Tuesday, March 28, 2017

SOLD OUT! Presenting FASHION IN FILM OF #TCMFF 2017 at Annenberg Beach House 4/4

The theme of the 2017 TCM Classic Film Festival (TCMFF) is Make ‘Em Laugh: Comedy in the Movies, and the programming promises to include everything from the low brow to the high. In honor of the event, I'm giving a presentation at the historic Annenberg Beach House on April 4th that delves into the stories behind the style of sophisticated comedies shown at this year’s festival. As a bonus, it also includes a few other films from past festivals and of my own choosing. Normally this would be a reminder to sign up, but my event has been sold out (and then some) for weeks. I'm thrilled that so many who are going to the festival will be attending along with the passionate fans who regularly come to my talks. It's going to be a fabulous way to kick off this year's TCMFF - glamorous Hollywood history right on Santa Monica Beach. See you next week!

Tuesday, April 4, 2017

FASHION IN FILM OF TCMFF 2017: SOPHISTICATED COMEDIES 1930s-1950s

6:30 pm - 8:00 pm

Guest speaker
Annenberg Beach House
Santa Monica, CA

There's no question that costume design contributes to the ongoing legacy of classic cinema. After all, it’s often the style of these films that inspires people to watch them - whether for the first time or to revisit them again and again. In these sophisticated comedies of the 1930s-1950s, costume design is often integral to their plot lines and it always helps establish the character of the leading ladies. Most of the leading ladies were very close with the costume designers, so you’ll get insights into their lives and learn about some of the most important costume designer-star partnerships of all time such as Jean Harlow and Adrian and Barbara Stanwyck and Edith Head. You'll also discover how these costumes continue to influence fashion today.

Movies covered in talk:

Red-Headed Woman (1932)
Dinner at Eight (1933)
Twentieth Century (1934)
It Happened One Night (1934)
The Awful Truth (1937)
The Philadelphia Story (1940)
The Lady Eve (1941)

Ball of Fire (1941)
The Palm Beach Story (1942)
Born Yesterday (1950)
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953)
Some Like It Hot (1959)

The presentation includes stills from the movies accompanied by a conversation about film history, costume and fashion designers, and backstories of the stars.

The Annenberg Beach House is the former beachfront estate of Marion Davies and William Randolph Hearst where many of these stars once stayed and played. The original Guest House will be open for tours starting at 5 pm and remain open up to the 6:30 pm start time of the talk. For more information, including directions to the venue, visit the Annenberg Beach House site.