The Puzzle Within the Castro Theater's December 2015 Calendar

The clues in the Castro Theater's December calendar is inconclusive.

December 7 - Mickey Rooney is instantaneously recognizable.

December 15 - I didn't recognize this woman.  I searched her image and discovered it is Minnie Riperton, a singer whose two claims to fame are her song "Lovin' You" from the mid-1970s and being the mother of comedienne Maya Rudolph.

Deccember 21 - although I have seen several of his films, I did not recognize Donald Pleasence and had to search on his image.

Initially, I thought the clues might be Christmas themed.  Mickey Rooney birth name was Joseph Yule, Jr. and Minnie Riperton went by the name Minnie Riperton-Rudolph after she married.  Yule and Rudolph are definitely Christmas themed but what about Pleasence?  Donald Pleasence used his birth name as his stage name.  Even if one makes the assumption that Pleasence is a homonym of pleasant, it's not very holiday themed.

On second inspection, I suspect the names refer to Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse and Donald Duck.  There are no films with those three characters on the December calendar.  I only see one film which I recognize as being a Disney production - Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas.

I'm at an impasse.

For the record, I immediately recognized the photo on Christmas Day.  It's from Trading Places.  The man in the background is Eddie Murphy and Denholm Elliott is the man in the foreground.  I had to look up his name because to me he will forever be Dr. Marcus Brody from the Indiana Jones' films.

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I did not see any films at the Castro Theater in November but I'm certain I will see a few there in December.

December 5 - the San Francisco Silent Film Festival's winter event is called A Day of Silents and features five films starring Douglas Fairbanks, Harry Houdini & Anna May Wong.  I have already purchased my pass.

December 16 - Noir City holds its annual Xmas kickoff with a double bill consisting of Max Ophüls The Reckless Moment and Richard Widmark in his screen debut as Tommy Udo in Kiss of Death.  Noir City will be held from January 22 to 31.  I've never seen the Udo performance which launched Widmark to stardom and is most memorable for a scene where he pushes a wheelchair bound woman down a flight of stairs.

December 17 - two concert films make up the program Stop Making Sense was directed by Jonathan Demme and features performances by Talking Heads whose music I am fond of.  Home of the Brave was directed by and features performance by Laurie Anderson.

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The long anticipated opening of the Alamo Drafthouse in San Francisco comes to fruition on December 17.  I first wrote about Alamo's plan to renovate the New Mission Theater in early 2012.  It took almost four years and at times I was skeptical it would ever open but it is happening.

Their calendar is up and all that is listed are 2D and 3D screenings of Star Wars:  The Force Awakens.  Not only that but all the screenings from December 17 to 20 are already sold out.  I believe the Alamo will have 5 screens and their calendar gives the impression that one screen will be dedicated to screening Star Wars.  I'm curious what will screen in the other, smaller auditoriums.

The Alamo is located at 2550 Mission Street (between 21st and 22nd Streets).  It's a few storefronts away from Foreign Cinema.

In a bit of counter-programming, the Roxie is presenting Far, Far Away and Yet So Close: Science Fiction in San Francisco.  I'm not sure if they are counter-programming Star Wars or the Alamo Drafthouse's first week in operation.  From December 18 to 23, the Roxie will be screening Star Trek IV, Innerspace, Cloud Atlas, Time After Time and THX 1138.

I've long wanted to see THX 1138 which was George Lucas' feature length directorial debut.  Some of the scenes were filmed in BART tunnels which were being excavated at the time of the filming.  My only disappointment is that all four screenings are scheduled to be in the Little Roxie.

Time After Time was supposed to be screened during the 2015 Mostly British Film Festival as part of their tribute to Malcolm McDowell.  Audio difficulties forced the cancellation of that screening so this will be an opportunity to see it.

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Metropolis & 2014 CAAMFest San Jose

A few months ago, I received an email from the San Francisco Silent Film Festival.  I think it was from the Silent Film Festival.  It may have been on their blog.  Anyway, they included an incredible image of Metropolis.

I'm not sure if that is one of original lobby cards or posters.  It looks as though it is a modern image designed to look retro.  Regardless, the image appeals to my preference for geometric patterns and art deco.  I made this jpg my wallpaper on my work computer.

A co-worker asked me if the image represented Superman's Metropolis.  I had never made that connection before.  If you say "Metropolis" to me, the first thing that pops into my mind is the Fritz Lang film.  Apparently, for many people the first thing that pops into their mind is Superman.  It made me wonder if Superman's Metropolis is inspired by Fritz Lang's Metropolis. According to the Wikipedia article on Superman, co-creator Joe Shuster states "Jerry [Siegel] created all the names. We were great movie fans and were inspired a lot by the actors and actresses we saw. As for Clark Kent, he combined the names of Clark Gable and Kent Taylor. And Metropolis, the city in which Superman operated, came from the Fritz Lang film Metropolis, which we both loved."  I had never made that connection until my co-worker asked me about it.  I also have no idea who Kent Taylor was although I recognize a few of his films from the early 1930s.  Superman was first published in 1933.

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I've been busy attending film festival.  IndieFest wrapped up on Thursday but for the past week, I've been attending the Mostly British Film Festival.  The Mostly British had a rump session over the weekend.  They screened two Malcolm McDowell films:  If.... on Saturday and Aces High yesterday.  Cinequest begins tomorrow evening and runs through Sunday, March 8.  CAAMFest runs from March 12 to 22.  The Roxie is presenting what promises to be a popular noir series from March 19 to 23.  It's titled A Rare Noir is Good to Find! International Film Noir, 1949-1974.

Cinequest promises to be outstanding as usual and the Roxie (i.e. Elliot Lavine) is becoming Noir Central.  However, CAAMFest is looking a little bare.  0.5MM, Lav Diaz's Storm Children, Book One and Arthur Dong's Forbidden City, U.S.A. are the highlights.  Since Chi-hui Yang left CAAM as the head programmer, I've fallen out of step with the programming at CAAMFest.

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Speaking of CAAMFest, I should probably close out last year's films.  In September 2014, I made my way down to San Jose (Camera 3) to see one screening at CAAMFest San Jose.

27°C Loaf Rock starring Li Kuo-yi & Meng Keng-ju; directed by Lin Cheng-sheng; Taiwanese with subtitles; (2013) - Official Facebook

Based on the true story of Wu Pao-chun who won the title of Master Baker at the 2010 Bakery World Cup in Paris, 27°C Loaf Rock tells what is becoming a familiar tale.  I'm old enough to remember when being a chef or a baker was a job akin to plumber or electrician.  It took skill & knowledge but it was definitely something déclassé to the professions.  No parent dreamed of their child becoming a baker or chef.  At best, it was something like a carpenter where mixing skill and artistry were appreciated.  Anyway, television has changed all that in the US.  I'm not sure about other countries.  Perhaps France & China have long traditions of celebrating the master food-preparers.

I can't remember the details now.  Wu (Li Kuo-yi) does an  apprenticeship under a master baker which is grueling in its exactitude and physical demands.  Eventually, he opens his own shop only to be amazed by a new bakery that dares to change the time-honored recipes with Wu has been taught and zealously adheres to.  Seeing the possibilities, Wu attempts to broaden his baking horizons with a trip to Japan and his own experimentation.  The title refers to the temperatures at which is pastry rises.  Eventually, Wu goes to Paris to compete and (in true Chinese cinema tradition), his arch rival is an arrogant Japanese baker.  The subplot involves Wu's romance with Chen Hsin-Mei (Meng Keng-ju), the daughter in a wealthy family who oppose the romance.  Eventually, Wu is convinced to give up the romance but up arrival in Paris, he reunites Chen who is scheduled to be married the next day.  She asks him to bake his stalwart mung bean pastry as a wedding gift.  By the way, she is marrying a white guy!

