often, comedy is treated as the bastard stepchild of American film. Rarely nominated for Academy Awards, or accorded the respect of a thoughtful newspaper review, comedies are considered the most disposable product of an industry dedicated to producing alluring but insubstantial goods. Drama, whatever its deficiencies, is granted the respect culture lends to noble intentions. Comedies, meanwhile, are seldom treated with the same deference.

And yet, comedy has always been one of the richest veins of American cinematic culture. Beginning with the silent era, when Charlie Chaplin was, for a time, the most recognizable face on Earth, comedy (alongside those other evergreen genres, the Western and the musical) has been what American films have done best. Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Ernst Lubitsch, Preston Sturges, the Marx Brothers, W.C. Fields, Mae West, Cary Grant, Billy Wilder, Jerry Lewis, Woody Allen, Robert Altman, Eddie Murphy, Albert Brooks, Ben Stiller — the list of standout comedic performers and directors overlaps with the list of exceptional American cinematic performers and directors, period.

Without further ado, then, here is a starter list of great American comedies — a sampler box of goodies, with one film chosen from each decade. It is hardly meant to be complete list of classics: for that, see my book Another Fine Mess: A History of American Film Comedy, which has my selection of the 100 greatest American comedies ever made. Instead, it is an introduction to that most underappreciated of genres — the comedy.

1. The Immigrant (Charlie Chaplin, 1917)

The Immigrant, the greatest of Chaplin’s shorts, is a film whose herky-jerky rhythms match those of the boat the Tramp takes to America: the Cy Young windup Chaplin uses to throw dice, the soup bowls skidding from one end of the dinner table to the other, serving two diners simultaneously, the alternation of whimsical and heartrending sequences. As a director, Chaplin nurtures an irony and delicacy that complement his balletic physicality and otherworldly grace as an actor. Chaplin was just beginning to experiment with films that were greater than the sum of their routines — an effort that would pay off with future masterpieces like The Gold Rush and City Lights. But if a comedy was more than just a comedy, could it still be funny? The answer was an unambiguous yes.

2. Sherlock, Jr. (Buster Keaton, 1924)

Sherlock Jr., Keaton’s funniest, and arguably his most accomplished, picture, was a master class in filmmaking doubling as a comedy. Walter Kerr described it as “simultaneously brilliant film comedy and brilliant film criticism.” Buster’s motion-picture projectionist dreams himself onto the big screen, emulating his favorite detectives while solving crimes with panache. The effect would be repeated numerous times by other filmmakers (most notably Woody Allen with The Purple Rose of Cairo), but Sherlock is uniquely consumed by the fundamental oddity of the motion picture as an art form.

3. Duck Soup (Leo McCarey, 1933)

Too quick for their dim-witted persecutors, the Marxes had unleashed a barely controlled chaos over the course of four films. They had yet to meet a foil agile enough to parry with them, or a director able to corral their energy. Leo McCarey and Duck Soup would change all that. It is the Marx Brothers’ masterpiece, and one of the small handful of undying works of comic genius produced by the American cinema. It channels their peculiar genius and mobilizes it for prescient, biting satire. Battling paper tigers no longer, Duck Soup finds the Marx Brothers unleashing the dogs of war.

4. The Shop Around the Corner (Ernst Lubitsch, 1940)

If aliens ever come to Earth and demand a fuller understanding of the moving pictures that seemed to occupy so much of our time in the 20th century, it would be best if we cut directly to the chase and screen the inimitable Ernst Lubitsch’s The Shop Around the Corner (1940) for them. The Shop Around the Corner is pure cinematic magic: the kind that, seen once, is indelibly burned into our brains, stored in the grottoes of recollection with the care and sentimental affection normally accorded only to our own fondest memories. The stupendous array of supporting characters in The Shop Around the Corner provide a milieu in which yearning lovers James Stewart and Margaret Sullavan insert themselves. The Shop Around the Corner is a melancholy romantic comedy that takes place on the brink of an abyss, and while Lubitsch is too much the comic raconteur to send his film over the edge, he pauses long enough for a sustained look. If you think you’ve seen this because you saw the Tom Hanks-Meg Ryan remake You’ve Got Mail, do yourself a favor and see the real thing.

5. Some Like it Hot (Billy Wilder, 1959)

Perhaps it makes the most sense to think of Joe and Jerry (Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon), the itinerant musicians of Some Like It Hot, as the Rosencrantz and Guildenstern in a free replay of Howard Hawks’ Scarface. Adrift in a gangster epic not their own, these comic fools have been cut loose from their moorings, left to their own devices in a distinctly hostile world.A deliriously gender-bending exercise in over-the-top comic mania, Billy Wilder’s film features the best-ever performance from that underrated comedic master, Marilyn Monroe. Monroe sparkles as a romantic heroine with a self-deprecating streak, and Lemmon and Curtis are an ideal odd couple, years before Lemmon starred in The Odd Couple. “Nobody’s perfect,” as the film deliciously reminds us, but Some Like It Hot comes close.

6. Dr. Strangelove (Stanley Kubrick, 1964)

Dr. Strangelove is a Cold War comedy of frustration, whose scramble to avoid nuclear calamity is repeatedly spoiled by homegrown idiocy, knavery, and right-wing quackery — much of it in the form of star Peter Sellers, who plays three roles here. Director Stanley Kubrick once said of Strangelove star Peter Sellers, “There is no such person.” Seeing Dr. Strangelove, one begins to understand. Each character Sellers played bore so little relation to the others that it was nearly impossible to believe the same actor was behind them all. Possessed with a bursting enthusiasm for the glories of the post-apocalyptic, Sellers’ Dr. Strangelove is the dark angel of the mushroom cloud. Confined to a wheelchair, with an enormous upswept quiff of hair, and a single black glove, he is a lavishly ornamented peacock in a sea of buzzcuts.

7. Annie Hall (Woody Allen, 1977)

Annie Hall (1977) had begun life as a loose-jointed mystery story before preview screenings decisively demonstrated that audiences preferred the relationship drama to the ostensible suspense plot. Even without the mystery story, Annie Hall is still two films in one: one a loose-jointed comedy in the vein of Allen’s earlier Sleeper, and the other a tender romance offering the first glimmers of Allen’s serious side. The looseness of Allen’s earlier work is unchanged, but the Marshall McLuhan cameos, animated sequences, flashbacks, and direct addresses to the camera are now all newly relevant, puzzle pieces for Annie Hall’s mixed-up jigsaw of human frailty. Annie Hall is one of the director’s funniest, and most touching, films, and the addition of Allen and Diane Keaton’s charming, messy, unsalvageable relationship to the template established by Bananas and Sleeper transforms Annie Hall into something entirely new for Allen: a somber comedy.

8. Lost in America (Albert Brooks, 1985)

The criminally underrated Albert Brooks takes that late 1960′s classic of rebel culture, Easy Rider, and turns it inside-out for the go-go 1980′s, crafting a parable of easily tempered yuppie rebellion. Distraught at the collapse of his ambitions — he’d picked out the new Mercedes and everything!  — Brooks’ brittle yuppie convinces his wife to leave Los Angeles behind and explore the wide-open spaces of America. What they find is tragically, hilariously meager. The more delusional his characters, the happier Brooks is as a filmmaker.

