Hollywood Adventure – Bonhams and Amoeba

On Friday, I had to pick up my daughter Jasmine at a friend’s house on the way home from work. We were supposed to go to a signing at a local comic book store, but it been a long day at work. Also traffic was a nightmare. Normally, with traffic, it takes me about half hour to get to her friend’s house. That night, it took an hour. Before I even left work, I was looking for an excuse to blow it off the signing, and I figured that Jasmine would probably would want to go straight home anyway. Of course when I mentioned it, she said she wanted to go. It would be an adventure, so we ended up going anyway.

I told that story mostly because it makes a good introduction to this one. The next day, Saturday, I was planning to go to Hollywood for the TCM/Bonham’s Classic Film Auction preview. I'm in San Diego, and it really should only take a two hours to drive to Hollywood, but with traffic it it's always closer to three. Lately I've started taking the train whenever I go to L.A./Hollywood, at least if it's feasible. It takes about the same amount of time and is way more relaxing. This time, it was a little different I ended up taking the combination of the Orange County (OC) Metrolink and the L.A. Metro. They have a deal on the weekend, where it's $10 for an all-day pass. The trick is you have to catch the OC Metrolink at Oceanside which is about as far north as you can go in San Diego, without being in Orange County.

The scenery in the first part of the trip is way cool, as the tracks hug the coast. It must have been high tide that morning. I’ve never seen the water that close before. There are spots where you could literally jump off the train and hit water. Aside from the scenery, I spent most of the time on the train reading and playing around online on my phone. I was texting a friend about going to the movies, and he told me to have fun on my adventure. I didn't really think of it as an adventure, but it was strange that he used the same word that Jasmine had the night before. I got to Hollywood at about 11 am, and Hollywood Boulevard was closed to traffic for some event, another good reason for not driving. I stopped at the Chinese Theater and looked at footprints, mostly because I was going past anyway. The last several times I’ve been to Hollywood, I haven't been able to find Humphrey Bogart's footprints. I found in them this time. Most of the the time when I’m in Hollywood, it's for the TCM Classic Film Festival. It seems to me that they run their Disneyland switchback lines on top of Bogie, which would explain why I can never find him

The auction house is about a mile and a half away from Hollywood and Highland, so I’d brought my skateboard to ride there. I got there by half hour before they opened. Last year, I went to the auction preview, and I could have sworn they were open earlier than noon. It turned out that there was a really cool book store on the same block, Samuel French Hollywood Bookshop. That’s another advantage of not driving. You stumble on things you might not otherwise. I spent the extra half hour looking at books. They had an insane selection of movie and theater books. To give you an idea, they had about four floor to eye-level shelves, dedicated just to screenwriting, and most sections, directors, film genres, etc. had similar space. Most sections had a full set of shelves dedicated just to new titles in that section. I ended up buying only one book, mostly because I knew whatever I bought would need to go in my backpack for the trip home, L.A. Story and Roxanne: Screenplays by Steve Martin. L.A. Story is one of my favorite movies from the 90s.

I went back to Bonhams right at noon when they should have been open, but the gates were still locked. I ended up calling them on the phone, and the woman who answered said they were looking for the keys. I was the first one in the building after they opened the big gate. To be honest, I mostly just came to look. A lot of what they have is either way out of my price range or too big to fit in my house. I love the posters and might even be able to afford some of them if they stayed fairly close to their estimates, but most of them are really large and we just don't have that much wall space in our tiny little house. The items that I want the most are the Spaceballs matte painting and the Megamaid head, also from Spaceballs, but I'm guessing the prices are going to get out of my range quickly. I did buy the auction catalog and plan to peruse it closely. Maybe, there is a photo, screenplay, or cast sheet that jumps out at me. I spent about an hour looking at the auction items. It was a treat seeing these mementos from classic film in person. Still, if prices are similar to last year, I'm sure I'm going to end up empty handed. Still, that's all the more reason to make the trip up to look.

Planet Spaceball matte painting	Herbie the Love Bug from Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo
Don't think Dorothy's dress is in Kansas anymore	James Dean bust from the Natalie Wood collection
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane poster	Mars Attacks the World poster
Anyone remember Bugs and Elmer looking like this?	WWI Era Walt Disney art
Katherine Hepburn costume from The African Queen	Rope poster
Sam Spade's chair	Megamaid from Spaceballs

The next stop was about a mile or so east on Sunset, Amoeba Records. I stopped for lunch at a coffee shop kitty corner from Amoeba, but I would have been better off with fast food on the other corner. I ordered grilled cheese sandwich, and the hipster at the counter forgot to put in the order. I only got my sandwich after 20 minutes and going to the counter and asking about it. Then when it came, it was made on raisin bread with weird cheese and a tiny weed whacker salad. 

