Turner Classic Movies in Hollywood Review

Previewing film festival reviews of ‘Casablanca,’ ‘Rio Bravo,’ and ‘American Graffiti’ besides reviews of behind-the-scenes, parties, Dreyfuss, Spielberg and more

Mine was a rowdy if sporadic attendance at this year’s Turner Classic Movies film festival in Hollywood. I studied the program. I made my movie picks.

Among the movies I watched and plan to review:

• American Graffiti, which I had never seen, commemorating its 50th anniversary

• My favorite motion picture, Casablanca—still celebrating its 80th anniversary

• Rio Bravo, which I’ve seen and enjoy—which inspired my gala attire

With DJ Slice at the Hollywood Roosevelt’s ballroom

Reviews of these three pictures—each screened at Sid Grauman’s Chinese Theater on Hollywood Boulevard—will be exclusive to the paid subscriber. Each movie revolves around music—in songs of serenity, unity and sexuality—and each movie dramatizes the individual’s struggle to break away, whether from the constricting grip of tyranny, alcohol dependency or smallness, to live large and be free to be one’s best. Tension permeates these movies. Within each story, music affords both a sense of purpose and a contrasting sense of peacefulness, ease and a spirit of defiance.

The late TCM host Robert Osborne, whom I met and interviewed several times in Hollywood before he died, assured me that TCM’s wasn’t like other film festivals. He personally enlisted me to attend his channel’s annual event. When Robert Osborne died, I gave the festival a shot in his honor. I’m glad I did. I’ve been going ever since.

I met, danced with and listened to filmmakers and studio executives such as Robert Diggs (co-founder of hip hop’s Wu-Tang Clan) and his wife and colleague. This article recalls and reviews screenings, conversations and various hosts, guests and fans, including Steven Spielberg, Angie Dickinson, TCM’s leading co-host Ben Mankiewicz, Warner Bros. CEO David Zaslav and the unforgettable Richard Dreyfuss.