Anyway, the rest is predictable enough that I don't need to recount it here.  27°C Loaf Rock isn't a horrible film.  It panders to those who like food porn and like all porn, unless you are one of the acolytes, it gets boring.  I don't even like pastry and baked good that much in real life much less endless shots of them in a movie.  Come to think of it, CAAM seems to be trying to find or create the intersection between food, music and film.  Of course, Gary Meyers' Eat Drink Film is aiming at much of the same audience.  Speaking of which, there was a screen advertisement at the Mostly British Film Festival for the first Eat Drink Film Festival in October 2015.

Even if I was a dyed-in-the-wool foodie, 27°C Loaf Rock was an earnest but second rate film which fell flat on plot and execution.

The Puzzle Within the Castro Theater's September 2014 Calendar

As frequently happens, one person introduces another to an activity and to paraphrase Darth Vader, "the student becomes the master."

The person who sits next to me at work has become more adept at identifying the individuals in the Castro Theater calendar than I have.  I initially told him about the puzzle in the calendar and more often than not, I provide him with a hard copy of the calendar.  Now, he identifies the individuals and asks me if I have solved the puzzle.

September 8 - Peter O'Toole.  I didn't recognize O'Toole.  In the photo, he looks nothing like he did in Lawrence of Arabia.  My coworker correctly identified O'Toole in the photo and even the film (Goodbye, Mr. Chips).

September 15 - Eve Arden.  I originally thought this was Lucille Ball, but once again my coworker trumped me.  He partially identified her as "Eve something from that television show."  We quickly surmised it was Eve Arden and the photo is from Our Miss Brooks.

September 22 - Ray Walston.  I immediately recognized Walston and even recognized the photo as being taken from his portrayal of Mr. Hand from Fast Times at Ridgemont High.

September 29 - Anne Bancroft.  I didn't recognize her but my coworker misidentified her after some time.  He thought the photo was of Patty Duke from her role as Helen Keller in The Miracle Worker.  Suspicious because Duke is a blonde, I confirmed the photo is of Anne Bancroft from her role as Anne Sullivan, Keller's teacher.

It doesn't take a genius to figure out the photos of are actors portraying teachers and that September is traditionally back-to-school month.  Actually, it doesn't appear to be that way anymore.  I recall not going back to school until after Labor Day but most school districts in the Bay Area started classroom instruction in August this year.

If the clues are pointing to specific films on the program, it is perhaps If.... and The Chocolate War on September 10.

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As for the Castro's calendar, I cannot recall a month where I have previously seen more films on the schedule than this month.  I've seen at least 26 films listed on the September calendar (which includes the first four days in October).

Among the highlights for me:

September 6 - two Bob Fosse films; Sweet Charity paired with All That Jazz.  I saw the former five years ago and loved it.

September 19 - Midnites for Maniacs' double feature of Inside Llewyn Davis and Coal Miner's Daughter.  I missed Llewyn Davis when it was in the theaters earlier this year and it's been many years since I saw Coal Miner's Daughter.

September 20 - the Silent Autumn program from the San Francisco Silent Film Festival.

A grab bag of other films which I hope to see - If...., Petulia, Los Angeles Plays Itself and Sam Fuller's favorite among his own films, Park Row.

Castro Theater Calendar - September 2014

Our Mutual Friend: Charlie Chaplin Shorts

On January 11, the San Francisco Silent Film Festival celebrated the 100th Anniversary of Charlie Chaplin's Little Tramp character.  The event was held at the Castro Theater.

The program consisted of three film screenings.  I skipped the screenings of The Kid and Gold Rush...both of which I had recently seen on the big screen.  I watched the program titled Our Mutual Friend: Charlie Chaplin Shorts which consisted of three two-reelers Chaplin made while working at Mutual Film Corporation.

The Vagabond starring Charlie Chaplin, Edna Purviance & Eric Campbell; directed by Chaplin; silent with intertitles; (1916)
The Cure starring Charlie Chaplin, Edna Purviance, Eric Campbell & Henry Bergman; directed by Chaplin; silent with intertitles; (1917)
Easy Street starring Charlie Chaplin, Edna Purviance & Eric Campbell; directed by Chaplin; silent with intertitles; (1917)

All three films were accompanied by Jon Mirsalis on piano.  Mr. Mirsalis runs a fansite honoring Lon Chaney, Sr.

I misplaced the program for the event so I wasn't able to read about the films or Chaplin.  Those programs are typically very informative (although there is a tendency to digress) so I'm at a bit of a disadvantage in writing this entry.  Typically, I watch the film, read the program article on the film, let my memory of the film filter through the words written in the program and write my thoughts days/weeks/months later.

If one had no idea about the chronology of Chaplin's filmography, one would still suspect these Mutual films predated his most memorable film appearances as the Little Tramp.  First, they were shorter films - approximately 30 minutes each.  The costuming was off a little from the Tramp's later, more familiar look (see photo below).  Most importantly, the three films lacked the pathos which is so inextricably linked to the Tramp.  He even gets the girl in two of the films!

The three films did not feature The Little Tramp character but some prototype which was interesting to see but vaguely disconcerting for anyone who is familiar with and admires Chaplin's most celebrated works.

In The Vagabond, Chaplin is a street musician who wanders into a gypsy encampment.  She falls for the gypsy girl (Purviance) who is abused by the gypsy chief (Eric Campbell).  Actually, I believe Purviance's character was kidnapped by gypsies which explains why a wealthy family is looking for her.  One of men searching for her is clearly attracted to her.  When they find her, she jumps at opportunity to leave the gypsy life behind and rides off in the limousine...only to have the car be turned so they can go back and pick up the Tramp.  Presumably, she is choosing the Tramp over the wealthier, more attractive man although it could be interpreted that she is simply lifting him out of poverty.  Regardless, the Tramp shouldn't be riding off in the limousine with the girl under any circumstances.

In Easy Street, the Tramp spends most of the film dressed in a police uniform.  He is duly appointed police officer!  The Tramp can never be The Man!  Anyway, Chaplin is assigned to the titular Easy Street which is anything but.  It's a rough and tumble block ruled over by Eric Campbell as a quick-fisted criminal.  Campbell & Chaplin mix it up a few times with the Tramp's ingenuity and dexterity saving his bacon.  Eventually, Purviance is kidnapped by a rapist opium addict and is rescued by Chaplin.  The depiction of the opium den and rapist's intentions were darker than usual for a Chaplin film.  Of the three films on the program, this was my favorite although I was mild about all three.

The Cure is set at an alcohol detox spa.  The Tramp is a drunkard (?)  in need of "the cure" which in this case involves drinking the therapeutic water from a spring near the spa. The Tramp arrives with a suitcase full of alcohol which promptly gets thrown out the window and its contents inadvertently contaminate the spring water.  As you can imagine, much of the humor comes from the unwitting intoxication of all who partake of the spring water.  Henry Bergman plays a burly masseur who has the funniest scenes in the film.  As I learned from Chaplin, one of his earliest characters was the unsteady, stumbling drunk which seems more prevalent in The Cure than The Tramp.

All in all, the program was not the most memorable of screenings from the San Francisco Silent Film Festival but I was still entertained.

Charlie Chaplin & Edna Purviance in The Cure

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Speaking of silent films...the Stanford Theater is screening two silent films this week.  Today, That Certain Thing (1928) is screening at 4:30 and 7:30.  On Wednesday & Thursday (January 29 & 30), The Power of the Press (1928) is screening at 7:30 nightly.  That Certain Thing is paired up with It Happened One Night (1934) and The Power of the Press is on a double bill with Platinum Blonde (1931).  All four films were directed by Frank Capra.  Dennis James is accompanying the silent films on the Stanford Theater's Mighty Wurlitzer.

I believe I saw James in the audience at the Castro Theater last night.  He was watching Noir City's screening of The Hitch-Hiker.  The film was scheduled to start at 9:30 PM but was at least 30 minutes late.  That Certain Thing screened last night at the Stanford at 7:30 with James accompanying it.  It would have been tight for him to get from Palo Alto to San Francisco (door-to-door) in the time between screenings so maybe it wasn't him.

Tony Stark, Charlie Chaplin, et al.

In September, I saw a double feature at the Castro.