Still Amoeba was well worth the trip, despite the bad lunch experience. They're like what a really good record store used to be back when people still bought music. At Amoeba, I actually spent most of my time looking at DVDs. They have a DVD/Blu-ray section upstairs, and I'd never been up there. I ended up buying five clearance CDs and six movies:

• The Heiress
• The Front Page
• Stalag 17 
• The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes
• Wait Until Dark
• Three Bad Sister (starring Kathleen Hughes whom I'd just seen at the Palm Springs Classic Science Fiction Film Festival)

By the time I got out of Amoeba Records it was almost time to catch the Metro/Metrolink back to San Diego. The last Union Station to Oceanside train left at 4:40. Amoeba is a lot closer to the Hollywood and Vine Metro station than Hollywood and Highland, so I skated the eight or so blocks to Hollywood and Vine. I got to Union Station with enough time to get coffee before catching the OC Metrolink train. It must have been bad food and drink karma day for me, because the Starbucks missed making my order as well, despite it being one of the simplest thing on the menu. I mean how hard is it to write your name on a cup with a Sharpie. I had to ask for it after half a dozen people who had come in after me got theirs.

I would like to say that the trip back home was uneventful, but unfortunately there was a group of about 20 tween girls on a train, the loudest demographic you'll find among mammal species except for possibly the African elephant in mating season. I put on my headphones, took out my book, and did my best to ignore them. Despite that loud giggling and selfie taking, I survived. All in all, it was "adventure."

Giant Ants Invade Palm Springs!

The inaugural Palm Springs Classic Science Fiction Film Festival was held on October 23 to 25. My wife and I attended, and I have to say we had a blast. Host Alan Rode’s selection of movies and guests was excellent. We drove up Friday afternoon from San Diego, and stayed at a hotel about a 10-minute walk from the theater. Truth be told,  we never did walk to the theater. It always seemed like we were in too much of a rush to get there in time.

The festival started on Friday night with a showing of The Fly. Of course, I'd seen this but I had never seen it in the theater. The film was a hoot, and afterwards Allen Rode did an interview with star, David Hedison. At 88, Hedison is in really good shape, sharp, and full of lots of great stories. 

Alan Rode interviewing David Hedison

In The Fly and other films early in his career, Hedison was billed as Al Hedison (his full name is Albert David Hedison). Shortly after The Fly, they wanted him to change his name, because Al wasn’t a good name for a movie star. “Pacino did pretty well with it,” he joked. He talked about how he really didn't mind having a piece of cloth over his head through most of the film in The Fly, but his biggest regret was the last scene, where he was caught in the spiderweb. He said he did some really great acting there screaming for help, but when he saw the film he was appalled that they had speeded up his voice.

He told a story about how when he first came to Hollywood, he made a film called The Enemy Below with Robert Mitchum. He didn't know anything about film-making at the time, and there was a scene where his character had to jump off of the conning tower of the submarine. He was petrified of heights but figured that he was expected to do it, so he went through with it. After he was done, the director thanked them and said, "It was really great you did that. Most actors wouldn't do that sort of thing." He also talked about his work on on various films and of course the TV show Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea. When asked what his biggest regret in his career was, he said that he turned down the chance to play the role of the Captain on The Love Boat.

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Saturday started with the screening of Invasion of the Body Snatchers. This was the only film that I had seen in the theater, although my wife she said, she had never seen it all the way through before. Alan's intro to the film was informative as were all of his intros. The director, Don Siegel, didn't want to shoot the opening and closing scenes, but producer Walter Wanger convinced him that the film company would do it anyway if he didn't and probably screw up the movie. Reluctantly, Siegel agreed. Alan also said that as a practical joke, they snuck into star Dana Wynter’s apartment and placed the pod under her bed while she slept. The film of course was great. Then again, I'm probably prejudiced. It's one of my all-time top favorite science fiction movies. After the film we spoke with Laura whom I'd met at TCMFF last year (Laura's Miscellaneous Musings) and her husband. 

You had about an hour and a half between films, just enough time to get a meal if you didn't dawdle too much. It was a little too close to breakfast for us, so my wife and I ended up just hanging out. In the same parking lot as the theater, there was a farmer's market so we wandered around and picked up a piece of fruit as a snack. I also picked up a couple bottles of beer from a local craft brewer, Coachella Valley Brewing Company.