9. The Big Lebowski (Joel Coen, 1998)

Looking for the missing trophy wife of a wheelchair-bound industrialist also named Lebowski, Jeff Bridges’ Dude encounters the Coen brothers’ broadest-ever array of screwballs and cranks: vaginally fixated performance artists, sex-offending bowlers, and wandering cowboys, drifted over from some other Wild West. The Big Lebowski is a wormhole down which one can disappear and never return. Lebowski is a marvel, being essentially a single, film-length shaggy-dog tale enclosed within an astonishingly tight script. The Big Lebowski is Raymond Chandler refracted through the perspective of a drug-addled hippie, The Long Goodbye if Elliott Gould’s Marlowe had chosen not to refrain from smoking a joint with his neighbors. The Dude abides.

10. Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (Adam McKay, 2004)

Like Lebowski, another bottomless treasure-trove of quotable lines. Will Ferrell’s performance as a narcissistic San Diego newscaster is nothing short of brilliant, with notes of carefully honed self-absorption mingling with defensiveness, clumsy aggression, and a trace of wounded romanticism. Ron Burgundy is a marvelous caricature, half-cad and half-buffoon, the kind of guy who, when summoned onstage at a jazz club, professes surprise as he pulls a flute out of his jacket pocket. Ferrell is the ringmaster here for a glittering cast that includes Steve Carell, Paul Rudd, and Christina Applegate, his parody of oily self-assurance putting the entire film into air-quotes.

© 2010 Saul Austerlitz, author of Another Fine Mess: A History of American Film Comedy
Author Bio

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Saul Austerlitz’s work has been published in the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Boston Globe, Slate, and other publications. He is the author of Money for Nothing: A History of the Music Video from the Beatles to the White Stripes and Another Fine Mess: A History of American Film Comedy.

For more information please visit www.saulausterlitz.com and visit the author on Facebook and Twitter.

August is Summer Under the Stars month on TCM, and in a month full of great films that highlight the talents of a different personality every day, it’s difficult to find just one film during the course of a week to choose as a top pick. However, when you include the insanely funny and versatile Walter Matthau within any given week the choice becomes a whole lot easier.

This Wednesday the best of Matthau’s films includes one of my all time favorites, “The Odd Couple”. This 1968 Neil Simon comedy classic stars Matthau as a divorced slob playing opposite his most constant companion, Jack Lemmon. Lemmon is a neat freak that drives Matthau crazy after he moves in when his wife has thrown him out.

Lemmon was an extremely skilled comedian in his own right, whose style and timing meshed perfectly with Matthau. And “The Odd Couple” is the absolute pinnacle of excellence among their extremely successful collaborations together. Whether you’ve seen it a million times or never before you’ve got to catch “The Odd Couple” this week on TCM. You’ll either discover, or celebrate some really great comedy that’s just to good to miss.

Odd Couple, The (1968) – Wednesday, August 11 at 10:00pm EST
A divorced neat freak moves in with his sloppy best friend.
Cast: Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, John Fiedler, Herbert Edelman Dir: Gene Saks C-105 mins, TV-PG

Today we have a guest post by our friend Nathaniel Thomas McGill.  He was one of the producers on our first feature, Dangerous Calling.  He’s also produced multiple short films and a feature length documentary called An Inconvenient Tax.

I love going to the theater in the summertime. As soon as the first blockbuster release date is announced I start getting excited. Sure, I get disappointed when movies suck, but I never miss the release of an awaited feature.  Even when in production, I’d find my opportunity to sneak away and double feature them if necessary. The rest of the year I try to focus on independents, documentaries, and films with more “significant” ideas, but during the summer I’m just a twelve-year-old boy that wants to hear a good story and see something explode.

There is something magically nostalgic about over paying for coke and popcorn, sitting in the dead center of the theater and falling into the suture of a summer blockbuster. Sure, it’s gotten pretty expensive over the last few years, but I’ve remained true to my tradition. That is, until this summer.  Sadly enough, the best movie experience I’ve had this summer is when I stayed at home and re-watched the 1st blockbuster - Jaws – instead, which celebrated its 35th anniversary this year.

Sure I was excited about Iron Man 2, but they just added 2 of everything.

Robin Hood was so bad it made me laugh and cry. (Laugh when Scott turned the film into Saving Private Ryan with bows and arrows, and cry that I paid 12 bucks to see it.)

While I had a great time with A-Team, isn’t it getting ridiculous the amount of TV and Video game adaptations we have to put up with?

M. Night lost it years ago, and the other films like Predators had such revealing reviews that I just didn’t give it the chance to waste my money.

I shamefully admit that I went to see Grown-ups and geez… now I am just depressed at what a suck fest this summer has been.

Of course, Toy Story 3 was a great time, but still, enough with the 3D thing. Let’s try to make something worth watching in 2D first.

I just don’t know that I can afford this anymore. I’ll see Inception, but its just too late in the game to not feel betrayed by this summer. Ticket prices are higher than ever and the movies are just horrible. So, I’ve found a new hobby for movie summer and if you’ve had enough, you should do the same. Go to NetFlicks or the Bluray/DVD store of your choice and marathon the summer films celebrating milestone anniversaries.

Celebrating 25 years, and possibly one of the greatest movie summers of all time is 1985. Listen and learn present day Hollywood! How is it that with no CG or digital effects you let this year kick the crap out of you? Tickets were like $2.75 back then. Take it in. All these films came out in one summer!

Brewster’s Millions, Rambo 2, A View to a kill (Roger Moore’s last Bond film), Fletch, The Goonies, Pale Rider, St. Elmo’s Fire, Back To The Future, Explorers, Silverado, The Man With One Red Shoe, Day of The Dead, European Vacation, Follow That Bird, Fright Night, Weird Science, Pee Wees Big Adventure, Summer Rental, Return of The Living Dead, Volunteers, Teen Wolf, Better Off Dead… just to name a few.

You know you are having a good year when the not so great movies to come out are The Black Cauldon, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, Cocoon, and Return to Oz.

We all have them. Moments in our lives that shape who we are. You probably have more than one.

They can be moments of extreme joy – the birth of a child.  Or moments of great sadness – the death of a loved one. They can be seemingly trivial – that time you were humiliated in front of your friends. Or profoundly dark – rape or molestation.

Whatever they are, these moments are what drive us. They are what color ever single decision we make. They motivate every single action we will ever take in life. They define us (hence the name.) Bruce Wayne wouldn’t be Batman if his parents weren’t brutally murdered before his eyes. It was his defining moment.

As screenwriters, it’s important to think about what your characters’ defining moments are. We spent several days this past week examining our main character’s defining moments. It was hugely helpful in understanding his motivations. He went from being a generic teenager to a fully faceted human being. We’re still molding him and shaping him, but discovering/determining his defining moments helped us crack his character. Just another tool to put in your arsenal.

What character development tricks work for you?

Our apologies.  We’ve been silent for a few weeks now.  But we have good reasons.

1)  Josh and I are working furiously on our new screenplay.

2)  I started a job last month as the lead assistant editor for a reality TV show on Spike called Scrappers.  It’s a great “day job.”  I get paid pretty well, I like my co-workers, and the show is really fun and well-made.  Working a “day job” in TV is great because it expands my contacts, pays my bills, and gives me experience.  Sure, I’d love to be paid to write and direct immediately but in the current economic climate, I’m thankful just to be working.

The only downside is that it eats into our writing schedule.  I have to commute from Burbank to Santa Monica.  For you Southern Californians, you know that isn’t fun.  Josh and I write from 6am till 9am and then I head off to work from 10am till 7 and then fight LA traffic back home.  Lately, as the show is nearing completion, I’ve been staying at work later -  8 or 9, or sometimes 10pm.

As you can see, this doesn’t leave much time for anything else.  At the end of the day, I sit down and usually fall right to sleep.  My roommates always quote Back to the Future – “Did you sleep in your clothes again, Marty?”