The Kid starring Charlie Chaplin & Jackie Coogan; directed by Charlie Chaplin; silent with intertitles; (1921)
Chaplin starring Robert Downey Jr.; with Moira Kelly, Kevin Kline, Diane Lane & Anthony Hopkins; directed by Richard Attenborough; (1992)

Speaking of Chaplin, the San Francisco Silent Film Festival has announced their next event.  The Little Tramp at 100 will be on January 11, 2014 at the Castro.  2014 marks the centennial of Chaplin's first film.

I saw The Kid a few years ago.  I stand by what I wrote then.  The Kid is a nice enough film but in the Chaplin filmography, my favorite films would come later in his career.  Ironically, he would make his best silent films during the "talkies" era.

Chaplin is a film I remember from its initial release in 1992.  Much heralded at the time of its release, I had forgotten that Robert Downey Jr. was nominated for an Oscar for his performance as Charlie Chaplin.  As I watched his performance (perhaps rewatched since my film log doesn't go back that far), I realized how much I enjoy his performance and that Downey is truly a movie star.

There is something about him which radiates on the screen.  It could be his acting abilities but he seems to be playing variations on the same role for the past several years - glib, self-assured, frequently intoxicated.  He's played this role many times but when I looked at his filmography I see some outstanding performances.  I've been thinking a lot of his performance in Less Than Zero and I am keen to see the film on the big screen again from the more jaded perspective of a 40something.  James Spader and Robert Downey together.  Those two actors always draw your attention to them and they have selected roles which play to their strengths over the years (Spader primarily on television).

Then I remember Downey in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and his on screen chemistry with Val Kilmer or him as the killer in US Marshals and how he held his own on-screen with Tommy Lee Jones.  Remembering his start on Saturday Night Live, I recalled his comedic turns as the blackfaced actor Tropic Thunder. One of my guilty pleasures is enjoying his turn as Tony Stark in numerous films.  Can't say I was so taken with the Sherlock Holmes films as he seems to be channeling Stark in his performances.

Anyway, I was curious to see Downey in Chaplin.  It was a mixed bag.  First, it seems like everyone and their cousin had a role in this film.  In addition to the aforementioned actors, David Duchovny, Geraldine Chaplin, Dan Ackroyd, Marisa Tomei, Milla Jovovich, Penelope Ann Miller, Nancy Travis, James Woods and I'm sure I'm missing a few.  The number of characters was dizzying.  Although I recognize and had passing knowledge of Fairbanks and Paulette Goddards and even Mabel Normand, the film seemed to want to check all the boxes as opposed to tell a great story.

Chaplin's life was pretty interesting.  The root cause of his interest in underage women is a little vague except his true love was a teenage girl when he left for America.  We're also treated to Geraldine Chaplin playing her mentally unstable grandmother and wondering what the actress is thinking and feeling while portraying the woman who had such an influence on her father.

Director Richard Attenborough applies the Gandhi formula to Chaplin - bigger plus grander equals better.  Chaplin is clearly Attenborough's paean to Hollywood lore and it's bathed in the gentle light of an acolyte's camera.  Chaplin is cast as the victim of J. Edgar Hoover's wrath.  That's certainly true to a certain extent but Chaplin's behavior and failure to rein in his own actions played some role.  However, I don't want to debate Chaplin's moral character or the political overtones of his films.  Where Chaplin falls short is in the casting someone other than Charlie Chaplin in the lead role.

Downey does a fair job as Chaplin but he is noticeably lacking as the Little Tramp.  When Downey does the physical comedy of Chaplin on stage or reenacts his movie scenes, the magic is absent.  To be fair to Downey, I doubt anyone could duplicate Chaplin's screen presence as the Little Tramp.  It would be like trying to cast someone else as Tony Stark; they would come out worse in comparison to the original.  Maybe you could find an actor to play Robert Downey Jr. effectively but Downey's performance as Stark is so indelible that any actor would suffer in the comparison.

I won't go so far to say I didn't enjoy Chaplin.  It was kind of fun to see the early days of Hollywood.  Kevin Kline even does a game turn as Douglas Fairbanks.  Chaplin is one of those film that doesn't stand the test of time and I'm referring to the past 21 years.  Downey's competitors for the Academy Award for Best Actor that year were Al Pacino (Scent of a Woman), Clint Eastwood (Unforgiven), Stephen Rea (The Crying Game) and Denzel Washington (Malcolm X).

It seems clear to me that Eastwood should have won that year but in fact, Pacino won.  In hindsight, Pacino's performance looks like parody.  Along those same lines, Downey appears to be attempting to mimic Chaplin (the real man) as opposed to give Chaplin (the film character) his own motivations.  Downey doesn't appear comfortable in the role; he doesn't stamp the role as his own as he does in countless other films.  He is hamstrung by Chaplin's real actions and the Hollywood mythology which has developed around Chaplin and the early days of film.  It's difficult to play the complex Chaplin much less recreate his greatest scenes on film and if Downey couldn't do it, I wonder who can.

Hitchcock 9 Part 2

The Hitchcock 9 returned to the Bay Area with a two week run at the PFA in August.  I saw six of the nine films in June at the Castro Theater.  That series was organized by the San Francisco Silent Film Festival.  I was able to watch the three remaining films during the PFA series.

One film in the Hitchcock 9 gets a third screening in the Bay Area in the upcoming months.  The Lodger plays at the San Francisco Symphony on Halloween.

The Farmer’s Wife starring Jameson Thomas & Lilian Hall-Davis; silent with intertitles; live accompaniment by Judith Rosenberg; (1928)

Downhill starring Ivor Novello; silent with intertitles; live accompaniment by Judith Rosenberg; (1927)

Champagne starring Betty Balfour; silent with intertitles; live accompaniment by Judith Rosenberg; (1928)

Alfred Hitchcock directed all three films.

Immediately after seeing each of the three films, I was left unimpressed.  One good thing about waiting (or more accurately procrastinating) to blog is that I am able to think about the films some more.  I am typically more charitable towards the films after some delay between seeing the films and writing about them.  Such was the case with the Hitchcock 9.

The Farmer’s Wife is a comedy.  The eponymous farmer is Jameson Thomas who plays widower Samuel Sweetland.  When his daughter gets married, Sweetland decides it is time to find a new wife.  He feels confident that his prospects are good and with the help of his housekeeper Minta (Lilian Hall-Davis), comes up with a list of suitable potential brides.  The first thing I noticed was that Hall-Davis (the lead actress in Hitchcock's The Ring) is noticeably more attractive than the would-be wives.  Not only is she more attractive but she is more well adjusted.  However, she is the housekeeper and Sweetland, a landowner, merits a wife of higher standing than a mere domestic.

With a list of four women in hand, Sweetland goes-a-courtin'.  One after another they reject him and in hilarious manner.  Humbled and dejected, Sweetland returns home and his new state of mind allows him to see Minta in a new light.  Fifth time is the charm when Sweetland asks Minta to marry him and she accepts his proposal.

The plot and ending of The Farmer’s Wife is easily identifiable from a distance.  The comedic brushstrokes are a little too broad for my tastes but three weeks later, I am still able to recall (with a smile) some of the scenes.  There must be something about the film I like.

Downhill was based on a play written by David L'Estrange which a pen name for Ivor Novello & Constance Collier.  Novello plays the lead role of Roddy Berwick, a boarding school (or was it university?) student.  The son of a wealthy family, Roddy is a popular student but it also leads to his downfall or slide downhill as the title alludes.  Roddy, due his family's wealth, is falsely accused of impregnating a local salesgirl.   Rather than deny the charge, Roddy takes the rap for his best friend.  His best friend would lose his scholarship if he accepted responsibility.  In fact, the girl was never pregnant and I wonder if the charge wasn't rape.  Hitchcock abstains from detailed intertitles during this scene.  Roddy is expelled from the school for the charge.  What about paternity and child support issues?

Roddy's father is upset with his expulsion.  It seems he could just money the issue away but instead Roddy leaves in a huff or was he kicked out?  As you can see, some of the details escape me.  Roddy takes a job as an chorus boy and falls for the star of the show.  When he comes into some money from an inheritance, the actress (Isabelle Jeans) agrees to marry him.  She quickly burns through his money and cuckolds him.  Once again, he leaves in a huff.

