Tomorrow I may have tears in my eyes when I say goodbye to the Festival and sunny Hollywood. Yesterday though, I had tears of laughter. I was a kid again at the Saturday morning screenings of about a dozen Bugs Bunny animated shorts. It was Bugs’ 75th anniversary bash, hosted by Leonard Maltin. A sold-out audience showed their appreciation for the bunny’s irreverent sense of humor.
Immediately after that, it was time to paddle downstream with Jon, Burt, and Ned at DELIVERANCE. The guys were hilarious, as was the film’s director, John Boorman.
On to Nicholas Ray’s first feature film, THEY LIVE BY NIGHT. A sweet and tragic film noir starring Farley Granger, with a tone that later would be evident in his REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE.
TALL TARGET, at 6:30 pm, was a mystery aboard a train, much like THE LADY VANISHES and MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS. Dick Powell is a detective in 1861, attempting to thwart a would-be assassination of president-elect Lincoln.
My final movie was that old Joan Crawford, tear-up-the-scenery classic, MILDRED PIERCE. Co-star Ann Blythe, looking very young, discussed her experience beforehand.
This bright Sunday morning we are off to CINERAMA HOLIDAY and IT’S A MAD, MAD (etc.) WORLD–both at the CINERAMA Dome. Later, it’s a live orchestra playing along with Keaton’s THE GENERAL.
Going out with a flourish here on the Festival’s final day.
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