Josh and I try to live by a Bible verse found in Proverbs – “Do you see a man diligent in his business?  He will stand before kings.”  But I have to admit, it sure is exhausting being diligent.

You may be wondering what a lead assistant editor does.  Well, let me shed some light on the subject.

Every show has a production crew who shoots the footage.  Every show has editors.  Someone needs to get that footage to the editors in a format that they can use.  That’s where I come in.  My team and I get the footage into the computers and then organize it so that the editors can easily find all the footage they need to cut the shows.  (That actually makes us sound like “middle men.”  Haha.)

We also assist in technical issues as well as walk the show through the entire “Online” process (sound mix and color correction.)  I am one of the last people to lay eyes on the show before it airs.

Scrappers premieres on Spike tonight (August 3rd) at 10pm.  If you watch it, look for my credit at the end.  It will be on screen for 19 frames.  (1 second = 30 frames.)  Don’t blink.  You might miss it.

One of my favorite actors of the golden era is Errol Flynn. If you look “dashing” up in the dictionary, I’m sure you’ll find his picture. He made the ladies swoon and the guys envious.

TCM is having a day long tribute to Flynn this Saturday (Aug 7). It’s yet another day where you could do a lot worse than to sit on the couch and watch TCM all day. However, I have a duty to pick one and that one is Objective, Burma!

Objective, Burma! tells the true-ish story of paratroopers fighting World War 2 in the jungles of Burma. It’s one of my favorite WWII films from that era. Loaded with great characters and a plot that keeps things moving, it’s one of the films on my list of films I’d like to remake.

Objective, Burma! (1945) – Saturday, August 7 at 12:00pm EST
An American platoon parachutes into Burma to take out a strategic Japanese outpost.
Cast: Errol Flynn, James Brown, William Prince, George Tobias Dir: Raoul Walsh BW-142 mins, TV-PG

Also be sure to check out The Adventures of Errol Flynn at 4:45pm EST that same day. It’s a wonderful documentary about the actor.

Spencer Tracy and Mickey Rooney star in this weeks pick. Boys Town is based on the life of Catholic priest, Father Flanagan who started an orphanage and believed there was no such thing as a bad boy. In the film, Spencer Tracy plays Father Flanagan and has that belief tested when Mickey Rooney shows up to live at Boys Town. It’s a wonderful feel-good film that you’re sure to enjoy. Tracy won the Best Actor Oscar for his performance.

Boys’ Town (1938) – Sunday, July 11 at 8:00am EST
True story of Father Flanagan’s fight to build a home for orphaned boys.
Cast: Spencer Tracy, Mickey Rooney, Henry Hull, Leslie Fenton Dir: Norman Taurog BW-93 mins, TV-G

In 1999 an unknown writer/director had a huge breakout success with his third film. The film was so big that it instantly catapulted him to A-list director status. The film was The Sixth Sense. The writer/director was M. Night Shyamalan.

After Sixth Sense, Shyamalan was heralded as the second coming of Spielberg. His next films never achieved Sixth Sense level of success, but were all great movies in their own right. Unbreakable, Signs, and even The Village were all fun movies. Then came Lady in the Water and The Happening. Yikes. They were both beyond bad. How had the once great director fallen so far?

I blamed the writing. He was still stubbornly holding on to the writing. Maybe it would be better if he let go of writing and just focus on directing – obviously his strength. When I heard that his next film would be based on the popular Nickelodeon cartoon Avatar: The Last Airbender, I couldn’t have been more excited. My brother and sister were both really into the show at the time. I had only watched a few episodes, but had seen enough to know that it could be an amazing series of films. This would finally be Shyamalan’s return to glory. Finally a chance for him to focus on directing a story that hadn’t originated with him. He couldn’t possibly screw this up. Right?

WRONG! The Last Airbender is horrible. I had a chance to see it at an advance screening in Hollywood last week. It didn’t work at all for me. It’s horribly written (by Shyamalan) and poorly paced. The main kid actors were far too modern for this movie. They looked like they belonged in Twilight. The film suffers from a truly dreadful voice over. It’s one of the main characters speaking in past tense, so you know it’s all going to work out in the end.

Rather than show us two characters falling in love, we’re told by the narrator that they do. This narration is used to cram in a season’s worth of exposition. It’s almost like a six year old telling you what happens in the show. “First this happens and then this happens and then this… Oh and I forgot to tell you this one part…”

For those of you with no knowledge of the show, The Last Airbender takes place in a world with four kingdoms – air, water, earth, and fire. Each of these kingdoms have some people with the ability to bend their kingdom’s element. Bending means they can control that element. Move it around and stuff. If you’ve seen the trailer, you get the idea.

The story starts when two kids from the water kingdom find this other kid frozen in an iceberg or something. He’s the lost avatar. Every generation has a new avatar that can control all of the elements. This kid avatar has been missing for 100 years. While he’s been missing, the fire nation has killed all the airbenders and is ruling over the other nations. Once the kids realize they’ve found the avatar, they set off on a mission to help him learn how to bend the other elements.

It could have been really cool, but Shyamalan botched it. Honestly, it doesn’t even feel like he directed it. It was fairly basic direction without any of the interesting shots and creative blocking we’ve come to expect from Shyamalan. However, it was the writing that was this movie’s downfall. Even with some fantastic source material to draw from, Shyamalan comes up short in the writing department. I have no clue what happened to his writing ability after Sixth Sense. Dialogue was on the nose and clunky. There is no drama in any of the scenes. It was mostly just people talking followed by scenes of bending followed by more talking.

I will admit that the bending is done really well. It’s a cool ability and fun to see on screen. Sadly, I suspect that for many audience members that will be enough and this will do big business this summer. We’ll see, but as far as I’m concerned I’d be irresponsible not to tell you to save your money. Avoid this stinker at all costs.

On Thursday of last week, Josh and I waited in line for almost 5 hours to be one of the first in America to own a brand new iPhone 4.  I was excited about many of the new features including Face Time (video chatting) and Multi-tasking.  But the most surprising new addition to this new iPhone is its ability to shoot and edit HD video.

Apple released iMovie for the iPhone the same day the new phone was released.  At first I was a scoffer.  For $4.99, how could this app be useful as a tool to cut video?  It had to be a gimmick, right?

Wrong!

Over the weekend, my brother, sister-in-law, nephew, and I took an overnight trip to Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks and I thought this would be a perfect chance to put the new iPhone through it’s paces.  And boy did I.  I was shooting pictures and video almost the entire time.  (The battery life is surprisingly good.)

(Check out the photo quality.  This one looks like a Bob Ross painting.)

Because we spent a fair amount of time in the car traveling to and from the parks plus travel between them, I was able to start editing the footage right away and I’d like to share my thoughts on the iPhone as an editing suite.

iMovie for iPhone allows you to cut video determining the ins and outs with a fair amount of precision.  You can add a cross dissolve between the clips and determine the length of the cross dissolve.  You can also decide NOT to use a dissolve.

iMovie gives you a few different options for adding titles.   You select a theme that determines the overall look of the titles and can then choose from a few different styles within that theme for different kinds of titles.  Unfortunately, you can not easily create a full screen title.  I got around this point by creating a blank note and then typing up what I wanted the title to say and then taking a screen grab.

iMovie allows you to insert video, photos, and music all from your iPhone.  Any song from your iTunes can be inserted underneath the video track (with a few limitations.)  Also, you can select on the video track whether you want the selected video clip’s audio track to be on or off.  I love that you can determine that on a clip by clip basis rather than selecting all on or all off.  One downside to the music track is that you can’t add more music if the song ends.  And if you want to cross fade to another song, you can’t.