Next, he ends up as a "taxi dancer" in a Paris nightclub.  This scene is amazing.  I'm certain that some of the "women" were men in drag and I thought it was incredible that they would depict and a bi/gay nightclub in 1927.  I felt it was clear that Roddy was "gay for pay" with the patrons but every other source I have seen refers to this scenes as a nightclub for older women.  Regardless, he is once again taken advantage of by the madam of the club.

This sends Roddy on his final descent where he ends up delirious and homeless.  Again, it's unclear to me if the final scene where he is reunited with his father is "real" or a hallucination.

Given that Novello was gay, I once again wonder about the Parisian nightclub scene.  Somewhat simplistic in plot, Hitchcock's skill was in full display in two memorable scenes.  After being expelled and quicked out of the house, we see Roddy dressed in a tuxedo so we think he is doing well.  Then the camera pulls back and we see he is a waiter in tux; not doing so well.  Then we see him surreptitiously taking a wallet and we think he has fallen to quite a low station in life.  Then the camera pulls back even more and we see his is a chorus dancer.

The second scene which is memorable is at the Parisian nightclub.  Just when Roddy appears to have made a genuine connection, the nightclub curtains are pulled open revealing sunlight.  Like vampires, the grotesque patrons are exposed and go scurrying off.

In Champagne, Betty Balfour plays "The Girl," an American heiress who, with her pilot, flies her "aeroplane" on a one-way trip midway across the ocean to catch the ocean liner carry "The Boy" (Jean Bradin).  The Boy happens to be the boyfriend.  Betty wants to marry The Boy seemingly to spite her father who is concerned that The Boy is only interested in Betty's money.  The father concocts a ruse and tells Betty that the family fortune (made in the champagne business or bootleg liquor) has been wiped out in the stock market.  The film was released about a year before the 1929 stock market crash.

As  a result of a separate quarrel, Betty and The Boy are taking a break from their relationship.  Betty finds work at a swanky nightclub as a flower girl (one of those women who sells rose or carnations to patrons for the lapel buttons).  It's not lost on Betty or the audience that this the type of club she would have frequented as a patron and now she is working there.

Since the beginning of the film, there has been a suspicious looking man (Ferdinand von Alten credited as The Man) hanging around Betty.  He shows up at the nightclub and his intentions are unclear.  Betty fears the worst but he appears to have Betty's best interests at heart.  The Boy shows up and once again argues with Betty over her job and he storms out.  Betty and The Boy have a volatile relationship.  Later, The Boy and The Father return.  The Father reveals to Betty his deception.  Betty is angry at both of them although I'm not sure of The Boy's complicity.  In a moment of pique, Betty asks The Man to take her back to America since he is traveling there the next day.  He agrees and they drive from Paris to the Normandy coast to board the ocean liner.  Once on board, The Man locks Betty up in her cabin (although there were two beds) from the outside but conveniently leaves the key in the lock.

A few minutes later, The Boy arrives in the cabin and Betty conks him on the head before realizing who he is.  They reconcile again but The Man returns and interrupts the couple.  This time The Father is with the The Man.  It turns out The Man is some sort of detective who has been hired to look after Betty.  The good news is that The Father now approves of The Boy and Betty marriage to him.  As the couple discuss wedding plans, another argument ensues.

Of the three films, my opinion of The Farmer’s Wife has improved the most.  My opinion of Champagne has changed the least.  I didn't think it was that funny and to say it was contrived would be an understatement.  Betty Balfour was definitely game but I found the film limp and lacking.

From the entire Hitchcock 9, my favorite film was The Manxman with honorable mentions for Blackmail and The Lodger.  My opinion of The Pleasure Garden also improved considerably in the 2.75 months since I watched it.

2013 Sacramento Japanese Film Festival

I went to the 2013 Sacramento Japanese Film Festival (SJFF) on July 12 & 13 at the Crest Theater in Sacramento.  The festival continued on July 14 (Sunday) but I skipped that day as I had seen the first film (Key of Life) and would have to stick around until 4:00 PM to see Mrs. Judo: Be Strong, Be Gentle, Be Beautiful.  I also skipped 13 Assassins which played at 8 PM on July 13 because I had also already seen it.  If the 8 PM show had been something different, I may have stuck around to see the midnight screening of Shaun of the Dead presented by Trash Film Orgy which was also screening at the Crest.  As it was, I went to the hotel gym and then had dinner.

I always seek out restaurants near the theaters I frequent.  Near the Castro Theater is Orphan Andy's.  For many years, it was my "go to" place for a bite before & after a show at the Castro but the service has gone down in my opinion so I've been going to Dinosaurs, Sliders, Pica Pica and Super Duper.  Near the PFA is Moccacino Cafe and the Asian Ghetto restaurants or sometimes Top Dog and Bongo Burger on Center Street closer to the BART station.  The latter two restaurants will be directly across the new PFA location when it opens in 2016.  I like Truly Mediterranean near the Roxie.  I could continue listing restaurants for each of the theaters I frequent regularly.

The area around the Crest is pretty deserted on Friday and Saturday nights.  Sacramento's downtown empties out after work.  There are a few dance/night clubs nearby but not many place to get an evening meal.  The SJFF schedule and my previous exploration of Downtown/Midtown Sacramento led me to two restaurants.  I went to the Squeeze Inn at 1630 K Street for brunch on Saturday.  The Squeezeburger with cheese had been recommended because of the "cheese skirt."  Essentially, they melt the square American cheese slices on the grill and form a cheese skirt which is larger than the burger bun.  It's mildly amusing to chip away the melted cheese but frankly I thought the experience and the food was overrated.

Much more appealing to me was Petra Greek at 1122 16th Street (between K & L) which has the added benefit of being open until 3 AM on Saturday & Sunday mornings.  If you know your geography, you know Petra is an ancient city in Jordan known for the red & pink hues of the architecture which was carved out of the mountainside.  If you know your history, you know Petra was populated and influenced by many different civilizations including Greek.  Getting back to the restaurant, I can recommend the Pork Souvlaki Plate and Loukaniko Plate.  The rice pilaf was particularly flavorful.  I bought a couple side orders to take home.

Back to the festival.  The SJFF founder/director Barbara Kado announced that the opening night film (Haru's Journey) had set an attendance record for the festival.  I thought the screenings were well attended.  There seemed to be more people per screening than the Sacramento French Film Festival (SFFF) but the had more screenings than the SJFF.

The SJFF had an "Andy Hardy puts on a film festival" feel to it.  The SJFF is affiliated with the Sacramento Japanese United Methodist Church.  Kado made announcements before each film and she repeated that a) five or six people were charged $5 too much for their festival passes ($35 was the correct price) and that they should contact her to get their refund and b) ways to avoid the parking garage fees because there was some sort of event in a nearby park and the garages were not honoring the Crest's parking validation (the secret is to enter before 6 PM or park at one of the garages farther away which honored the validation!).  In addition, there was a table in the lobby selling handmade greeting cards.  I know they were handmade because a group of volunteers were making them at an adjacent table.  

The audience at the SJFF skewed older than most festivals I attend and looked to be some Nisei but mostly Sansei generation.  For those not familiar with those terms or their corresponding age ranges, I put the audience members to be mostly 55 and up.  That doesn't seem so old to me anymore...

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I saw four films at the SJFF.

Haru's Journey starring Tatsuya Nakadai & Eri Tokunaga; directed by Masahiro Kobayashi; Japanese with subtitles; (2010)
Every Night Dreams starring Sumiko Kurishima & Tatsuo Saitô; directed by Mikio Naruse; silent with intertitles; (1933)
A Letter to Momo; anime; directed by Hiroyuki Okiura; Japanese with subtitles; (2011) - Official Website
The Knot starring Mukku Akazawa & Junichi  Kawamoto; directed by Yuichi Onuma; Japanese with subtitles; (2010)

Haru's Journey was screened with a beat up 35 mm print.  Everything else was digital.  Every Night Dreams had a recorded soundtrack; i.e. no live accompaniment.  No short films accompanied any of the features.

