| Technicolor Dreams: The 3rd
Annual Festival of Dye-Transfer
Technicolor at the Movies! Co-presented
with Sabucat Productions
Sponsored by Technicolor Worldwide Film
Group
Almost a novelty when it was introduced in the early 1920’s,
Technicolor reached its zenith in the 1940’s and 50’s, when classics like THE
TEN COMMANDMENTS, THE AFRICAN QUEEN, NORTH BY NORTHWEST, THE 7TH VOYAGE OF
SINBAD and THE RED SHOES were released using the brilliant, deeply-saturated hues of
dye-transfer Technicolor (commonly known as IB or "imbibition".) Dye-transfer
Technicolor prints are becoming increasingly scarce treasures since Technicolor stopped
U.S. production of them in 1974 (although the process was recently revived on a limited
basis). Following the sold-out success of our first two Dye-Transfer Festivals, this
series will feature even more ultra-rare prints – including original nitrate copies
of THE BLACK SWAN, THE CAPTAIN FROM CASTILE and THE RED SHOES, plus beautiful dye-transfer
prints of Cecil B. DeMille’s epic THE TEN COMMANDMENTS, the James Bond films
GOLDFINGER and ON HER MAJESTY’S SECRET SERVICE, Elvis’ first Technicolor movie
LOVING YOU, a Peter Sellers/Blake Edwards double bill of THE PINK PANTHER and THE PARTY,
rare Tech trailers and more!!
Trailers to be shown are from the archives of
SabuCat Productions.
Friday, January 17 – 7:00 PM
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS, 1956,
Paramount, 220 min. "Let his name be stricken from every pillar and obelisk!,"
orders imperious pharaoh Yul Brynner, as favored son-turned-religious rebel Charlton
Heston prepares to lead his people from bondage in Egypt. Cecil B. De Mille’s glorious
remake of his earlier 1923 TEN COMMANDMENTS emphasized the colossal spectacle of the
Biblical epic, but never downplayed the tremendous human emotions at the core of the
story. (Look for Heston’s three-month old son Fraser as the baby Moses in the
bullrushes!) With Anne Baxter, Edward G. Robinson, Yvonne De Carlo, Debra Paget, John
Derek, Nina Foch, Vincent Price, and featuring gorgeous VistaVision cinematography by
Loyal Griggs (SHANE).
As of 1/9, actor Charlton Heston will be
able to join us for Q&A following the screening; please call 323/466-FILM closer to
the screening date for complete confirmation of his attendance.
Saturday, January 18 – 5:00 PM
NORTH BY NORTHWEST, 1959,
Warner Bros., 136 min. Dir. Alfred Hitchcock. Cary Grant gives one of his
greatest performances as womanizing, mama’s boy executive Roger Thornhill –
whose cozy life of afternoon cocktails with the boys is turned upside down when he’s
mistaken for elusive government operative "George Kaplan" by suave villain James
Mason and murderous crony Martin Landau. Eva Marie Saint co-stars as Mason’s
elegant mistress, with the wonderful Jesse Royce Landis as Grant’s fur-clad society
mom ("You gentlemen aren’t really trying to murder my son, are
you?") Brilliantly scripted by Ernest Lehman (THE SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS), and
photographed by veteran Hitchcock collaborator Robert Burks (STRANGERS ON A TRAIN, REAR
WINDOW).
Saturday, January 18 – 8:30 PM
Peter Sellers/Blake Edwards Double Feature:
THE PARTY, 1968, MGM/UA, 99 min. Dir.
Blake Edwards. For most of its length, THE PARTY is a wonderfully restrained homage
to Jacques Tati, with Peter Sellers in perfect pitch as an awestruck Indian actor
who disrupts a chic Hollywood gathering with the help of French songbird Claudine
Longet. The final 15 minutes prove that any great joke deserves a totally outrageous
punchline. Look for Steve Franken as an inebriated waiter and Denny Miller as a hilarious
rhinestone cowboy. Cinematography by the great Lucien Ballard (THE WILD BUNCH.) Note: this is an ultra-rare British Technicolor print of the film.
THE PINK PANTHER, 1964,
MGM/UA, 113 min. Director/screenwriter Blake Edwards introduced one of the most
beloved characters in modern cinema – Peter Sellers’ absolutely clueless
Inspector Jacques Clouseau – with this effervescent, champagne-colored comedy about a
notorious British jewel thief and playboy (David Niven) on a ski holiday with nephew
Robert Wagner, mistress Capucine, exotic princess Claudia Cardinale and a priceless
diamond in tow. Photographed by Philip Lathrop (THEY SHOOT HORSES, DON’T THEY?).
Sunday, January 19 – 2:00 PM
Children’s Matinee! Dancer George Chakiris to
Introduce the Film!
