At the Movies -- Day Two

Day Two was our first full day of movies. I began first thing in the morning at the TCL Chinese Theater IMAX. It's a huge, iconic theater with a screen 93 feet wide.* It was the perfect venue to see another new-to-me movie, the original King Kong from 1933.

To say that this film is racially insensitive and regressive in attitude toward the sexes is a massive understatement. The special effects -- ground breaking 90 years ago -- look downright silly at times. And yet, it gripped me. Kong was just a critter. A rather sweet-natured one, at that. He only acted up when he thought his human needed his help. Great story telling is timeless. I'm glad I saw it, even at 9:00 AM.

After my date with the ape, I planned to grab a quick lunch and then race over to one of the smaller theaters to see Larceny, Inc., a 1942 crime comedy starring Edward G. Robinson. Unfortunately, as I was finishing my tater tots and preparing to pay my bill, Bob appeared at my table. Bob used to belong to our movie group but he dropped out because he's too shy to participate. Anyway, he's from a small town in Wisconsin and doesn't seem especially comfortable navigating the festival alone. I didn't want to spring up from the table ... OK, I really did want to spring up and be on my way because I had another movie to catch, but that would have been rude so I chatted with Bob for a few minutes. And was shut out of Larceny, Inc. No good deed goes unpunished, right?

Instead I returned to the IMAX. That theater has more than 900 seats and TCMFFestival goers are seldom turned away. So I caught the 30th anniversary presentation of Groundhog Day, introduced by the actor who played Ned Ryerson, Stephen Tobolowsky. I've never seen this one before, either. It's very funny -- of course it is; I mean Bill Murray and a rodent! -- but it's also far sweeter than I expected it to be.

 

Then I boarded the complimentary shuttle to the Hollywood Legion Theater. Built in the 1920s, it was the American Legion Hall for Hollywood's WWII servicemen, including Clark Gable, Henry Fonda and Ronald Reagan. Today it's run to benefit veterans. 

Learn more about the theater here.

TCM took it over for the festival and on Friday I saw Peyton Place there. It was introduced by Russ Tamblyn. You probably know him as Riff in the original West Side Story. But to me he'll always be Norman, the sensitive nerd. He was interesting and charming. The print of the movie was pristine, and the audience loved it as much as I did.

Next, Frankie Avalon saved my life. OK, that's an exaggeration. (But I like it as the title of my autobiography.) Anyway, here's what happened. The big movie at the IMAX was the 2001 remake of Ocean's 11, starring George Clooney. George and director Stephen Soderbergh were set to introduce it. TCM had taken over the screens next door at the mall. Vincent Price's House of Wax was being shown in 3D, and friends were all at the Barbara Stanwyck classic, Ball of Fire. 

 

The hotel pool screening

All those classic film festers were affected by the "shelter in place" alert. A man was shot in the head right there on The Walk of Fame, and the police were searching for the gunman who was still at large. Meanwhile, I was blocks away, poolside at the Hotel Roosevelt, wearing a lei, sipping a cocktail and waiting for Frankie Avalon to introduce the 60th anniversary screening of Beach Party. So my lowbrow tastes kept me out of harm's way. 

82-year-old Frankie looks good and was very charming. He told us he and Annette had been lifelong friends, even though they worked really hard. They made seven of these movies together over four years. Each was shot in 15 days with no days off. (Most major films have three months of principal photography.) He never did learn to surf. As he joked, he grew up in Philly, where the closest thing to swimming he got was splashing when the police opened a fire hydrant. 

Yes, Beach Party is still stupid. Perhaps even more stupid. But I had fun and was happy to miss all the drama on Hollywood Blvd.