Next up was The Creature from the Black Lagoon. Star Julie Adams was on hand, signing books and pictures, and she spoke after the screening. Her autobigraphy co-written with her son was Mitchell Danton on sale and for an extra $10, you could get an autographed photo. The film was great and in my opinion the best of the later Universal Monster movies. Afterwards Alan interviewed Julie Adams. Unfortunately, at 89, Julie Adams wasn't as sharp as David Hedison had been earlier. At times, her answers were a bit vague. Fortunately, her son was on stage to fill in the details or prompt her to get a better answer out of her. 

Afterwards my wife and I went to a little Greek place for lunch about two blocks away. It was really good and after more less not having anything between the first two movies, nice to get some good food. The next film was The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms. This is such a great film, and it was really cool to see Ray Harryhausen’s work on the big screen. I do have to say that the highlight for me was seeing Lee Van Cleef in a very small but critical role as a sniper who shoots the radioactive bullet to kill the monster. Even back in 1953, Lee Van Cleef was a badass.

Since we'd had a late lunch my wife and I decided to go back to the little Thai place we found for appetizers, before the final film of the evening, The Incredible Shrinking Man. This is a very good film very underrated. If you haven't seen it, you really need to. Probably the best thing about the film, other than the special effects with a giant house cat and a tarantula and great use of oversized props, is the ending. I don't wanna spoil it but it's not what you would expect and way cooler than the typical Hollywood happy ending.

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Sunday started with The Thing from Another World. Alan's introduction to the film talked about how even though the Director credit is Christian Nyby, it really was directed by Producer Howard Hawks. He said that it was sort of like when you have a boss who can't let go and let you do your job and end up doing it themselves anyway. Hawks worked closely with the actors, encouraging them to improvise and rewriting the script as they went. Hawks was on hand for every shot and camera placement. Still, the end result is a great film. I had never seen it in the theater with an audience that way very funny. It reminded me a lot of Aliens, really great military guys giving each other crap type of humor.

Next up was It Came from Outer Space, based on the story by Ray Bradbury. In his introduction, Alan explained that Ray Bradbury had done a full treatment with dialog not just the story he was credited with, and really should have got at least some credit for the screenplay. He also mentioned that It Came from Outer Space was one of the first 3D films, and you could see bits and pieces that were obviously done for the sake of 3D. Still the film works well as a regular 2D film. Sitting in the theater with us was one of the stars, Kathleen Hughes. She was actually sitting in the next roll up and about five seats down from us. According to Alan, she was the person who was most thrilled to be an actress of anyone he ever met and would never turn down the opportunity to see herself on the big screen. She said that she had seen the film about three weeks earlier when her granddaughter called her and told her they were playing it on MeTV.

After the film, she got up with Alan for an interview. She was a hoot. At the time It Came from Outer Space was shot, there was something of a race to get the first 3D film released in theaters with Warner Brothers working on House of Wax and Universal working on It Came from Outer Space. Warner Brothers won. When they first got 3D cameras in at Universal, they needed to test them. Kathleen Hughes was on contract with Universal at the time and said that they tested them on her because she was very three-dimensional. She really wanted to play the lead in the film but by the time she learned of the film, they had already cast it. Still she asked to read the script, and there was another small role for a woman. She played the part of Russell Johnson's (the Professor from Gilligan's Island's), somewhat slutty girlfriend, the type of role she love to play. 

One of her favorite roles was playing the worst sister in the 1956 film, Three Bad Sisters. She likes using the whip. Her career spanned almost 50 years, though she really never made it big. Possibly her biggest claim to fame is the publicity photo (left) that they took for It Came from Outer Space. It had absolutely nothing to do with the film, but it was the type of photo they would take to promote a film back then. It's been used on greeting cards and to sell numerous products. At one point, a company used it to sell condoms. That was one thing that her late husband, Producer Stanley Rubin, decided he needed to put a stop to, so he got their lawyers to stop it.

The festival ended with a screening of the classic, Them! 1950s science fiction movies don't get much better than giant ants. It was a great way to end the festival.

I thought I would save the best for last. I have to say that, host Alan Rode, did an absolutely wonderful job planning at this festival. The choice of films was superb, so much so it makes me wonder how he's going to match it next year. His introductions to the films were both informative and highly entertaining, and the selection of guests was awesome. Great job, Alan. On a related note, Alan also produces and hosts the Arthur Lyons Film Noir Festival each Spring in Palm Springs. The 2016 Noir Festival looks to be well worth the trip back. 

Dial M for Murder in 3D

Last night, I had a chance to see Dial M for Murder in the theater. It's not my favorite Hitchcock movie. I don't think it would even crack the top 10. Still, how often do you get to see Hitchcock in the theater, so I went. They were showing it in 3D, which I probably wouldn't have gone out of my way for, but originally they released the film in 3D, so I figured, what the hey. 

