Clarence Brown Film Festival in Knoxville, Tenn.: Aug. 16-20

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A film festival celebrating the career of director Clarence Brown begins this evening, Wednesday, Aug. 16, and runs through Sunday, Aug. 20, in Knoxville, Tenn.

clarence brown

Director Clarence Brown

Hosted by the Knox County Public Library, the Clarence Brown Film Festival will feature film screenings and presentations from speakers including Brown’s biographer Gwenda Young, film critic and historian Farran Nehme, actor Claude Jarman, Jr., and more. Information on the festival, including a full list of screenings and speakers, can be found here.

With a career spanning from 1920 to 1952, Brown is sometimes not as recognized as his contemporaries.

“In an interview with (historian) Kevin Brownlow, (director) Jean Renoir observed ‘I think more of Brown than Brown thinks of himself,’” Young said in an email with Comet Over Hollywood. “Renoir’s comment reveals, I think, just how highly regarded Brown was by his peers but also alludes to Brown’s reticence in seeking out acclaim. There’s no doubt Brown was viewed as an important and innovative filmmaker during his long career, but it’s also true to say that he has been overlooked in many film histories…”

Brown worked with some of Hollywood’s top stars, such as Rudolph Valentino, Greta Garbo, Joan Crawford, Clark Gable, and Mickey Rooney. Free film screenings during the Clarence Brown Film Festival include Anna Karenina (1935), National Velvet (1944), The Yearling (1946), The Eagle (1925), Intruder in the Dust (1949), and a rare screening of The Signal Tower (1924).

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Musical Monday: Good Times (1967)

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It’s no secret that the Hollywood Comet loves musicals.
In 2010, I revealed I had seen 400 movie musicals over the course of eight years. Now that number is over 600. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.

This week’s musical:
Good Times (1967) – Musical #226

good times

Studio:
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Director:
William Friedkin

Starring:
Cher, Sonny Bono, George Sanders, Charles Smith, Mickey Dolenz (uncredited), Paul Frees (uncredited)

Plot:
Producer Mordicus (Sanders) is trying to convince singing stars Sonny and Cher (as themselves) into making a movie. Sonny is interested in making a movie, though Cher isn’t so sure. Sonny dreams of playing various roles, such as in a western, a Tarzan-like film, or a detective film.

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Musical Monday: Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933)

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It’s no secret that the Hollywood Comet loves musicals.
In 2010, I revealed I had seen 400 movie musicals over the course of eight years. Now that number is over 600. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.

This week’s musical:
Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933) – Musical #146

gold diggers of 1933 2

Studio:
Warner Bros.

Director:
Busby Berkeley and Mervyn Leroy

Starring:
Warren William, Joan Blondell, Dick Powell, Aline MacMahon, Ruby Keeler, Ginger Rogers, Guy Kibbee, Ned Sparks, Billy Barty (uncredited), Eric Blore (uncredited), Hobart Cavanaugh (uncredited), Theresa Harris (uncredited), Charles Lane (uncredited), Clarence Nordstrom (uncredited), Sterling Holloway (uncredited)

Plot:
Broadway performers (Blondell, MacMahon, Keeler, Rogers) are having a hard time, because shows keep closing due to the Depression. Finally, producer Barney Hopkins (Sparks) is able to put on a show when songwriter Brad Roberts (Powell) says he can back the show, who is in love with one of the performers, Polly (Keeler). The showgirls are astonished and questioning where his funds could possibly have come from. After the show becomes a hit, it’s reveled that Brad comes from a wealthy family, his brother (William) and family lawyer (Kibbee) arrive to untangle Brad from show business and show girls, believing they are all gold diggers. Carol (Blondell) and Trixie (MacMahon) keep the two relatives distracted so Polly and Brad can be together.

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Musical Monday: Song of the Saddle (1936)

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It’s no secret that the Hollywood Comet loves musicals.
In 2010, I revealed I had seen 400 movie musicals over the course of eight years. Now that number is over 600. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.

song of the saddle2This week’s musical:
Song of the Saddle (1936) – Musical #744

Studio:
Warner Bros.

Director:
Louis King

Starring:
Dick Foran Alma Lloyd, Charles Middleton, Addison Richards, Eddie Shubert, George Ernest, Bonita Granville, Monte Montague, Victor Potel, Milton Kibbee (uncredited)

Plot:
Young Frankie Wilson Jr. (Ernest) and his father (Richards) head west from Ohio for California during the western land rush. They stop along the way to sell some goods to Phineas Hook (Middleton). Hook says he’s interested in more goods and encourages Mr. Wilson and Frankie to head back to Ohio for more goods. But it’s all a trick to ambush their wagon, steal their money back and kill Mr. Wilson. Left alone, Frankie grows up (Foran) and becomes the bandit known as The Singing Kid, seeking revenge against Hook and his henchmen to avenge his father’s death.

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Musical Monday: Colorado Serenade (1946)

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It’s no secret that the Hollywood Comet loves musicals.
In 2010, I revealed I had seen 400 movie musicals over the course of eight years. Now that number is over 600. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.

This week’s musical:
Colorado Serenade (1946) – Musical #7colorado243

colorado

Studio:
PRC Pictures Inc.

Director:
Robert Emmett Tansey

Starring:
Eddie Dean, Roscoe Ates, David Sharpe, Mary Kenyon, Forrest Taylor, Dennis Moore, Abigail Adams, Warner Richmond, Lee Bennett, Robert McKenzie, Bob Duncan

Plot:
Eddie (Dean) and his pal Soapy (Ates) come across a stagecoach hold up. They are able to thwart the robbery, but not before the driver and guard are injured. Eddie helps ride the stagecoach in to town, where the robbers are found. However, Judge Hilton (Taylor) believes the story of the gunman and wants to let them go. Eddie, with the help of a stranger named Nevada (Sharpe) try to track down the thieves.