Tatsuya Nakadai, who made films with Kurosawa and Mifune, is still making films.  Since Haru's Journey, he has continued working.  At the age of 80, he is probably the most well known Japanese movie actor outside of Japan.  In Haru's Journey, he plays Tadao Nakai opposite Eri Tokunaga as Haru Nakai.  Tadao is Haru's grandfather and they live together but when Haru is laid off from work in their small fishing village, she suggest her grandfather try finding other living arrangements while she ventures to Tokyo for work.  Enraged, Tadao sets off (with Haru in tow) to visit his estranged siblings to see if any will take them in.  Along the way, we glimpse the family dynamics between grandfather and granddaughter but also between Tadao and his siblings which have long been strained.  We also glimpse human frailty and failings as Tadao is far from wise or selfless.  Haru is still dealing with her mother's suicide and father's abandonment.  Ultimately, the film become one of self-discovery; particularly for Haru when they take a detour and visit her father.  Largely lacking the mawkishness which afflicts so many American films, Haru's Journey had a bittersweet quality which elevated it to something above average.  Kin Sugai as Tadao's older sister stood out among the supporting cast.  It was my favorite film of the festival.

Every Night Dreams (aka Each Night I Dream, aka Yogoto no yume) tackles some familiar themes for director Mikio Naruse - long suffering women dealing to abusive husbands and tragedy.  In this case, Omitsu (Sumiko Kurishima) is a bargirl with a young son at home.  Eeking out a hardscrabble existence, Omitsu life is upended when her deadbeat husband Mizuhara (Tatsuo Saitô) shows up looking to reunite with his family.  Omitsu is initially weary but is slowly worn down.  Not exactly abusive but more beaten down by life, Mizuhara can't get break, not that he necessarily deserves one.  When their son is hit by a car, Mizuhara finds redemption and ruin in his attempt to get money to pay for the boy's necessary operation.  Unabashedly melodramatic, Every Night Dreams didn't quite live up to my expectations.

I've never been a fan of anime and A Letter to Momo won't change my mind.  The story of a girl (the eponymous Momo) whose life takes a tough turn.  Her father dies at sea and her mother relocates them to the small town she grew up in.  Momo final conversation with her father was an argument and she carries guilt around because of it.  She finds a unfinished letter from her father to her and she is haunted by the words he never wrote.  This is ripe setup to tell a story of Momo dealing with her grief and adapting to new surroundings.   This is broached but these damned imps or spirits show up.  Only Momo can see them and they seem to have ulterior motives.  More of a nuisance and mischievous than downright, the three imps cause Momo endless trouble and embarrassment.  By the end, the barrier between her imagination and the real-world is breached and the audience is left to wonder if the creatures were real or a figment of Momo's imagination.  Some (most?) people wouldn't be upset by this but it took the story in the wrong direction for my tastes.

The Knot was an ambitious film seemingly film on a small budget.  Mukku Akazawa is Ayako, a housewife whose husband is slightly indifferent towards her and senile father-in-law is abusive towards her.  When she takes her blood-stained blouse to an establishment with a reputation for working miracles on stains, she discovers the dry cleaner is Keisuke (Junichi Kawamoto), her former junior high teacher and lover.  The film doesn't reveal that immediately.  Instead, it seems like there is a simmering attraction between them and their hesitancy is due to the fact they are both married.  Eventually, they re-consummate their relationship but that only stirs up conflicted feelings.  Keisuke had to leave his position and Ayako had to move away.  Their forbidden love cost them both quite a bit a decade and half ago and neither is completely willing to leave their spouse although Keisuke definitely gives the impression that he married on the rebound.   Sô Hirosawa shines as Keisuke loving wife who slowly realizes her husband's past threaten her marriage but her lack of self-esteem and/or love for Keisuke keeps her from walking out on him.  Director Yuichi Onuma does a nice job of eliciting sympathy for Keisuke who is essentially a pedophile (if not convicted) and giving Ayako some sharp edges which one would expect from a woman who has gone though her situation.  The Knot deals with a complex situation without resorting to banality.  It is a worthwhile film.

In past years, San Francisco Silent Film Festival (SFSFF) has conflicted with the SJFF.  I'm not sure why this year the two festivals did not conflict.  With the SFSFF's calendar change (May 29 - June 1, 2014), July will now be free for me to venture to Sacramento.

Hitchcock 9

The San Francisco Silent Film Festival (SFSFF) presented the Hitchcock 9 at the Castro Theater from June 14 to 16.  I saw six of the nine films on the program.  The Hitchcock 9 is project by the British Film Institute to digitally restore all of Alfred Hitchcock’s surviving silent films.

Blackmail starring Anny Ondra, John Longden & Cyril Ritchard; directed by Alfred Hitchcock; silent with intertitles; live accompaniment by the Mont Alo Motion Picture Orchestra; (1929)

The Ring starring Carl Brisson, Lilian Hall-Davis & Ian Hunter; directed by Alfred Hitchcock; silent with intertitles; live accompaniment by the Mont Alo Motion Picture Orchestra; (1927)

The Manxman starring Carl Brisson, Malcolm Keen & Amy Ondra; directed by Alfred Hitchcock; silent with intertitles; live accompaniment by Stephen Horne & Diana Rowan; (1929)

Easy Virtue starring Isabel Jeans, Robin Irvine & Franklin Dyall; directed by Alfred Hitchcock; silent with intertitles; live accompaniment by Judith Rosenberg; (1927)

The Pleasure Garden starring Virginia Valli, Camelita Geraghty, Miles Mander & John Stuart; directed by Alfred Hitchcock; silent with intertitles; live accompaniment by Stephen Horne; (1926)

The Lodger starring Ivor Novello, Malcolm Keen & June Tripp; directed by Alfred Hitchcock; silent with intertitles; live accompaniment by the Mont Alo Motion Picture Orchestra; (1926)

The same nine films are screening at the PFA from August 16 to 31.  Judith Rosenberg is scheduled to accompany all nine films.  I plan on seeing the three films I missed at the PFA screenings.

It was little odd for SFSFF to have a program so close to their annual festival.  The crowds were a little lighter than the festival proper but still quite strong.  It was also the first time I recall Judith Rosenberg performing at a SFSFF event.  She performs regularly at PFA and Niles Essanay.

Most of the films were not "Hitchcockian" - few murders and the humor wasn't quite so cheeky.

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The festival opened with Blackmail which was Hitchcock's final silent film and it portended his best talkies.  Frank (John Longden) is police detective. He and his girlfriend Alice (Anny Ondra) have an argument over dinner.  It's unclear if Alice is having an affair or goes off with an artist in response to the argument with Frank.  I think the latter but regardless, she goes to his studio where he eventually tries to rape her.  She defends herself with a pair of scissors which ends in the artist death.

Frank is assigned the case the next day and recognizes Alice's glove at the murder scene as well as the victim who he glimpsed leaving the restaurant with Alice.  He tries to steer the investigation away from Alice but she is being blackmailed by someone who saw her enter the artist's studio.  Frank and Alice conspire to handle the blackmailer but he flees leading to climactic chase on the roof of the British Museum Reading Room.

This film felt just like one of the Master's more well known films - sex, blackmail, murder, etc.  Hitchcock shoots a great visual scene where the camera elevates as Alice and the artist ascend the stairs.

Michael Powell of Powell & Pressburger fame worked on Blackmail as a still photographer.

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The Ring wasn't bad although it didn't feel like a Hitchcock film.  "One Round" Jack (Carl Brisson) is a carnival boxer who takes on all comers.  Bob Corby (Ian Hunter) is the boxing champ who steps into the carnival ring against Jack.  Jack doesn't know who his opponent is and suffers a rare defeat at his hands.  Corby was there looking for a sparring partner.