Now, I have to say I'm not real big on 3D. I'm old. When I was young, 3D involved cardboard glasses that had blue and red cellophane lenses. It really more weird than 3D. What Avatar came out, I didn't bother to see it in 3D. Why should I? It wasn't that great of a movie in regular D. Why would I pay extra to see it a second time in 3D? Of course, after that, the movie industry went completely ape shit on 3D. Still, you had the option of regular D or 3D, and I always went for regular D. The result was that, aside from a demo at the Sony Store, the only real modern 3D I've ever seen was "Captain Eo" at Disneyland probably 20 years ago. Then again, that was basically a long music video with cutesy aliens floating above your head.

This was a new experience for me. I would like to say that it was incredible seeing Grace Kelly on the big screen and in 3D. I would like to say that it felt like I could just reach out and touch her boobs. But I can't. It was kind of a cool effect. When you looked at Grace Kelly, she was clearly at a different object on a different plane than what was in the background or the foreground if she was standing in front of a desk or something. Very cool, and on a certain level, quite impressive. And when she reached out toward the audience like in the poster above, it sort of looked like her hand was coming toward you. But mostly, it just looked weird. On the whole, it was distracting. And annoying. And when I left the theater, I felt slightly sick in the stomach. I guess I'll give it another 20 years before I do 3D again. Maybe, by then, they'll have figured out the boob thing.

Hollywood's Hispanic Heritage Blogathon – Born in East L.A.

This post is part of the ¡De Película! Hollywood’s Hispanic Heritage Blogathon, sponsored Aurora over at Once Upon a Screen. Please check out her site at the link below for releated posts.

Written, directed, and starring Cheech Marin, Born in East L.A. is not going to make anybody's top 10 list or even top 100 list. Still, there's way more to it than just a novelty song made into a movie or a Cheech and Chong movie minus Chong. But does Born in East L.A. really belong in a blogathon about Hispanic Heritage movies?

I would say, yes. The entire movie is about Mexican-American culture and what it means to be from East L.A. And how that's different from being Mexican. It doesn't really deal with American culture. It doesn't need to. The assumption is that the audience knows American culture, and there's an underlying assumption that Mexican-American culture and Mexican culture are one and the same. Born in East L.A. shows just how that is not the case. Sure, Mexico culture and Mexican-American culture have a lot of similarities, but Born in East L.A. shows just how different they are in a hundred ways.

Now I have to say, I was a little worried about Born in East L.A. I hadn't seen it in about 10 or 12 years, and I was worried that maybe it wouldn't hold up. Sometimes, you see a movie after a long time and it's just not as good as you remember it being. I'm glad to say that was not the case to here. I laughed a lot watching it in preparation for this blogathon. Sure, some of the humor was crude and sexist but show me at comedy from the 80s that isn't.

In what follows, there will be spoilers. If you heard the song "Born in East L.A.," you pretty much know the premise of the movie. Still if you were one of those people who don't want to hear any details about a movie you haven't seen, you should stop right now and scroll past the End of spoilers heading below.

Cheech Marin plays Rudy Robles, a guy from East LA, who installs car stereos. On his way home from work, he is supposed to pick up his cousin who's just come in from Mexico. Of course, he forgot his wallet that day, so when he ends up in a Migra (U.S. Immigration) raid, he is is deported to Mexico. He tries to explain that he's an American citizen, but since he doesn't have his ID, he can't prove it. Sound a little bit far fetched, not to me, it doesn't. If you are brown skinned and are arrested with bunch of illegal aliens and have no way of proving that you aren't illegal, would anybody really believe you?

At the border, he tries to explain who he is but when they look him up in the computer, he shares the same name as someone has been arrested and deported a dozen times. The immigration official says that if he needs to make a phone call to get his ID and prove who he is, he can do so out there, in Mexico. 

Thus, Rudy ends up in Tijuana with no ID and no money and no way of getting back.

He tries to call home but then remembers that his family is out of town and gets answering machines whenever he tries to call anyone else. Of course he's in Mexico for a period of weeks or even months. Presumably, he could call call a dozen times a day, and eventually he  would get a live person who could make arrangements to get him his ID, but that would make for a very short and unfunny movie. The humor centers on Rudy efforts to get back to the U.S., but it's really about how he doesn't fit in down there, and how much different it is being a Mexican American than being Mexican.