Overall, I’m VERY pleased with iMovie for iPhone and I’m excited to see what updates they release for the app.

Below you can see the videos that I cut for the trip.  The downside to uploading from your iPhone 4 is that it doesn’t send HD video to Youtube.  I hope they fix that.  Check them out -

Part 1 of our trip video:

Part 2 of our trip video:

What are you waiting for?  Go out and get the iPhone 4!  And for you Blackberry users – what cool things can your phone do?

The film industry can be brutal. The odds against success can be really disheartening. Just about everyone you meet out here is an aspiring writer or director. If you were to dwell on the odds, it would be tempting to give up and go back home.

So how do you beat those odds? Some would say it’s all about constantly finishing scripts and getting them in front of people. Eventually your body of work will get you work and something will sell. That’s a fine strategy, but I think it’s far more important to focus on doing great work.

If you can churn out three great screenplays a year, you’re a genius. The rest of us all wish we were you. However, more than likely it’s going to take a lot more time to write something excellent. Don’t rush the process by trying to achieve quantity of scripts. Quality is the goal here.

Remember, it only takes one script to open the doors of Hollywood. M. Night Shyamalan’s whole career is based on the strength of his script for The Sixth Sense. I recently read an interview with Michael Arndt (Little Miss Sunshine, Toy Story 3.) He spent a year writing Little Miss Sunshine and then revised it for 4 years before he felt it was ready to hand out. Once it was ready, he gave it to one person. One. Arndt said that almost overnight all the big directors were reading it. Spielberg, Zemeckis, etc. Behold the power of a great script.

What are you working on? Are you going to settle for good? Or are you aiming for great? Remember it only takes one great script to launch your career.

This past Monday, Josh and I had the honor to interview Dave Smith, the founder and director of the Walt Disney Archives.  We met with him in his office on the Walt Disney Studios lot in Burbank.

We were there to cover the 40th anniversary of the Archives for InsidetheMagic.net.  We’ll be posting the majority of our coverage over there.  But I wanted to share with you Dave’s answer to one very important question.

I asked Dave what he had gleaned over the last 40 years of studying Walt’s life that would indicate what made Walt Disney so successful.  This is what he said:

“I think the basic quality about Walt is that he was a genius in knowing what the public wanted in entertainment.  He didn’t listen to all of his critics that tried to talk him out of doing things he wanted to do because he knew what would interest the public.  And that was proved true throughout his career.

He was always trying new things… things that other companies and individuals were afraid to do.  He was always willing to put up his money to do things that other people didn’t want to do.

Of course, most people were afraid that these things wouldn’t be successful.  He wasn’t afraid they weren’t going to be successful.  He knew they were going to be successful.  Now if only we all had that ability… but I think that was indeed where he was a genius and I think that was his most important quality.”

Some key points stuck out at me from what Dave said.

• Walt didn’t listen to the naysayers in his life
• Walt tried new things – always
• Walt was a risk-taker
• Walt believed completely in his projects

I’d like to share one more quote by Walt Disney himself which backs up what Dave Smith observed.

“Somehow I can’t believe that there are any heights that can’t be scaled by a man who knows the secret of making his dreams come true. This special secret, it seems to me, can be summarized in four C’s. They are curiosity, confidence, courage, and constancy, and the greatest of these is confidence. When you believe in a thing, believe in it all the way.”

I believe that you and I can be just as big an impact on our world as Walt Disney.  I’m prepared to try.  Are you?

This week’s pick has the distinction of being the one and only film ever written by Theodore Geisel. “Who the heck is Theodore Geisel,” you may ask. Well, dear reader, Theodore Geisel is none other than the beloved author, Dr. Seuss.

Yes. Long before Ron Howard ever made How The Grinch Stole Christmas, Dr. Seuss wrote The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T. It’s a very strange film about a little boy who dreams that his piano teacher is kidnapping children and forcing them to play a huge piano. All of this takes place in a Seuss-like nightmare world. Did I mention that this movie is weird?

When it opened in 1953, The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T was a huge failure. So much so, that Geisel doesn’t even mention the whole fiasco (as he later called it) in his autobiography. At the Hollywood premier, people started walking out after 15 minutes. Since then, it’s gained a bit of a cult following. It’s a trippy movie, well worth checking out. It kind of reminds me of The Peanut Butter Solution, another weird movie about kidnapping kids that scared the crap out of me when I was young.

5,000 Fingers Of Dr. T., The (1953)
A young boy dreams that his piano teacher is a super-villain out to rule the world.
Cast: Peter Lind Hayes, Mary Healy, Hans Conried, Tommy Rettig Dir: Roy Rowland C-89 mins, TV-PG

Number 89 on the AFI Top 100 is M. Night Shyamalan’s masterpiece, The Sixth Sense.

Let’s have a show of hands of those who either a) Had the ending ruined for them or b) Ruined the ending for someone else.  I fall in the B category.  But in my defense, my mom said she’d NEVER see the film. 

8-year-old Cole Sear is haunted by a dark secret: he is visited by ghosts. A reluctant channel, Cole is frightened by visitations from those with unresolved problems who appear from the shadows. Confused by his paranormal powers, Cole is too young to understand his purpose and too afraid to tell anyone aout his anguish, except child psychologist Dr. Malcolm Crowe. As Dr. Crowe tries to uncover the ominous truth about Cole’s supernatural abilities, the consequences for client and therapist are a jolt that awakens them both to something harrowing–and unexplainable.

Recently, Josh and I hosted a movie night where we watched The Sixth Sense and we had a very nice evening.  After the film, we had an hour long discussion about different aspects of the film.  Here are some of the highlights:

• Even though the scares and jumps may not play as scary after several repeat viewings, it has become evident that the film isn’t really meant to be that.  It’s more of a drama.  And highly successful at that.
• The music doesn’t play like a scary movie but more like a drama backing up the first point.
• The theme of the film is communication and it is explored in the 3 main storylines – a) Dr. Crowe’s relationship to his wife, b) Cole’s relationship to his mother, and c) Cole’s experiences with the ghosts.

M. Night Shyamalan used to be one of my favorite directors.  This film along with Unbreakable, Signs, and The Village are still some of my favorite films.  But his recent work has been lacking.  I hope The Last Airbender marks his return to greatness.

What is your favorite Shyamalan film?  Do you have any faith in The Last Airbender?

This week’s pick is a film that I really hated to miss at the TCM Classic Film Fest. A Star Is Born (1954) was the opening night film and the only film that our media credentials didn’t give us access to.

This Judy Garland classic is a remake of a 1937 film staring Janet Gaynor and Frederick March. I actually prefer the original, but the Garland version is really good as well. In it, Garland plays a young actress who falls in love with a huge star (played by the always wonderful James Mason) just as she is discovered and his fame is beginning to subside. It’s a great behind the scenes look at Hollywood of the 1950s.

Judy Garland delivers the performance of her career in this film. She was nominated for Best Actress, but ultimately didn’t win. It’s a heartbreaking look at fame and all the negatives that come with it, especially when you consider Ms. Garland’s own struggles due to fame.

With some great musical numbers and a ton of fantastic Hollywood locations, I heartily recommend you checking out A Star Is Born (1954).  If you can’t catch it on TCM, a newly restored version has just been released on DVD & Blu-ray.

Star Is Born, A (1954) – Saturday, June 19 at 8:00pm EST
A falling star marries the newcomer he’s helping reach the top.
Cast: Judy Garland, James Mason, Jack Carson, Charles Bickford Dir: George Cukor C-176 mins, TV-PG

I’ve been having some amazing adventures since I moved to Los Angeles over a year ago.  Not all of them have been directly film related but they have been opportunities I wouldn’t have had in Atlanta.