Jack's girlfriend, and eventual wife, (Lilian Hall-Davis credited as "The Girl") is fickle.  She was attracted to Jack because of his boxing prowess but seeing Corby beat him and the following Corby's boxing career, she eventually takes up with the champ.  In fact, Jack must rise up the ranks in order to get a championship fight against Corby in order to win the girl back.  Ironically, it is while Jack is training for the fight that Corby and the girl become an item.  If the old boxing superstition is to be believed, it was because Corby consorted with women that he eventually loses the match to Jack.

The film was a little too pat.  The Ring is Hitchcock's only screenwriting credit and shows a maudlin streak.  I thought it would have worked better if Jack had lost the fight (or the girl) but there is no use in talking about the film that wasn't made.  The final fight scene was nicely done although the two actors did not move like fighters.

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The Manxman was also a love triangle but I enjoyed it more than The Ring.  The title refers to people from the Isle of Man.  Shouldn't they be called Manman or Manmen (plural)?  Hitchcock makes great use of the coastal scenery but Cornwall stood in for the Isle of Man, a small island off the northwest coast of England,

Pete (Carl Brisson) , a poor fisherman and Philip (Malcolm Keen), a lawyer from a prominent family are best friends.  Pete is in love Kate (Anny Ondra) but her father refuses to allow her daughter to marry Pete due to his low station in life.  Pete goes to Africa to make his fortune.  Africa?  Anyway, before he leaves he ask Philip to "take care" of Kate until he returns and can marry her.  You know were this is going.

In Pete's absence, Kate & Philip develop attraction towards each other but it isn't until news of Pete's death reaches them that their passion can be fully expressed.  Philip is being groomed for a judgeship on the island (which is called a Deemster).  Additionally, Philip's family objects to his consorting with people like Kate (a tavern keeper's daughter) and Pete.

News of Pete's death was inaccurate as he arrives back on Isle of Man healthy and wealthy.  Although she has stronger feelings from Philip, Kate marries Pete so as not to break his heart and not to mention Philip has kept their relationship on the QT.  There is a great scene where the wedding reception is held at a grain mill, the same spot of many of Philip and Kate's trysts.  Kate's father (the stern looking Randie Ayrton) delivers a wedding toast about something being ground up like the grain under the millstone.

Kate & Pete settle into married life while Philip is appointed Deemster.  If Kate could just let go of Philip, everything would be alright.  Kate gives birth (the father is open question) and the stress of being a new mother and being married to a man she doesn't truly love is too much.  She goes to Philip to rekindle their affair but he has a career and reputation to protect.  Distraught, Kate attempts suicide but is unsuccessful.  Attempted suicide is a crime on the Isle of Man and Kate is prosecuted in Philip's courtroom.

Despite his wife's erratic and hurtful behavior, Pete is still in love with her and pleads with Philip to free her to his custody.  Pete still doesn't know about Philip and Kate's relationship.  Philip agrees to let Kate go in the custody of her husband but she refuses.  While watching the proceedings, Kate's father begins to realize that Kate is in love with another man...and that man is Philip.  He publicly accuses Philip of betraying Pete and impregnating his daughter.  Philip admits to this and leaves the bench.

The final scene is Kate & Philip leaving the Isle of Man to jeers of a mob.  That seemed a little overdone but according the program notes, it would have been consistent with the prevailing attitude of the time.

The Manxman was very good and I liked it quite a bit.  I was going to say that I liked it quite a bit for a love triangle story but decided there was no need to qualify statement.  The three lead actors gave strong performances.

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Easy Virtue was adapted from a Noel Coward play which seems like odd source material for both Hitchcock and a silent film.  I thought I saw the stage version of Easy Virtue at ACT a few years back, but I was mistaken.  ACT has never performed Easy Virtue.  I'm wondering where I saw it.  Since seeing the film, I realized it had been remade a few years ago with Jessica Biel, Colin Firth & Kristin Scott Thomas.  I still can't figure out where I saw the stage version.

Anyway, the Hitchcock version is a film I like better today than when I saw it.  I won't say I liked it but I've gone form mild dislike to neutrality.  As the film opens, Larita (Isabel Jeans) is married to a drunken wife beater.  Accused of adultery, she accepts divorce to get away from him.  The divorce brands her an adulterer or woman of "easy virtue" so she leaves for the French Rivera where she meets John Whittaker (Robin Irvine), a rich young man.  Afraid to reveal her divorce or more specifically the grounds for her divorce, she keeps her first marriage a secret.  John falls in love and asks her to marry him and she accepts.

John takes Larita back to England to meet his family where his mother shows an antipathy towards her. News of her first marriage and particulars of its dissolution come to light.  Larita eventually decides to end her second marriage for different reason that her first.  Tired of the hostility and realizing another woman loves John, Larita gets divorced for a second time.

Condensed to 70 minutes, the film didn't leave much room for character development.  Moreover, it looked like a play that had been filmed.  I'm also sure that some of Coward's biting dialogue was lost on the intertitle cards.

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The Pleasure Garden was kind of ham-handed in some of its characterizations.  Jill (Carmelita Geraghty) arrives in London with a letter of introduction addressed to the proprietor of the Pleasure Garden Theater - a dance and variety revue.  Jill apparently comes from a small town and is immediately the victim of a pickpocket.  Jill promptly loses her letter and her money.  Patsy (Virginia Valli), a kind-hearted chorus girl at the Pleasure Garden takes pity of Jill and invites her to stay at her place.

Jill's boyfriend Hugh (John Stuart) shows up in London with Levet (Miles Mander) Levet, slight acquaintance.  Whatever her background, Jill is self-confident to the point of arrogance.  She gets a lead role on the basis of her talent and quickly gets high-handed with Jill and to a lesser extent Hugh.  In the meantime, Patsy & Levet being a romance despite signs of Levet's misogyny and other character flaws.

Hugh is sent overseas for work and Levet is soon to join him although he first marries Patsy.  Jill begins to carry on an affair with a prince which Hugh is unaware of.  After their honeymoon, Levet goes Africa although it looked more like a South Seas/Pacific island where he meets Hugh, keeps secret Jill's affair and takes up with local girl.  Patsy becomes concerned after not hearing from her husband for a long period.  Shacked up and not thinking much of his wife, Levet makes up an excuse by saying he has been ill.

Concerned for his health, Patsy immediately sets out to join him so she can nurse him back to health.  When she arrives unannounced, she discovers Levet has been carrying on with the native girl.  This sends Levet into a tizzy.  He forces the girl from his hut she refuses.  He settles the matter by drowning the girl.  Determined to get his wife back, he looks for her and find her tending to Hugh (who really is ill).  Levet forces Patsy to return to the hut where his guilt over killing the woman drives him crazy.  Actually, I wondered if his behavior was the result of untreated syphilis.  I don't know why that popped into my mind.

Hugh has warned his boss that Levet is acting erratically.  The boss arrives at Levet's house to find him trying to kill Patsy.  He shoots & kills Levet.  In the meantime, Hugh has read in a newspaper that Patsy brought that Jill is marrying the prince.  As Patsy arrives, the two find consolation with each other - one  a fevered man who has just learned he has been jilted and the other woman just barely survived attempted murder.  I'm sure that's a happily-ever-after relationship.

Miles Mander seems to be enjoying himself playing the dastardly Levet.   Carmelita Geraghty also seems to embrace the "success has gone to her head" Jill.  Virginia Valli & John Stuart seem a little flat in their roles.  A little melodrama goes a long way and this film had too much for my taste.

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The full title of The Lodger was The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog.  A serial killer called "The Avernger" is terrorizing London.  His MO is to kill young blonde women.  He even kills them on Tuesday night every week.  Joe (Malcolm Keen), a policeman is assigned to case.  His blonde girlfriend Daisy (June Tripp) lives & works at her parents boarding house.  Joe has determined that the Avenger's murders are working their way across London and if the pattern holds, next week his hunting ground will be in the vicinity of Daisy's boarding house.

Mr. Drew (Ivor Novello) arrives at the boarding house and rents a room.  A peculiar man, Drew is secretive and has the paintings of beautiful blonde nudes removed from his room.  Drew & Daisy become friendly during his stay which leaves Joe resentful.  In addition, Daisy's mother hears Drew entering the house late one night...only to discover the Avenger has struck again and right around the corner from her house.