Rudy meets Daniel Stern, an American expatriate who lives in Tijuana because of something he did illegal up here. Rudy gets various jobs from Stern, everything from getting people into a bar for ten cents a head to selling fake passports and green cards. There's also a great sequence where he tries to teach some OTMs (illegal immigrants who are Other Than Mexican) how to fit in up in East LA. These Asian immigrants have jobs up in the East L.A. but they keep getting deported because they can't fit in. Rudy teaches them how to blend in to East L.A. with pretty hilarious results.

He also meets and falls in love with Delores, played Kamala Lopez, an El Salvadoran immigrant, who like Rudy works multiple jobs, trying to earn enough money to get to the U.S. Cheech Marin and Lopez have good chemistry together, and their romance works for me.

There's a really great sequence where Rudy tries to get back to the US as a pollo (chicken), a Mexican national who tries to get over the border by just running across and avoiding the Border Patrol. Of course, he always gets caught in a series of sight gags, that work on much the same level as a silent comedy. Stupid, but very funny.

He also hooks up with a mariachi band and helps them earn more money by teaching them American songs, including "Twist and Shout," which they already know as "La Bamba," basically the same song. At one point he helps them earn a lot of money by playing "Roll Out the Barrel" and singing it in German for some German tourists. Yes, Rudy knows how to speak German because he was stationed in Germany in the Army (he was being all he could be, but all they would let him be was a mechanic). Yet, he can barely speak Spanish because he never had to.

Rudy comes to realize that even though it sucks being stuck down there. He is still way better off than most of the people south of the border. He does these acts of  tremendous charity, that may seem sappy, but work for me. Ultimately Rudy and Delores make it to the U.S. and East L.A., bringing his former OTM students with them. (They are able to bluff their way passed a cop because of what Rudy taught them.)

There is a slightly different ending where Rudy and Delores get kidnapped and held for ransom by coyotes, criminals who transport illegal immigrants in the U.S. This wasn't in the version I just watched. I assume it was buried in the Special Features on the DVD. 

End of Spoilers

The critics didn't like Born in East L.A. I think they were expecting another Cheech and Chong movie, or at least humor like you'd find in a Cheech and Chong movie. That's not what Born in East L.A. is all about. Sure there's some over-the-top ridiculous humor, but there's also humor that is subtle and nuanced, as well as scenes that are touching and emotional. I don't think critics were expecting that out of Cheech Marin, and as a result, they gave the movie poor reviews.

Born in East L.A. is not the greatest movie of you will ever see, but it works for me on a lot of different levels. It's about Mexican American culture and ultimately, how it's not the same thing as Mexican culture, despite with society might think. The very thing that the critics disliked about Born in East L.A. is exactly what make me like it as well as I do.

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Please check out Aurora's site for related posts in the Hollywood's Hispanic Heritage Blogathon at Once Upon a Screen:

Book Review: Leonard Maltin's Classic Movie Guide, 3rd edition

Review of 
Turner Classic Movies Presents Leonard Maltin's Classic Movie Guide: From the Silent Era Through 1965 3rd edition (2015)
by Leonard Maltin

It's been over 20 years since I've had one of Leonard Maltin's movie guides. I know it would have been the early 1990s, and I'm pretty sure we got our copy at Costco on our weekly shopping trip. My wife, and I loved that book. We used it all the time. If you're old enough, think back on the early 1990s. It was a different world. Basic cable was your local stations, plus 30 or so cable networks and a handful of premium networks we didn't subscribe to. 

Home video usually meant a trip to the video rental store, and checking out the new releases on VHS, and then wandering the aisles of Comedies, Action movies, Drama, etc. There was an Internet, but only the Military and scientists used it. There was no Netflix or IMDB or Wikipedia or Amazon. Having a guide like Leonard Maltin's helped you decide, but do you really need one now in 2015 when you carry the Internet around in your pocket. If you're an old movie geek like me, I would say, yes. 


The Internet is a wonderful thing, but often you have to separate the wheat from the chaff. I don't see myself looking up films I know real well in this book. I know these films. I know whether I like them. I know if I'd recommend them to a friend or which friends I'd recommend them to based on their tastes. Oh, I might look up the odd movie to see who directed it. And I'm sure idle curiosity will lead me to see what Leonard Maltin has to say about, Sunset Blvd., or how many stars he gave, The Big Clock, a personal favorite of mine. By the way, he gives The Big Clock three stars out of four, low in my opinion. Still this is not how I see using this book. I really want the dope on the films I don't know.