Last week, I had the opportunity to cover a major media event at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim.  They were unveiling their new night time water show, World of Color. I scored my invite through my work over at www.InsidetheMagic.net and because of the work we do here at DawsBrothers.com.

On top of the premiere of World of Color, the event consisted of a Red Carpet, a pre-show with a really impressive talking Mickey Mouse, and an after party.

The Red Carpet was actually blue – I’m assuming because World of Color is a water show.  Click here to see pictures from the carpet.  You’ll see stars like Vanessa Hudgens, Jason Segel, John Stamos, Geena Davis, and Terri Hatcher.  Plus, there are some really neat puppets.

The talking Mickey Mouse at the pre-show was amazing.  Disney had been testing this technology through private interactions with guests at Disneyland for a few months.  This was the first public use of the technology.  Check out this video:

After the pre-show, we saw World of Color and you can read my review of the show here.

The show finished and Ricky Brigante (from Inside The Magic) and I headed back to the Grand Californian Hotel to start capturing our footage.  Then we headed over to an area of Disney California Adventure called Paradise Pier.  That portion of the park had been completely emptied of guests and they threw a private party for all of us media and all of the celebrities.

And it was the best party I’ve ever been to.  There was free catered food, free churos, free drinks, free games, and most of the attractions in that area were running (and with no wait.)  There was a cover band doing mostly Black-eyed Peas and Fergie songs and the music wasn’t so loud that you couldn’t think.  It was perfect.  Even Mickey Mouse was there taking pictures with everyone.

At one point I found myself standing with The Bachelor on my left and John Stamos on my right.  It was surreal.  John Lassiter was also on hand with his family.

The party ended and I headed home glowing from such a magical evening.

The next morning I went back to Disneyland to see a press event called “What’s Next?”  During the show, they unveiled new changes to the Disneyland Resort and the Disney Cruise Line.  To check out those updates, click here.

The coolest part of the “What’s Next?” event was the fact that Jodi Benson, who was the voice of Ariel in The Little Mermaid, performed live on stage.  You can see that video here:

Needless to say, I highly recommend blogging because it opens up some really cool doors.

I’m so thankful I decided to move to Los Angeles.  These opportunities are some that I treasure.  It’s all about finding joy in the journey.

What are some of life’s little blessings that you’ve gotten to experience along your journey?

As I said in yesterday’s post, last night I went to the World Premiere of Disney’s World of Color, the new water show at Disney’s California Adventure theme park. If you didn’t follow me on Twitter last night while I was at the press event, check out this site. Myself and my friend, Ricky Brigante from www.InsidetheMagic.net were there covering the event.

We covered the Red Carpet and the After Party where we saw stars like John Stamos, Wayne Brady, and Terri Hatcher. That will be it’s own blog post – it is definitely an interesting chapter in my Adventure out in California. Today, I’ll focus on the show itself.

Some might ask, what does a new water show at the Disneyland Resort have to do with this blog about film and filmmaking? Well, the answer is – World of Color is on the cutting edge of storytelling. Disney has re-imagined the way a film is shown and experienced. Combining music, fire effects, and video projected onto a HUGE screen of misting water, this show is truly in a class of its own.

World of Color at Disney’s California Adventure is 25 minutes long and I could have stood there for much longer than that. I was taking pictures during the show but about a third of the way through, the sounds and sights I was experiencing took my breath away and I just had to stop and take it all in. My mind was officially blown.

Everything in the show is top notch. I loved the selections from the various Disney films from Wall-e and Toy Story to The Little Mermaid and Aladdin. They even included scenes from classics like Fantasia. And I love the emotional journey it takes you on as you relive these great scenes. I can’t even explain how new and different this show is or how BIG the show is. The water screens fill your periphery and you become consumed by it.

The most jaw dropping sequence to me was the Toy Story 2 sequence: the laser Zurg was phenomenal. And because they use multiple layers of water screens, it feels like the images are 3D. Sometimes, I couldn’t even see the water so certain elements looked to be floating in thin air.

Only one thing about the whole experience made me raise my eyebrow. The viewing area for the show isn’t perpendicular to the show. It was at an angle so everyone had to look slightly right. I found that strange but it didn’t take away from the experience.

I would recommend getting there extremely early to get a good spot. I’m sure it will get full several hours in advance. Also, you will get wet, even if you are far away. Maybe it was just particularly windy but I was farther back from the water and still got sprayed. But, it’s only a mist. You’ll live. Once you see just how high and wide the water can spray, you’ll understand.

On a side note – I’m doing a terrible job describing this show! Just like the Matrix, one cannot be told what World of Color is – you must be experience it for yourself.

Check out the video that Ricky and I recorded. If you plan on seeing the show anytime in the near future, please don’t ruin it for yourself. But if you can’t resist – enjoy!

So, what are you waiting for? Head on over to Disney.com and book your trip to the Disneyland Resort RIGHT NOW! (And no, Disney isn’t paying me to say any of this.) World of Color really is one of those things you should make a special trip to see. I would. It is breathtaking.

Come back soon to read my account (and see pictures) of the Red Carpet and After Party at the World Premiere of World of Color.

Tonight I will be going to a press event at the Disneyland Resort debuting a new nighttime water show called “World of Color.”

I received an official press release from Disney and included a blurb from it below here -

“Lights, water, music, fire and animation will come together like never before on June 11 when “World of Color” makes its dazzling debut at Disney’s California Adventure theme park.  The show is choreographed with revolutionary technology that creates a playful, nighttime spectacular and a new way for guests to experience Disney stories – from the charming to the adventurous.”

Check out this video to get a taste of the show:

When I went to Vegas for the first time back in April, I caught the water show outside The Bellagio and was blown away.  But this show seems to take all that is great about The Bellagio fountain and amp it up with color, film projections, and fire effects.  The video and pictures that I’ve seen make me think this show will make my head explode.

On a side note, the title for “World of Color” is inspired by one of Walt’s original TV shows called “Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color.”  The theme song was written by Richard and Robert Sherman.  You may recall that Josh and I recently met Richard Sherman at a ceremony honoring he and his brother.

I’ll be tweeting the event as I talk to Imagineers and other notable people on the Red Carpet and at the After Party.  Be sure to follow me – @jeremiahdaws.  Who knows what celebrities I might bump into?

Also, check back here on Friday.  I’ll post my review of the show and you won’t want to miss out on that.  I’ll also be partnering with Ricky Brigante from www.InsideTheMagic.net to provide video and pictures of the event.

There is a trick to writing villains. Many first time screenwriters make the mistake of having their antagonist enjoy doing evil. Sure there are times when those bad guys can be fun, but mostly they just come off as one dimensional and boring.

The trick to writing villains is to write them as if they were the good guy. No one goes through life wanting to do evil. Even when someone is doing evil, they themselves don’t think that they are. Their behavior makes perfect sense to them.

This scene from The Third Man is a shining example of this. Orson Welles plays a despicable man who is selling bad penicillin on the black market resulting in the death of children. The writer delved into the character and figured out how a man like that would rationalize it. By the end of the scene you see how warped his thinking has become, but also completely understand how he thinks he’s doing nothing wrong. He is the hero in his own mind.

The Third Man is a great film that you should definitely add to your Netflix queue if you haven’t seen it.

Rebel without a Crew is one of my favorite “film” books.  It is a collection of journal entries written by Robert Rodriguez chronicling his experiences making and selling his first feature film, El Mariachi.  I found the book to be extremely entertaining as well as motivational.