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Musical Monday: The Yellow Rose of Texas (1944)

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It’s no secret that the Hollywood Comet loves musicals.
In 2010, I revealed I had seen 400 movie musicals over the course of eight years. Now that number is over 600. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.

This week’s musical:
The Yellow Rose of Texas (1944) – Musical #742

yellow rose of texas

Studio:
Republic Pictures

Director:
Joseph Kane

Starring:
Roy Rogers, Dale Evans, Trigger, Grant Withers, Harry Shannon, George Cleveland, William Haade, Don Reynolds (uncredited)
Themselves: Sons of the Pioneers

Plot:
Roy (Rogers) plays an insurance investigator, who is working undercover as a singing cowboy on a performing show boat. Roy is searching Sam Weston (Shannon), who escaped out of jail, and he’s looking for the bankroll money Sam is accused of searching for. Betty Weston (Evans) is Sam’s daughter and tries to prove his innocence, with the help of Roy.

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Musical Monday: Home in Wyomin’ (1942)

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It’s no secret that the Hollywood Comet loves musicals.
In 2010, I revealed I had seen 400 movie musicals over the course of eight years. Now that number is over 600. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.

home in wy3This week’s musical:
Home in Wyomin’ (1942) – Musical #741

Studio:
Republic Pictures

Director:
William Morgan

Starring:
Gene Autry (as himself), Smiley Burnette, Fay McKenzie, Joe Strauch Jr., Olin Howland, Chick Chandler, Forrest Taylor, James Seay, Charles Lane, Champion (uncredited)

Plot:
Gene Autry (as himself) is a radio star, followed by a photographer, Clementine Benson (McKenzie), and a reporter, Hack Hackett (Chandler), who want to get photos of him to prove he’s a phony and not a true westerner. The reporters and photographer follow Gene to Wyoming, where he travels to straighten out a rodeo star (Seay), who is drinking too much and hurting his career.

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Musical Monday: Hollywood Barn Dance (1947)

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It’s no secret that the Hollywood Comet loves musicals.
In 2010, I revealed I had seen 400 movie musicals over the course of eight years. Now that number is over 600. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.

This week’s musical:
Hollywood Barn Dance (1947) – Musical #740

hollywood barn dance

Studio:
Screen Guild Productions

Director:
Bernard B. Ray

Starring:
Ernest Tubb as himself, Lori Talbot, Helen Boyce, Earle Hodgins, Frank McGlynn Sr., Phil Arnold, Larry Reed, Anne Kunde, Betty Mudge,
Performers: The Texas Troubadours, Red Herron, Jack Guthrie, Dotti Hackett, Dorothy and Lewis Swan, Leon and Jimmie Short

Plot:
Ernest (Tubb as himself) has dreams of performing music with his band, but meets opposition from his Pa (McGlynn), who thinks it’s a waste of time. When Ernest and his musician friends, The Texas Troubadours, accidentally burn down the local church, they set out on the road to perform and earn money to rebuild the church. The band gets hooked up with a manager, Francis Cartwright (Hodgins), who mismanages their money.

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Musical Monday: Hats Off (1936)

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It’s no secret that the Hollywood Comet loves musicals.
In 2010, I revealed I had seen 400 movie musicals over the course of eight years. Now that number is over 600. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.

This week’s musical:
Hats Off (1936) – Musical #739

hats off

Studio:
Grand National Films

Director:
Boris Petroff

Starring:
Mae Clarke, John Payne, Helen Lynd, Luis Alberni, Richard ‘Skeets’ Gallagher, Franklin Pangborn, George Irving, Robert Middlemass, Dennis O’Keefe (uncredited)
Themselves: The Three Radio Rogues (Jimmy Hollywood, Henry Taylor, Eddie Bartell)

Plot:
Two towns and Texas are trying to outdo each other when it comes to putting on fairs for Texas’s centennial. One town has press agent Jimmy Maxwell (Payne) in charge and another town hires press agent Jo Allen (Clarke). Jo goes undercover and romances Jimmy to steal their ideas.

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Musical Monday: Kiss Me Kate (1953)

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It’s no secret that the Hollywood Comet loves musicals.
In 2010, I revealed I had seen 400 movie musicals over the course of eight years. Now that number is over 600. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.

kissThis week’s musical:
Kiss Me Kate (1953) – Musical #19

Studio:
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Director:
George Sidney

Starring:
Kathryn Grayson, Howard Keel, Ann Miller, Tommy Rall, Keenan Wynn, James Whitmore, Bob Fosse, Tommy Rall, Kurt Kasznar, Ron Randell, Willard Parker, Ann Codee, Carol Haney, Jeanne Coyne, Hermes Pan (uncredited)

Plot:
Cole Porter (Randell) has written a musical version of Williams Shakespeare’s play, “Kiss Me Kate.” Fred Graham (Keel) feels the show is perfect for him and his ex-wife, Lilli Vanessi (Grayson). Though Lilli outwardly hates Fred, she can’t turn down a good role, and Fred and Lilli play Petruchio and Kathrine in the show. One of Fred’s girlfriends, Lois (Miller) is cast as Kathrine’s younger sister, Bianca. On opening night as the show is being performed, issues occur backstage. Gangsters (Wynn, Whitmore) show up to collect a gambling debt of Lois’s boyfriend and co-star, Bill (Rall); Lilli and Fred battle, and Lilli’s fiancé (Parker) arrives.

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