THE 5,000 FINGERS OF DR. T,
1953, Columbia, 89 min. Dir. Roy Rowland. The only live-action film written by Dr.
Seuss, THE 5,000 FINGERS OF DR. T is a riotous Technicolor fantasia about a young boy
(Tommy Rettig) trying to escape the nefarious clutches of his mad music teacher Dr.
Terwilliker (Hans Conried) – who is bent on capturing 500 boys and forcing them to
play his evil concerto on the world’s largest piano! Astounding color photography by
veteran d.p. Franz Planer (20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA).
Sunday, January 19 – 4:30 PM
Elvis in Technicolor!!
LOVING YOU, 1957, NBC-TV, 101 min.
Dir. Hal Kanter. The very first Elvis movie in color, LOVING YOU captures the King
in all his raw, Memphis-fueled glory – before the Army, Hollywood and millions of
fans turned him into a surfboard-toting, sports-car driving cartoon of his former self.
Here, he rips through "Mean Woman Blues," "Teddy Bear" and others as a
young singer trying to balance growing fame and the attentions of lovely Lizabeth Scott.
Photography by the masterful Charles Lang Jr. (SOME LIKE IT HOT, ONE-EYED JACKS).
Sunday, January 19 – 6:45 PM
Western Technicolor Double-Header:
THE PROFESSIONALS, 1966,
Columbia, 117 min. Dir. Richard Brooks. Lee Marvin, Burt Lancaster, Robert Ryan and
Woody Strode star as a crew of grizzled soldiers-of-fortune sent down to Mexico to
retrieve rancher’s wife Claudia Cardinale – and finding more than they bargained
for in sinister bandit leader Jack Palance and his army of gunmen. Stunning cinematography
by Conrad Hall (COOL HAND LUKE, BUTCH CASSIDY & THE SUNDANCE KID), with a stirring
score by Maurice Jarre.
ONE-EYED JACKS, 1961, 141 min.
Originally intended as a project for director Stanley Kubrick (based on various scripts by
Sam Peckinpah and Rod Serling, among others), ONE-EYED JACKS became (in)famous as the only
film directed by Marlon Brando – who also stars as an outlaw bent on taking
revenge on former friend Karl Malden. A surreal and often stunning film that anticipated
post-modern Westerns like Monte Hellman’s THE SHOOTING and Peckinpah’s own THE
BALLAD OF CABLE HOGUE.
Wednesday, January 22 – 7:00 PM
Actress Carroll Baker In Person!
THE CARPETBAGGERS, 1964,
Paramount, 150 min. Dir. Edward Dmytryk. Harold Robbins’ gloriously trashy novel,
loosely based on the exploits of Howard Hughes in the Hollywood of the 1920’s and
1930’s, was transformed into an even more wildly entertaining pulp-fest of a movie,
starring George Peppard, Carroll Baker, Bob Cummings, Elizabeth Ashley and (in his final
film) Alan Ladd. Beautiful Cinemascope photography by widescreen specialist Joseph
Macdonald (BIGGER THAN LIFE, HOUSE OF BAMBOO), with a lush score by maestro Elmer
Bernstein. Discusson following with actress Carroll Baker
(schedule permitting).
Friday, January 24 – 7:00 PM
THE AFRICAN QUEEN, 1951,
Paramount, 105 min. Dir. John Huston. Gin-soaked captain Humphrey Bogart decides
to take pity on skinny, psalm-singing spinster Katharine Hepburn after her brother
is killed in a German attack during WWI – and instead, winds up falling in love, and
ferrying her downriver to launch a suicidal assault on a German warship! Brilliantly
adapted from the C.S. Forester novel by Huston and James Agee (with uncredited help from
Peter Viertel, whose novel White Hunter, Black Heart was inspired by his time in
Africa during filming), and photographed by legendary British d.p. Jack Cardiff (THE RED
SHOES, BLACK NARCISSUS.)
Friday, January 24 – 9:15 PM
James Bond 007 Double Header:
ON HER
MAJESTY’S SECRET SERVICE, 1969, MGM/UA, 140 min. Dir. Peter Hunt. After Sean
Connery took a brief hiatus from the role of Bond, producers Albert Broccoli and Harry
Saltzman turned to former male model George Lazenby to play Ian Fleming’s
superspy – and wound up with one of the most satisfying (and underrated) of the
1960’s Bonds. Lovely Diana Rigg proves more than Bond’s match as the two
team up to topple scar-faced Ernst Blofeld (Telly Savalas). Scripted by 007 veteran
Richard Maibaum (DR. NO, GOLDFINGER), and shot by Michael Reed (DRACULA: PRINCE OF
DARKNESS.)
GOLDFINGER, 1964, MGM/UA, 112 min.