If you aren’t familiar with Robert Rodriguez, he’s a writer/director/producer from Texas.  His most notable films are Desperado, the Spy Kids franchise, Sin City, and Planet Terror.  He’s not my favorite director by any means but I LOVE his commentary tracks and all the special features he includes on his DVDs because he puts a lot of thought into teaching you his techniques.  He even calls some of the features his 10-Minute Film School.

The full title of his book is Rebel without a Crew: Or How a 23-Year-Old Filmmaker With $7,000 Became a Hollywood Player. It is a perfect title because the book actually shows his rise to stardom from random kid with a camera to being repped by a major Hollywood agency – a true Cinderella Story.  My favorite part of the story is finding out HOW he got the $7,000.  I won’t ruin it for you.

Rodriguez is a maverick and he inspired me to be a maverick.  In the introduction to the book, Rodriguez talks about writing El Mariachi:

“I… wrote the first Mariachi in three weeks.  It’s amazing how quickly ideas come to you for a script when you know you’re going to be actually making the movie in a few months, not just writing for writing sake.”

He just decided to make the film.  That’s how it happened with us and Dangerous Calling.  We set a production start date and then got to writing the script.  I LOVE deadlines.  They make you more creative.

If you haven’t read his book or seen his 10-Minute Film School videos, go check them out.  You’ll love them.  He gives especially good advice on how to do action cheaply.  He is very creative.

What are your favorite Rodriguez films – and what have you learned from him?

This week’s TCM pick is a film that I’m not particularly fond of, but since it was directed by the recently departed Dennis Hopper, I figured it was a good time to give him and his film their due respect. Easy Rider is long, rambling, drug-fueled film without much of a story. All things that made it a huge success in 1969.

Famous for its portrayal of real drug use, to say Easy Rider was counterculture is an understatement. For better or worse, its success ushered in a new era of Hollywood films that dealt with difficult subject matter and had content that would have been unthinkable just 10 years earlier. For that reason it’s essential viewing if you’re looking to understand the films of the 70s. Easy Rider does have a fantastic soundtrack and some fine performances by Dennis Hopper, Peter Fonda, and a young Jack Nicholson.

Easy Rider (1969) Wednesday, June 9 at 12:30am EST
A cross-country trip to sell drugs puts two hippie bikers on a collision course with small-town prejudices.
Cast: Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, Antonio Mendoza, Phil Spector Dir: Dennis Hopper C-96 mins, TV-MA

Josh and I periodically like to host a movie night at one of our apartments and invite other educated film people.  Afterwards, we’ll discuss the film.  It makes for an enjoyable night, plus it’s a great way to further increase our film knowledge and refine our craft.

Sometimes we’ll watch a new release and other times we will watch older films.  I feel it is imortant to get a fresh take on a film that you might have seen many times.  Everyone has a slightly different viewpoint and hearing them can cause you to discover new insights.  I want to be able to suck every last drop of juice out of rich films such as Jaws, Shawshank Redemption, The Godfather, etc… and sometimes the only way to do that is to get someone else’s take.

And don’t forget about the other end of the spectrum.  It is important to watch BAD films as well – though I would do this less frequently.  Josh and I like to watch at least one crappy film a month.  One can learn what NOT to do.  But, just like the FBI studies REAL money in order to spot counterfeit money, I find it more important to study great films more than bad films.

Have you considered hosting a movie night?  It’s much more fun and much less effort than a book club, in my humble opinion.  What movies would you screen?

#90 on the AFI Top 100 is the classic Fred and Ginger musical, Swing Time (1936.)

Seeing Top Hat (1935) at the TCM Classic Film Festival was my first exposure to Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers and I wanted more.  I rented Swing Time from Netflix the very next day.  I personally liked Top Hat better but both are great films with phenomenal dancing.

TCM.com gives this synopsis of Swing Time:

To prove himself worthy of his fiancee, a dancer tries to make it big, only to fall for his dancing partner.

Fred Astaire directed and choreographed his own dance sequences in several of his RKO musicals including Swing Time and Top Hat.  Unlike Busby Berkeley’s musicals which at times became very abstract, Astaire’s films had more of an integration of music and dance with the story.

Swing Time was directed by George Stevens – best known for A Place in the Sun, Giant, and Shane.  All of those classics AND he could direct musicals.  Talk about versatile.

I found this album on iTunes – it has all of the songs from the Fred and Ginger films at RKO.  I love it.

Fred and Ginger are dynamic on screen.  It is no wonder they made 10 films together.

What is your favorite Fred and Ginger film?

If I were to ask you to give the basic idea of Robin Hood, you’d probably say some variation of ‘Robin Hood robs from the rich to give to the poor.’ Pretty simple right?  But the filmmakers of the latest Robin Hood (2010) thought they’d be clever and leave it out.  And what they have is a mediocre medieval movie.

It’s called Mental Real Estate.  It’s the reason kids went to see the Harry Potter movies.  They already had an opinion of what to expect from the movie.  The studios don’t like introducing brand new concepts to viewers anymore.  The days of a totally new idea like Star Wars blasting onto the screen are just about over.  Adaptations are the safer bet.  This movie had soo much Mental Real Estate going for it.  EVERYONE knows the Robin Hood legend.

But the unspoken rule is: You have to give what you promised.

I didn’t mind the small changes to what I believed Robin Hood to be.  A more “realistic” version or “true to life” version of the story would have been interesting.  But there has to be some semblance to the legend or it doesn’t work.  And it didn’t.  The whole movie is simply a prologue to the legend.  He never robs the rich to give to the poor and that’s what I spent my $10 to see.  Give me what you promised me!

Aside from the fact that Robin Hood could have been named anything else, it was a boring film.  At two hours and twenty minutes, the film just felt long and bloated.  I couldn’t help comparing this film to Gladiator (having the same star and director.)  But where I was rooting for Maximus within the first 5 minutes of Gladiator, I never connected with Robin Longstride at all.

Come to think of it, I didn’t care about any of the characters in the film.  All of our “heroes” start out the film on their way back from the Crusades pillaging villages in France.  Then when the “evil French” begin to invade England near the end of the film, we are supposed to hate the French.  But why?  The English were pillaging their villages for no good reason.  Why shouldn’t they fight back?  I could go on and on but I won’t.

There are several film and TV versions of the Robin Hood Legend.  These are my favorites:

Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991) starring Kevin Costner.  Yes, it is a bit dated and Kevin Costner’s accent drifts from English to American from time to time.  But…  Did Robin rob?  Yes.

Disney’s Robin Hood (1973).  Sure it’s animated and Robin is a fox.  But…  Did Robin rob?  Yes.

The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) starring Errol Flynn.  Yes, Robin wears tights.  But…  Did Robin rob?  Yes.

Do yourself a favor and see these versions of Robin Hood.  Heck, you could probably buy all three on DVD for the price of a trip to the theater plus snacks.

What is your favorite version of Robin Hood?

Number 91 on the AFI Top 100 list is Alan J. Pakula’s Sophie’s Choice (1982.)

If you’re like I was and you’ve never seen Sophie’s Choice, you’ve probably asked the question, “Why the hell does Meryl Streep get so much respect?”

Watch Sophie’s Choice and you’ll find out why.

TCM.com gives this synopsis:

A concentration camp survivor resettles in New York City but can’t escape her past.

Sophie’s Choice is not a good film.  I don’t think it works at all as a dramatic narrative.  It would make a better stage play.

But…

Meryl Streep is amazing.

Sophie’s Choice was nominated for 5 academy award but only won for Best Actress – Meryl Streep.