I'm going to provide a few examples and see how the Guide stacks up against the Internet in my pocket. Last night at 8 pm Eastern, TCM was showing the following movies (I'm on the West Coast, so unless I leave work early, I'm never home in time for the 8 pm Eastern stuff):

• Why Be Good? (1929) - Of  the three, this is the only one I'm sure I've heard of. Still, I'm not sure if I've seen it or not. From the TCM Schedule, I clicked on the link. It took me to the Brief Synopsis. Ain't the Internet grand, you click on something and it takes you right to where you want to go, right? The Brief Synopsis is 12 words, A virtuous flapper .... This gave me an idea of what it's about. I click on the Full Synopsis and was presented about 10 sentences, going into more detail on the plot than I would want to know when I trying to decide whether to watch something. At IMDB, there was a Plot Synopsis (similar to the Brief Synopsis above) and a Plot Summary (similar to Full Synopsis). Wikipedia had a fairly short entry on the film, but a lot of the same info I've seen before, plus some restoration info that I haven't see yet. In about 5 minutes, I've scanned a handful of sources, and I still not sure whether I need to set the DVR. Next I turned to Leonard Maltin's book, his review gave me just enough details about the plot to make me say, Oh, I have seen this. It was really good. I decided I should call my wife and have her set the DVR. 
• Among The Missing (1934) - Again, the links from the TCM schedule gave me both too little and too much info. I searched on the title, and apparently, there are several books with that title, so I googled, Among the Missing and added the word, film. IMDB gaves the cast and crew info but only a short teaser on the plot. There was one user review, but I tend to find these very hit or miss, so I didn't take the time to go through it. Wikipedia has virtually nothing, a disambiguation page that knows of the existence of a Drama, starring Richard Cromwell and a link to a page that doesn't have an article to go with it. Again, I read the Leonard Maltin review.  I was pretty sure I hadn't seen this, and it sounded good. I knew I wasn't going to get home in time to catch it, but had my wife DVR it.
• Stolen Identity (1953) - Links from TCM schedule, the Brief Synopsis sounds interesting. The Full Synopsis, Holy Moses, that is a long paragraph. Easy 40 sentences in one very very very long paragraph. This time I started with googling, Stolen Identity Movie. Obviously Stolen Identity is going to give you info about things other than the 1953 film. Of course, Google assumes I'm looking for the 2013 film, Identity Thief. Nothing on the first page of results about the 1953 film other than the related link to Stolen Identity 1953 Film. I clicked on that. The teaser text for the IMDB link said, something about commentators noting similarity between Stolen Identity and The Third Man, but the main IMDB entry didn't mention The Third Man. Presumably this is in a link you need to click on. Wikipedia has a short article on the film, some good background info on the production and a pretty decent plot summary that doesn't seem to have too many spoilers. Again, the Maltin book gave a concise description that made me think, this was something I wanted to see. I didn't need to worry about the DVR, since I was sure I'd be home in time for this. Having seen it now, the similarity to The Third Man that Maltin mentioned as well got my hopes up, but the Stolen Identity didn't really deliver. I'm glad I watched it, but don't think I'd go out of my way to see it again. Maltin's three stars might have been a little generous. 

In all honesty, these three were not a good example. Last night's schedule was, Leonard Maltin's Classic Movie Guide Additions (films added to this version of the Guide). Obviously, they would cherry pick entries from the book to make sure they are good examples. Let's see how the book fares on films that I selected more or less at random from the TCM schedule for the next week or so. I didn't do the comparison to Internet sources like the ones above. I assume the results would be similar. I have purposely tried to pick films, that at least I don't think I know and picked from different decades/genres (genre info in square brackets):

• The Love Light (1921) [Silent] - Judging from the Guide, probably not a great film, with the major complaint being that it's too melodramatic. I will probably watch, as much for Frances Marion's direction as anything else. 
• The Charge of the Light Brigade (1936) [Adventure] - Though I'm familiar with the title, who isn't? This is a film that from the title, you'd think you'd seen it before, but reading the description, I'm fairly certain, I haven't. Directed by Michael Curtiz and starring Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland with supporting cast that includes Donald Crisp and David Niven, I think I'll try to catch this.
• I Know Where I'm Going (1945) [Romance] - Looking only on the cast and crew, I probably wouldn't go out of my way to see this. Then again, Maltin gives it four stars, his highest rating, so it should be worth checking out.
• The Iron Petticoat (1956) [Comedy] - Only rates two and a half stars, as a lackluster update of Ninotchka, but Maltin says the pairing of Katherine Hepburn with Bob Hope make it watchable. I won't expect much out of it, but it's a Katherine Hepburn movie I haven't seen before, so I'm in.
• Two On A Guillotine (1965) [Horror] - Part of TCM's October Horror Fest, this sounds like a bad horror hoot. I would love to catch it, but considering it starts at 5 pm Pacific, when I'm still at work and the DVR's at 85% full and climbing, I will probably give it amiss, and hope they show it again or it shows up on the Watch TCM app.