Dir. Guy Hamilton. "Do you expect me to talk, Goldfinger?" "No, Mr. Bond, I
expect you to die …" cackles homicidal villain Auric Goldfinger (Gert
Frobe), as he prepares to re-arrange 007’s secret equipment with a laser beam, in
what is widely considered to be the best of the classic Sean Connery Bond pictures.
Co-starring the saucy Honor Blackman as Bond’s nemesis-turned-partner Pussy
Galore, with Shirley Eaton as the gold-painted girl, Harold Sakata as mute assassin
Oddjob, and the venerable home office team of Bernard Lee, Lois Maxwell and Desmond
Llewelyn. Terrific production design by Ken Adam, and cinematography by Ted Moore (FROM
RUSSIA WITH LOVE, THUNDERBALL).
Saturday, January 25 – 5:00 PM
Nitrate Technicolor!!
THE RED SHOES, 1948, MGM/UA, 133
min. Written, produced and directed by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger.
A delirious, shimmering Technicolor dream of a movie, THE RED SHOES stars Scottish
dancer-turned-actress Moira Shearer (in her film debut) as an aspiring ballerina
caught between the maniacal, domineering passion of impresario Anton Walbrook and
the equally-controlling love of composer Marius Goring. An awesome, superbly fluid
blending of music, dance and cinematography (courtesy of the great Jack Cardiff.)
Plus, 45 minutes’ worth of rare, one-of-a-kind, nitrate
Technicolor trailers from the SabuCat Trailer Archive!
Saturday, January 25 – 8:30 PM
Nitrate Technicolor Double Bill:
THE BLACK SWAN, 1942, 20th
Century Fox, 85 min. Dir. Henry King. Before Disney’s "Pirates of the
Caribbean" movie comes out, check out the original article: dashing buccaneer Tyrone
Power goes up against former pirate Laird Cregar for control of Jamaica – and the
hand of governor’s daughter Maureen O’Hara. Amazing, flame-red
photography by Technicolor wizard Leon Shamroy (THE KING & I, SOUTH PACIFIC).
THE CAPTAIN FROM CASTILE, 1947,
20th Century Fox, 140 min. Tyrone Power re-teamed with director Henry
King for this superb costume drama about an unjustly-disgraced Spanish nobleman who flees
to Mexico, and joins upstart adventurer Hernando Cortez’ lopsided campaign against
the mighty Aztec empire. Co-starring Jean Peters, Lee J. Cobb, Cesar Romero, and silent
film idol Antonio Moreno, with sumptuous photography by Arthur Arling and Charles Clarke.
Sunday, January 26 – 2:00 PM
Children’s Matinee:
THE THIEF OF BAGDAD, 1940,
MGM/UA, 106 min. Dir. Ludwig Berger, Michael Powell, Tim Whelan (and, uncredited,
Alexander Korda, Zoltan Korda and William Cameron Menzies). One of the greatest fantasies
ever made: rascally young thief Sabu helps deposed Prince Achmad regain the
rightful throne of Bagdad, with the help of a massive genie (Rex Ingram), a flying horse,
an all-seeing jeweled eye, and the love of a beautiful Princess (June Duprez). Conrad
Veidt co-stars as the wicked usurper Jaffar, who uses every means at his disposal to
stop our brave heroes. Soaring score by Miklos Rozsa, with photography by Georges Perinal
(THE LIFE & DEATH OF COLONEL BLIMP).
Sunday, January 26 – 4:30 PM
Double Feature:
THE 7TH VOYAGE OF
SINBAD, 1958, Columbia, 87 min. As a tribute to the great director Nathan
Juran, who passed away in October, 2002 at the age of 95, we’re thrilled to
screen his best-loved film, a marvelous fantasy following the adventures of Sinbad (Kerwin
Mathews) as he battles a phenomenal gallery of giant cyclops, two-headed birds, dragons
and swordfighting skeletons, to save beautiful princess Kathryn Grant. Featuring one of Bernard
Herrmann’s most memorable scores and astounding stop-motion animation by the
legendary Ray Harryhausen. Cinematography by longtime Harryhausen collaborator
Wilkie Cooper (JASON & THE ARGONAUTS, FIRST MEN IN THE MOON).
MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH, 1964,
MGM/UA, 89 min. The most visually hypnotic of Roger Corman’s celebrated Edgar
Allan Poe cycle, MASQUE stars the wonderful Vincent Price as Prospero, a sadistic
medieval Prince who holes himself up in his labyrnthine castle as a refuge against the
terrible plague stalking the countryside. With Hazel Court, Jane Asher and Patrick Magee.
Superb cinematography by future-director Nicolas Roeg. Note:
this is an ultra-rare British Technicolor print of the movie. |