If you haven’t seen Sophie’s Choice, eat your vegetables and see the film.  You probably won’t enjoy the experience but you’ll see a master at work.  Kevin Kline also does a fine bit of acting though not as nuanced as Meryl.

On a side note, my favorite Meryl Streep film is The River Wild (1994.) What is yours?

This week’s pick is one that I’ve sadly never seen. Proving that film franchises have been around since the beginning of movies, Tarzan, The Ape Man was the first of twelve Tarzan films starring Johnny Weismuller as Tarzan. These films were hugely popular in the 30 & 40s and continued to spawn additional films in the Tarzan franchise well into the 60s and early 70s.

Even if you’ve never seen any of them (I haven’t), you are sure to have heard the famous Tarzan yell. Weismuller claimed to have developed that yell at a yodeling competition he won when he was a boy. In actuality it was created by early sound recording engineer, Douglas Shearer, using a recording of an Austrian yodeler that was sped up and reversed. Weismuller eventually became so good at mimicking the sound that most people believed he was providing the sound for the films. (source: wikipedia)

Tarzan, The Ape Man (1932) – Saturday, May 22 at 4:15pm EST
A British lord raised by apes kidnaps a beautiful noblewoman exploring Africa with her father.
Cast: Johnny Weissmuller, Neil Hamilton, C. Aubrey Smith, Maureen O’Sullivan Dir: W. S. Van Dyke BW-100 mins, TV-G

We are going through the AFI Top 100 list.  Check out all of our previous posts from #100 – #93. #92 is a film that completely engages you from the beginning and doesn’t let go – Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas.

TCM.com gives this synopsis:

A young man works his way up through the New York City mobs.

Goodfellas is brilliant.  It makes crime look so appealing at the beginning of the movie that at half-way through, I’m figuring out how to join a “crew.”  But by the end of the movie, I’m so glad I didn’t.

I’ve seen Goodfellas many times, but this time, the take away was a bit different.

I’d been watching a lot of French New Wave.  The filmmakers generally don’t want you to identify with the protagonist.  In The 400 Blows, the boy (Antoine) turns to a life of crime and rebellion just like Ray Liotta’s character, Henry.  But, in The 400 Blows, I don’t care about the kid.  He comes off as a spoiled brat.  I feel sorry for him but I don’t identify with him.

In Goodfellas, I’m right there with Henry.  I identify with him from the start.  As I said above, I want to be him for most of the movie.

So what is the difference between Antoine and Henry?  Why am I so indifferent about the one but I want to BE the other?  I’m still pondering the question.

It’s more than just the difference between a gangster movie and a movie about a kid in France.  I could have been made to identify with a kid growing up in France and I’ve seen other gangster films where I cared nothing about the main character.

Goodfellas is pure cinematic genius from start to finish.  If you haven’t seen it, go rent it and be prepared to have your mind blown.

What is your favorite Scorsese film?  Why do you think we identify so strongly with Henry?  Let’s start a discussion!

Last year, Josh and I started running.  Up to this point in our lives, we had never run more than a mile.  We’re not terribly active people.  I’ve never been to the gym in my life.  The only physical activity we take part in is occasional hiking and backpacking.  So you can see, our decision to start running was a drastic one.

On Sunday, Josh and I ran our first half-marathon.  13.1 miles.

Josh and I learned a great deal about life and filmmaking as we trained for our race.  I’d like to share just a few points.

1)  Set Goals. It is very important to have goals if you want to accomplish something (in our case, write and direct.)  Once you have those goals set, take baby steps every day/week to reach those goals.

If you focus on the big picture, you will quickly become overwhelmed.  (13.1 miles???)    But if you focus on the day to day tasks at hand, you’ll eventually reach your goal and you won’t realize how.

When we set out to make Dangerous Calling, our first feature, it was a pretty daunting task.  But we had a laundry list of things that had to be done and we just worked the plan, taking it little by little.  And now, we have a feature under our belt that we’re tremendously proud of.  Set a goal and take small do-able steps to achieve that goal.

2)  Conquer Your Mind. Running is just a mind game.  It’s all about pushing yourself past what you think you can do.

Every week, we’d run several short runs and then one long one on the weekend. What we discovered was that if we could run 4 miles, then 5 miles was doable.  If we could run 5, then 6 was doable.  Our bodies weren’t changing that drastically, just our minds – what we thought we could do.

Change your mind – decide that you are capable of more than you or anyone else thinks.

9 months ago, I thought running 13.1 miles was impossible.  I was wrong.  What are you attempting that looks impossible?

Every week we highlight one film airing on Turner Classic Movies. This is an especially good week. It’s been tough to choose just one. Check the schedule to see what’s playing. This week’s pick is the film that made John Wayne a star – John Ford’s Stagecoach.

Westerns were nothing new in 1939. Hollywood had been making them for years. Since the very beginning in fact. What made Stagecoach different was that it was one of the first to be treated as more than just a “B” picture. Filmed on location in Monument Valley (Ford’s favorite location), Stagecoach follows the story of several different people from different walks of life as they share a Stagecoach ride through indian country.

There is some great action in this film, but it’s the characters that really shine. John Wayne is amazing as the misunderstood outlaw Ringo Kid, but this is a true ensemble piece. Every actor shines in his or her respective roles. Definitely check this one out. And stick around all night for an evening of John Ford westerns.

Stagecoach (1939) – Tuesday, May 4 at 8:00pm EST
A group of disparate passengers battle personal demons and each other while racing through Indian country.
Cast: Claire Trevor, John Wayne, Andy Devine, John Carradine Dir: John Ford BW-96 mins, TV-G

This week, I’ve been posting a recap of last weekend’s TCM Classic Film Festival here in Hollywood, California.  We’ve gone through Day 1, Day 2, and Day 3.  Today, I’ll recap Sunday, the 4th and final day at the festival.

Josh took his wife Becca to see Damn Yankees! (1958) on Sunday morning while I watched my nephew. Leonard Maltin introduced the film.  Afterwards, TCM on-air host, Ben Mankiewicz interviewed Tab Hunter, the star of the film.  I can’t say anything about Damn Yankees! – I’ve never seen it.  You can hear the audio:

Leonard Maltin introduces Damn Yankees!

Ben Mankiewiz and Tab Hunter discuss Damn Yankees!

That afternoon, I went over to Grauman’s Chinese and saw Martin Scorsese’s The King of Comedy (1983.) Jerry Lewis, Robert Deniro, and Sandra Bernhard star in this dark comedy.  I really enjoyed the film, but I can see why it wasn’t as popular as some of Scorsese’s other films.  I was chatting with a fellow festival attendee and he put it best: The King of Comedy didn’t do well in the box office because audiences were expecting more comedy and got more Sandra Bernhard.  And boy, do you get to see a lot of her.  Way more than I ever wanted to.

Here is the synopsis from TCM.com:

A would-be comic kidnaps a talk-show host to win a guest shot on his show.

If you are a fan of Deniro and Scorsese or if you want to see Jerry Lewis in the best dramatic performance of his career, rent The King of Comedy.  You can hear audio of Ben Mankiewicz introducing the film here:

Ben Mankiewicz introduces The King of Comedy.

The closing film of the festival was Fritz Lang’s, Metropolis (1927.) Josh and I arrived an hour and a half early to ensure we got a seat.  And it was a good thing we did.  Just about every festival attendee was trying to get in to Grauman’s Chinese to see the movie.  The stand-by line stretched way down Hollywood Blvd.  I’m positive none of those people got in.  It was the place to be in Hollywood that night.