So how did the Guide do? I would say, I was able to make better/more informed decisions about the films that I didn't know, and that's what a book like this is all about. Thus, I'd say it did pretty well. 

In addition to the more than 10,000 films covered, the Guide features director and star indexes, which would make a good starting point if you're looking to put together must watch lists, but bear in mind that it does cut off at 1965. For example, the director listing for Alfred Hitchcock ends with Marnie and doesn't include the four films he made after 1965. In addition, a short sources section gives resources on where to find old movies. Finally, I noticed that for series like The Thin Man, a listing of all titles in that series is given after the first film, a nice touch.

If I have one complaint, it would be that the type size is pretty small. I'm old as evidenced by the fact that I still like books made out of paper. I'm also old enough to need reading glasses, and possibly about due to go to stronger magnification. I was fine if the light was good, but if not, I would need a stronger readers. That said, I've worked in publishing much of my adult life, so I understand it can be kind of a balancing act. At a slightly oversized paperback size, the Guide clocks in at almost 900 pp. Kicking up the type size enough to make a noticeable difference, one would increase the number pages, the size of the book, and most importantly the cover price. While I would love for the type to be bigger and easier to read, but I'd sing a different tune if it cost twice as much, or if I ever dropped it on my foot. 

If you're an old movie person like me, it's a great addition to the library. This 3rd edition comes five years after the 2nd edition and ten years after the 1st. According to Amazon, the third edition has over 200 new titles added. By my rough math*, 200 new titles would mean it's roughly 2% new material. In theory, the number of films from the Silent Era to 1965 should be a finite a number, and in theory, it is. In practice, it's a bit more complicated. Prints of films that were thought lost, are found and restored, so 2% is a pretty decent number. I'm assuming that if you have the 2nd edition and used it a lot, it's seen better days, so this would be good chance to replace it.

I have no problem at all recommending this book. Using Maltin's convention, I'll give it, four stars. I hope this helps.

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* Based on the 2nd edition containing over 10,000 films and the 3rd addition adding over 200 new films:

200 (added films)/10,000 (total films) = 0.02 (or 2%).

#LetsMovie – Steampunk Water Ballet with Apologies to Busby Berkeley

Late last month, TCM announced a new #LetsMovie campaign, with a #LetsMovie holiday scheduled for September 19. Normally, I would be all over this, but this has been a very busy month or so. The main thing that made it so busy was an event that straddled the #LetsMovie holiday, Gaslight Gathering, a steampunk convention held September 18-20.

Oddly, the theme at this year's convention was Gaslight Goes to the Movies. Now, for me, going into a steampunk convention, means one thing, well, actually multiple things, projects. The big project this time around was a steampunk laptop, that sadly I fell short of finishing. The other project, or more accurately lots of little projects involved something else, an all-male steampunk water ballet/tribute to Busby Berkeley to be performed in the pool at Gaslight Gathering.

I came up with the idea about two or three months ago. Obviously, a bunch of guys trying to do the “By a Waterfall” number from Footlight Parade wouldn't work, but if we did the choreography from the pool scene in Caddyshack, that just might. I figured for it to work, we needed to have at least 12 guys and probably no more than 20. 

They would all need to be outfitted for a steampunk water ballet:

• Something that looks like a Victorian Mens bathing suit. You can buy one online but they run about $50, a bit pricey for a two minute routine in the pool, so I did a couple of tutorials on faking a Victorian Mens Bathing Suit on the Cheap.
• Cheap hats, I figured no one is going to take their real steampunk hat in the pool, but I found some felt top hat and derbies online for about three bucks each at a carnival supply place.
• Goggles that could survive going in the pool , 99 Cent Store swim goggles?
• Finally, we decided to get a bunch 99 Cent Store squirt guns, basically oversized syringes spray painted brown to look like canes and use as rather phallic fountains at the end of the performance.

I came up with a name for the group, The Steam Punk League for Aquatic Shenanigans (S.P.L.A.S.H.). I did both a web page and a Facebook page. Recruiting was another issue. You'd be surprised how tough it is to find a dozen guys willing to perform a Busby Berkeley number in public. Okay, maybe that isn't all that surprising. In addition to the web/Facebook pages, I posted on the Gaslight Gathering page, went to local steampunk events, and had people I know in Arizona spread the word. 