Daisy's parents and Joe come to believe Drew is the Avenger but Daisy is unconvinced.  She even goes out with him the Tuesday night.  Joe arrests the lodger and finds a gun, a map with the Avenger's murders marked on it, newspaper clippings and a photo of an attractive blonde woman.  Joe thinks he has caught the Avenger despite Daisy's protest.  Drew escapes custody and hides out with Daisy's help.  Drew explains that the woman in the photo is his sister and one of the Avenger's victims.  Drew had promised his dying mother that he would catch the Avenger and he has been hunting him ever since which explains his suspicious behavior.

With a manhunt on for the Avenger/Drew, a crowd becomes suspicious of Drew and Daisy.   It appears as though a lynching is inevitable but at the crucial moment, a paperboy, hawking his newspapers, loudly announces that the Avenger has been caught and the mob disperses.

Not quite a MacGuffin but definitely a red herring, Hitchcock keeps the deception up for the entire film.  I don't think the Avenger's face was shown in the film.  The lodger's true intentions remained hidden throughout the film which allowed for a "surprise" ending.  The Lodger felt like a Hitchcock film and a good one at that.  Ivor Novello is particularly creepy as the eponymous character.

The Puzzle Within the Castro Theater's June Calendar

The June calendar is out and the puzzle wasn't too difficult.  There were only two days in June which the theater was closed which made it easier.

June 10 - I quickly recognized Alfred Hitchcock as the man in the photo.  I didn't recognize the woman
June 17 - I did not recognize the man or the woman in the photo.

After some perusal, I thought the woman looked similar in both photos. She appears to wear the same fur coat in both photos although I don't know if that is true.  She looks older in the second photo.  Guessing it was the same woman in both photos, I started to wonder if that was Hitchcock in the June 17 photo.  I correctly guessed that the woman was Hitchcock's wife, Alma.  I googled her to see what she looked like.  I mentally picture her as Helen Mirren since seeing Hitchcock.  This photo came up as a result of the Google search.  Larger and in higher definition, it definitely looks like Hitchcock in the June 17 photo.

So both photos are Alfred Hitchcock & Alma Reville.  It wasn't much of leap to think the clues pointed to the Hitchcock 9 series at the Castro which is presented by the San Francisco Silent Film Festival.  The Hitchcock 9 series will be held from June 14 to 16 at the Castro.

The same series will run from August 16 to 31 at the PFA.  Judith Rosenberg will be accompanying two of the films (Champagne and Easy Virtue) at the Castro series but will be accompanying all nine films at the PFA series.  That's something to consider if you want to see all nine films but don't want to spend all day at the Castro on June 16 and 16.

Castro Theater Calendar - June 2013

Alfred Hitchcock: The Shape of Suspense

2013 seems to be the Year of Hitchcock.  I don't know why as this year does not seem to be an anniversary of anything of significance in his life.  Hitchcock seems popular again since Hitchcock was released and The Girl aired on HBO in 2012.  Anthony Hopkins & Toby Jones portrayed The Master in those productions, respectively.  His Vertigo was named the Greatest Film of All Time in the 2012 critics' poll conducted by Sight and Sound.

The PFA is at the tail end of an ambitious program titled Alfred Hitchcock: The Shape of Suspense.  If my counting is correct, there are 28 film screenings in the program (January 11 through April 24).  The program still has two films left (Psycho and Frenzy) but I will not be able to attend either.

In addition, the San Francisco Silent Film Festival will be screening nine of his silent films from June 14 to 16 at the Castro. I will be attending that program.  I haven't decided how many of the screenings I will attend.  The films being screened (with accompaniment) will be:

Blackmail  (Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra)
Champagne  (Stephen Horne)
Downhill  (Stephen Horne)
The Ring  (Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra)
The Manxman  (Stephen Horne)
The Farmer's Wife  (Stephen Horne)
Easy Virtue  (accompaniment to be announced)
The Pleasure Garden  (Stephen Horne)
The Lodger  (Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra)

These films are collectively known as the "Hitchcock 9" and will play at the PFA from August 16 to 31.

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Way back in January, I saw my one and only film in the PFA's The Shape of Suspense program.

The Man Who Knew Too Much starring Leslie Banks, Edna Best & Peter Lorre; directed by Alfred Hitchcock; (1934)

Hitchcock remade this film under the same title with James Stewart & Doris Day in 1956.  The film is famous because Day sang Que Sera, Sera (one of her biggest hits).

The 1934 version starts off in St. Moritz during winter, not Morocco during summer.  Leslie Banks and Edna Best play the Stewart & Day roles, respectively.  The 1934 film hits all the plot points as the 1956 version which I am familiar with but doesn't quite feel right.  I should be honest and say at the time I saw the film, I was unimpressed so my notes are sketchy at best.  As this paragraph alludes to, I spent a lot of mental energy synchronizing the two versions of the film.  The assassination at the Royal Albert Hall?  Check.  The scene at the church?  Check.  In the 1934 version, the boy is held in a working class/ghetto area near the London docks.  In the 1956 version, the boy is held at a posh embassy residence where Day gets to sing her song.

The scene that sticks in my mind the most after three months is the climax which involves an extended gun battle between an army of cops & the kidnappers.  I am likely conditioned by modern films with loud gun battles but I thought the final showdown had a tinny sound which reminded me of a gallery shooting arcade.

Peter Lorre was memorable in an early role (just a few years removed from Fritz Lang's M).  All things considered, I prefer the 1956 version of The Man Who Knew Too Much.

Silent Winter 2013

The San Francisco Silent Film Festival held a one day event at the Castro Theater on February 16.

The event consisted of five programs but I only saw one since the event conflicted with the San Francisco Independent Film Festival.  The films I missed were Snow White, The Thief of Bagdad, My Best Girl & Faust.  I saw Faust (directed by F.W. Murnau) at the 2012 Cinequest.  I would have liked to have seen The Thief of Bagdad and My Best Girl which starred Douglas Fairbanks & Mary Pickford, respectively.

I saw a short film program titled "Think Slow, Act Fast: Buster Keaton Shorts" which consisted of three films.

One Week starring Buster Keaton & Sybil Seely; with Joe Roberts; directed by Edward F. Cline & Buster Keaton; silent with intertitles; (1920)
The Scarecrow starring Buster Keaton & Sybil Seely; with Joe Roberts & Joe Keaton; directed by Edward F. Cline & Buster Keaton; silent with intertitles; (1920)
The Play House starring Buster Keaton; with Virginia Fox & Joe Roberts; directed by Edward F. Cline & Buster Keaton; silent with intertitles; (1921)

Donald Sosin accompanied the films on piano.  Frank Buxton introduced the films.

I cannot recall laughing more than I did during this program.

One Week - Keaton & Sybil Seely are newlyweds who receive a DIY house building kit.  A spurned suitor renumbers the parts and causes hilarious mischief.  The finished house looks like a Picasso painting.  Memorable gags included the house spinning on its vertical axis during a windstorm and a train missing a car stuck on the railroad tracks.

The Scarecrow - Keaton woos the farmer's daughter (Seely).  After losing his shirt in a hay thresher, he dresses in the scarecrow's clothes.  Memorable gags includes a pit bull chasing Buster, Keaton and Joe Roberts tossing sundry items around with jury rigged ropes and Keaton, Seely & a preacher on a motorcycle.

The Play House - Keaton is a theater stagehand who falls in love with an identical twin but keeps confusing her with her sister.  (In)famous gags include Keaton (sometimes) in blackface simultaneously performing nine parts via trick photography, Keaton in drag & Keaton pretending to be an orangutan.

New Potrero Theater

One item I forgot to mention yesterday in the section of my post which listed all the cinematic options over the holiday weekend was the New Potrero Theater (NPT).  I read about the NPT from the San Francisco Silent Film Festival blog.  The NPT, located at 312 Connecticut Street on Potrero Hill, is screening silent films on November 9 (8 PM) and  November 10 (1 PM and 8 PM).  There is an open house (with refreshments) starting one hour before each showtime.  The feature film being screened is F.W. Murnau's Sunrise preceded with (what I presume to be) a short film program called 1930s Potrero Hill Home Movies.  Tickets are $5 and proceeds go to the "Potrero Branch Library."  The screenings are being sponsored by the Potrero Hill Archives Project.