While waiting for the screening to start, we noticed Jeff Goldsmith from Creative Screenwriting Magazine and Podcast was standing a few rows in front of us.  Josh reached out to him on Twitter (we are true introverts) and he told us to come say hi.  So we did and he was incredibly nice.  I LOVE his podcast.  He conducts screenings and then records Q&As with the writer or writers of the films he shows.  Check it out on iTunes.

Robert Osborne was there to introduce the film and he again received a standing ovation.  People LOVE him.  He made a special announcement – the festival will occur again this time next year in Hollywood.  The crowd was ecstatic. Check out the audio here:

Robert Osborne introduces Metropolis.

Metropolis was accompanied by the Alloy Orchestra.  They were great but it was a little deceiving.  We assumed that meant a full orchestra but the Alloy Orchestra is a 3 piece techno-style band.  At first I was disappointed but after the film started, I realized Metropolis shouldn’t have a sweeping John Williams-esque score anyway.  The Alloy Orchestra did a great job.  They must have been exhausted after playing for over 2 hours straight.

This was the North American premiere of the most complete cut of Metropolis.  This version had new footage that was recently found in a 16mm version of the film in Argentina.  There is still a few minutes of Metropolis still missing.  Maybe one day, we’ll get to see every last frame of the movie.  Until then, this cut is the best we have.  If you get a chance, check it out.  I’m sure it will be on DVD in the coming months.

That’s it for our experiences at the TCM Classic Film Festival.  In all, I saw 11 films over 4 days.  A great big THANK YOU goes out to TCM for allowing us to attend.  We had a blast.  Every element of the festival appeared to run smoothly and in order.  I always felt like the staff and volunteers were well informed and in control.  The number of filmmakers and actors at each of the screenings was astounding.  I recommend everyone start saving for next year’s event.  It is well worth it to any fan of classic cinema.

Also, check out Leonard Maltin’s very eloquent recap of the festival.  It’s a treat. And don’t forget that you can enjoy classic movies every day of the year thanks to Turner Classic Movies. Tune in!

In case you missed the last few days, we’ve been recapping our time at the TCM Classic Film Festival. We’ve already gone over what happened on Thursday, Day 1 as well as Friday, Day 2.

Today, we’ll focus on Saturday, Day 3 at the festival.

We started the day in one of the smaller Mann’s Chinese theaters for a screening of Sunset Blvd (1950.) The film should have been shown in Grauman’s Chinese, but what can you do?  Nancy Olson was on hand to introduce the film.  She was every bit as lovely and engaging as she was in the film. Here story about her kiss with Holden was priceless. You can hear the audio here:

Nancy Olson introduces Sunset Blvd.

Sunset Blvd. got out later than we had hoped so we missed our chance to see The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948) in Grauman’s Chinese.  We opted to see a film we hadn’t seen before, Leave Her to Heaven (1946) starring Gene Tierney.

TCM.com gives this synopsis -

A beautiful neurotic will stop at nothing to hold onto her husband’s love.

One thing that struck us about Leave Her to Heaven was its similarities to our feature, Dangerous Calling.  There was a lodge, a crazy lady, and even a lake drowning.  But we promise, we had never seen Leave Her to Heaven before.  You can find out more about our film over at www.DangerousCalling.com

Leave Her To Heaven is significant in that movies like this were generally shot in black and white with high contrast images.  Leave Her to Heaven was shot in beautiful Technicolor and in wide open spaces.  It took us both off guard.  I didn’t expect it to get as dark tonally as it did.

Darryl Hickman, who played the brother of the man Gene Tierney married, was in attendance.  I can’t tell you any more about his role without giving away much of the plot. You can hear Robert Osborne and Darryl Hickman discuss the film here:

Darryl Hickman and Robert Osborne discuss Leave Her to Heaven. (Spoiler alert!)

Next up was Alfred Hitchcock’s North by Northwest (1959) over at Grauman’s Chinese.  This was a special treat because Eva-Marie Saint and Martin Landau were on hand to introduce the film. We were both struck with how well NxNW plays with an audience. It’s quite a bit funnier than you realize when watching it at home on your tv.

Robert Osborne, Eva-Marie Saint, and Martin Landau discuss North by Northwest.

After that, we went over to the Egyptian to see a beautiful print of Singing in the Rain (1952.)

While waiting in line, there was a zombie flash mob on Hollywood Blvd.  About 200 zombies walked down the street moaning groaning on the hunt for human flesh.  The funny thing is, nobody thought anything of it.  This IS Hollywood after all.

Stanley Donen, one of the directors, was on hand to introduce the film.  At first it didn’t make sense that he would still be alive.  I always assume Singing in the Rain is older than it is – but at the time is was made, it was a period film, set 30 years prior.  You can listen to Mr. Donen and Mr. Osborne discuss one of my favorite films of all time here:

Stanley Donen and Robert Osborne discuss Singing in the Rain. (My apologies for the quality.  You might have to ride the levels a bit.)

After the movie, we headed over to Club TCM to listen to a four piece jazz/swing band.  You can see video here. Such a cool vibe.  If the night life in Hollywood was like this, I’d be out at the clubs every night.

That was it for day 3.  Check out our tweets from that day.

Jeremiah:

• Up early. Hitting Sunset Blvd (the movie) at the TCM film festival. #tcmff Love that movie. 8:12 AM Apr 24th
• Nancy Olson shared great anecdotes about Sunset Blvd. Loved the movie on the big screen. I always fall for Nancy when I see it. #tcmff 12:01 PM Apr 24th
• After seeing 6 classic films, I REALLY want to smoke a cigarette. And I hate smoking. Forget Buick. Get a tobacco company as sponsor #tcmff 12:03 PM Apr 24th
• Just saw Leave Her to Heaven. Gene Tierney in a thriller. Scary lady. Makes me afraid to ever get married. Haha. #tcmff 2:18 PM Apr 24th
• Martin Landau, Eva Marie Saint, and Robert Osborne just introduced North By Northwest. #tcmff 3:12 PM Apr 24th
• North by Northwest was amazing. Cool to see a Hitchcock film with a packed audience at the Chinese. #tcmff Eva and Martin were great. 6:31 PM Apr 24th
• In line for Singing in the Rain at the Egyptian. #tcmff Big crowd here. Clearly the movie to see this evening http://twitpic.com/1i7yek 6:36 PM Apr 24th
• Cant believe he’s still alive. RT @JoshDaws: Singing in the Rain. So stoked for this. The director is here to talk about it. #tcmff 6:54 PM Apr 24th
• Seeing Singing in the Rain on the big screen has to be one of the best experiences I’ve ever had in a theater. Wow. Unforgettable. #tcmff 9:36 PM Apr 24th
• Hanging in Club TCM in the Blossom Room at the Hollywood Roosevelt. Cool band playing. #tcmff Love this vibe. http://twitvid.com/US8SI 9:39 PM Apr 24th

Josh:

• Leave Her To Heaven had a lot of similarities to Dangerous Calling. I swear we had never seen it before. http://j.mp/cn7D2x #tcmff 2:41 PM Apr 24th
• You haven’t seen Hitchcock until you see his films on the big screen with a huge audience. Unbelievable experience. #tcmff 6:30 PM Apr 24th
• Looks like some sort of flash mob of zombies is walking down Hollywood Blvd. Weird place. 6:42 PM Apr 24th
• Singing in the Rain. So stoked for this. The director, Stanley Donnen is here to talk about it. #tcmff 6:49 PM Apr 24th
• Singin’ in the Rain on the big screen is pure cinematic joy. My face hurts from smiling. #tcmff 9:21 PM Apr 24th