By about two weeks out, I had exactly 12 guys lined up. That was enough to do it, provided they all showed up. About that time was when people started to back out. Three cancellations when we were already at the bare minimum to pull it off. I tried to call in favors from friends who weren't even into steampunk. The best I could do was, one agreed to do it (made him a suit, only to have him not show up), and another hemmed and hawed and ended up showing up anyway ready to go. I also managed to guilt another friend into it. He was already at the convention, and I had all the stuff for him to wear.

The plan was to do a rehearsal in the pool on Friday night and then the real performance on Saturday. I was deathly afraid that it was all going blow up on me. Only four or five guys would show up, and they'd all be mad at me because they put in the effort and we didn't have enough to pull it off. 

Friday came and during the day, a handful of people said they were looking forward to watching, which kind of blew my mind because I couldn't say for sure that we'd even be able to do it. For the rehearsal, we got seven people out. There were a handful of others who had said they'd be there but couldn't make the rehearsal. The Caddyshack choreography had two circles. The plan was to have the guys at the rehearsal do the inside circle, and anyone who couldn't make it do their best to fake the outside circle with no practice. Not a good plan, mind you, but a plan. Oddly, about 20 people came out for the rehearsal, all wives/girlfriends and friends of the seven of us in the pool. At that point, I started to relax because I knew it would come off.

Saturday came, and it was packed. Almost every chair poolside was taken. People were standing everywhere including the second floor balcony and from what I understand more in the Steampunk Tea, looking out the 9th floor window. I couldn't imagine this event turning out any better than it did. So without any further adieu, we present the premiere performance of the Steam Punk League for Aquatic Shenanigans S.P.L.A.S.H. at Gaslight Gathering, 2015. With apologies of Busby Berkeley, here is the official video: 

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Postscript. After the event, I heard lots of people say, it was their favorite thing at the convention, no accounting for taste. We even had the woman who runs another steampunk convention, Wild Wild West Steampunk Convention invite us to do it again next year in Arizona. Maybe, that is my lot in life, promoting #LetsMovie/Classic Film one steampunk at a time.

TCMFF 2016 Dates Announced – Sturhann Tribe Coming to Hollywood

Yesterday, TCM announced the dates for the 2016 TCM Classic Film Festival (TCMFF), April 28 to May 1, 2016  with passes going on sale in November. I'm sure that most rabid TCMFF fans already heard this and immediately started booking rooms.

For me, this will be my third TCMFF. The first year (2014) I went by myself, and this year I brought my 15-year-old daughter Jasmine along. I saw a post about the dates on Facebook at about 11 am yesterday. The first thing I did was check the TCMFF dates and against the Wonder Con dates. Wonder Con is a comic convention I work.

I was pretty sure there wouldn't be a conflict, because Wonder Con is on Easter weekend. However, for the last several years, TCMFF has fallen the weekend before Wonder Con. This means that if you are doing both events, you're doing two back-to-back long weekends of too much running around, too little sleep, and too much drinking. 

It's brutal, but for me somewhat doable, mostly because even though I am working at Wonder Con, I am working for someone else; i.e., I show up, and they tell me what to do. My wife, that's a different story. She also works for Wonder Con as well. The big difference for her is that she runs the Gaming department, meaning that she is way too busy to do an event like TCMFF the weekend before Wonder Con.

So yesterday at roughly 11 am, I was comparing the dates of the two events, and wonder of all wonders, TCMFF falls four weeks after Wonder Con. This was great news as it gives me a chance to to recover from the one event before hurtling myself into the next. More importantly this means that my wife might be able to go this year. I immediately called her, explained that Wonder Con and TCMFF are a month apart and asked if she wanted to go. She said, sure. 

I got on the TCMFF site and booked a room at the Roosevelt. When I booked a room last year for this year's TCMFF, I waited until about 5:30 pm, the day they announced the dates. By that time, all of the less expensive rooms at the Roosevelt were gone, and I had a choice between expensive room with a balcony or for another $80 a night, I could get a minisuite. The minisuite just seemed to make sense because I would be spending so much on a room anyway. Later on when I decided to bring my daughter, the minisuite was perfect for the two of us. She had the living room and a foldout bed in the couch, and I had an attached room with a kingsize bed. 

For next year I got more or less the same room we had this year. My wife and I in the bedroom and our daughter on the foldout couch. It actually works out cheaper than two separate rooms at the Roosevelt.

All of this happened in the 15 minutes or so after seeing the announcement on Facebook. Is it kind of sad that I did all of this before clicking Like on that Facebook post. Yeah, a little bit. The upshot of this is most of Clan Sturhann will be at TCMFF 2016. Woohoo!