The flyer for the events states that 312 Connecticut is "now the San Francisco Gurdjieff Society."  What is the Gurdjieff Society?  Their website is ominously lacking in information.  All it says is "For further information, two avenues are available:  A one on one meeting over coffee or attending a salon discussion."  It sounds like a pyramid scheme or something.  After a little internet "research" I found a link to the Gurdjieff Society whose website implies the Society is a self-help organization with chapters all over the world.  However, on other website, people refer to it as "a cult."  Wonderful.  Having already unknowingly associated with the Freedom Socialist Party (I am still receiving their newsletter), I'm not anxious to test the waters with the Gurdjieff Society...particularly for a film I've seen a few times.

One the other hand, I regret missing the screening at the El Rey Theater last November and I would like to see the NPT which opened 99 years ago.  How often will these old, repurposed movie houses be open to the public and/or screen films?

Of the half dozen or so filmgoing options I am considering this weekend, the NPT is the least likely but the most enticing.

Napoléon

On April 1, I attended what I have heard called "the cinematic event of a lifetime." I am referring to the long anticipated screening of Napoléon at the Paramount Theatre in Oakland.

Napoléon starring Albert Dieudonné; directed by Abel Gance; silent with intertitles; accompanied by the Oakland East Bay Symphony conducted by Carl Davis; (1927)

There are many published accounts of the film and the making of the film. The version screened in Oakland was the result of a lifetime's work by noted film historian Kevin Brownlow. In preparation for the screening, I read Brownlow's Napoleon: Abel Gance's Classic Film (1983). I recommend the book to anyone with an interest in the making of the film, Brownlow's association with Gance and Bronwlow's reconstruction of the film. Subsequent to publication, Brownlow edited a version of the film with approximately 20 more minutes of material which was screened in Oakland.

Originally, Gance was going to make a hexalogy on Napoleon Bonaparte's life. He spent all the money on the first film and never made the other five. In many ways, the first film is like three films in one. Presented with three intermissions, Napoléon consisted four acts of 2:00, 1:00, 1:50 and 0:45 in length, totaling to 5 hours, 35 minutes in runtime. The intermissions totaled 2 hours, 35 minutes. The entire event took over 8 hours.

Napoléon was epic if ever there was an epic film. Armed with the knowledge glommed from Brownlow's book, I was on the lookout for many of the innovations pioneered by Gance. There was the snowball fight when Napoleon was a boy which caused the children so many discomforts during filming. Apparently, Gance filmed or was prepared to film a shot from the perspective of the snowball which has been lost. There was a scene above the assembly during which Gance mounted the camera to a swing or trapeze to get the camera motion to match the swells on the ocean which Napoleon was floundering upon. There was a scene where the camera is in front of Napoleon as he gallops on a horse. I assume the camera was mounted to a truck bed but I didn't seen any dust being kicked up by it. Of course, there is the finale in Polyvision where three projectors are use to show synchronized images on three full size screens. At the Paramount, the left & right screens appeared as curtains opened to the cheers of the audience. It was supremely impressive.

Napoléon was a supremely impressive film. Even if I had not read the book, the technical advances in filmmaking techniques by Gance would be obvious. Gance and/or his assistant director had a talent in managing crowd scene. On the battlefield, schoolyard, assembly hall, military camp, etc. the chaos through which Napoleon found clarity is richly presented.

The film assumed the audience had a knowledge of the French Revolution and Napoleon's life which was beyond me. I probably lost some of the meaning of certain events. More knowledge on Robespierre's life would have been helpful. For the most part, Napoléon was historically accurate. The only character who I'm certain was fictionalized was Violine (Annabella), an innkeeper's daughter and house servant who becomes obsessed with Napoleon.

My admiration for the film is not blind though. Gance was terribly self-indulgent in making the film. Some scenes drag on for too long as if Gance wanted the audience to see his genius on display. In particular, the Siege of Toulon could have been edited.

During the dinner break, the hordes of filmgoers (the Paramount can seat 3,000 and it was sold out) descended onto Broadway. I wasn't sure if we could be seated, dine and return in time for Act 3. We decided on Mua which was staffed for the crowd. At the foot of Webster St. where Webster, Broadway & 25th St converge, Mua was quite a find. The large space has a warehouse feel and was playing Beatles songs in the background. The owner even looked a little like John Lennon. Scanning the crowd of diners, I spotted Czar of Noir Eddie Muller three tables away.

While walking back to the Paramount, I noticed Mua it is close to the proposed location of the New Parkway Theater on 24th between Broadway and Telegraph. With any luck, I'll be returning to Mua when I go to the New Parkway which I think they are calling the Uptown Parkway now.

I appreciated the grandeur of Napoléon and feel fortunate to have seen the film with full orchestral accompaniment, with Carl Davis conducting and full Polyvision projection. Given the size of the audience, several other people took advantage of the opportunity.

Napoléon has crossed into the realm of myth and legend. Gance's first version of the film ran over 9 hours (not including intermissions if there were any). Even when the film was being made, it seems to have been destined for greatness. How much of my (or the 2012 audience's) reaction to the film was conditioned by what I've heard and read vs. what I actually saw? I suspect a fair amount.

Trodding the Boards in October

There are three stage performances I want to see in October.

I am a season ticket subscriber to American Conservatory Theater. Their first production of the season is Once in a Lifetime by Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman. The play, which premiered in 1930, is a comedy about the transition from silent films to talkies. ACT has partnered with the San Francisco Silent Film Festival to present screenings of short silent films before select Friday night performances (October 7 and 14). The performances are at the Geary Theater at 415 Geary Street in San Francisco.

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Across town, a more modest theater company is presenting works by the Czar of Noir, Eddie Muller. Thrillpeddlers is presenting their annual Shocktoberfest production for the 12th year in a row. This year's theme is "Fear Over Frisco." Muller penned the three short plays being performed and directs two of them.

If you are unfamiliar with Thrillpeddlers, it is a troupe which performs Grand Guignol plays. What is Grand Guignol? This website should help.

As used today, the term 'Grand Guignol' (pronounced Grahn Geen-yol') refers to any dramatic entertainment that deals with macabre subject matter and features “over-the-top” graphic violence. It is derived from Le Theatre du Grand Guignol, the name of the Parisian theatre that horrified audiences for over sixty years.

The three plays being performed are:

The Grand Inquisitor - an odd young woman with a cache of used books comes calling on an elderly recluse that she believes is the widow of San Francisco’s most notorious serial killer. Twenty real-time minutes culminate in an unexpected and shocking climax.

An Obvious Explanation - a daring heist goes awry when the crook who stashed the loot suffers amnesia. An ambitious doctor intends to solve the problem with her untested “memory” serum. The results are more dramatic than she expected – which is not a good thing.

The Drug - a promising young deputy DA’s efforts to crack the case of a celebrated artist’s disfigurement are thwarted – by the prosecutor’s own desire for the prime suspect. René Berton’s classic two-act Grand Guignol, originally set in Saigon, is transposed and adapted by Muller to 1929 San Francisco.

The Grand Inquisitor is based on a short film Muller made in 2008 with Marsha Hunt. He premiered it at the 2009 Noir City, I believe.

The performances will be Thursday, Friday ans Saturdays at 8 PM through November 19. Thrillpeddlers perform at the Hypnodrome at 575 10th Street in San Francisco. Tickets can be purchased on Brown Paper Tickets.

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Across the bay at the Berkeley Rep, Rita Moreno is performing a one-woman show where she "recounts her improbable life in an irreverent and entertaining new show that features a lively band and two expert dancers." If I haven't mentioned it, I'm a Rita Moreno fan. The show is titled Rita Moreno: Life Without Makeup.

Most weeks (but not this week) until November 6, the performances are Tuesday through Sunday. Tickets can be purchased on the Berkeley Rep website.