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Today I am flying to Hollywood to attend pre-festivities for the TCM Classic Film Festival. I am so excited to share this experience with all of you! How to follow me for daily pics and updates: And of course I will be sharing more details and images here at A Classic Movie Blog after the festival ends

While it is well known among classic film fans that Audrey Hepburn endured many hardships during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands in World War II, there has been little firm detail about what the actress went through. The only certainty: the troubles she endured colored the rest of her life and affected everything from the way she ate and lived to the work she did

All titles link to the film: Behind the White Glasses: The Life and Career of Legendary Director Lina Wertmüller (2015) The best thing about this exploration of the creative life of Italian filmmaker Lina Wertmüller (Swept Away [1974], Seven Beauties [1975]) is that she seems to have survived a brutal industry not only unscathed, but with utter joy. This is a must-watch for any fans of the legendary film book Hitchcock/Truffaut in which the young French filmmaker Francois Truffaut spoke at length with the more seasoned British master Alfred Hitchcock about his films. In this exploration of the stars, films, and tropes of the era, it is clear that these works were made to bolster a regime and could thus lack heart or authenticity, but there are also some stunning images to behold and I have to admit I felt a queasy admiration for and curiosity about several works from the cinematic sampling I saw here. This collection of clips is juxtaposed with a mix of new and archival interviews with filmmakers including Chantal Akerman, Costa-Gavras, Mike Leigh, and Jonas Mekas, which provide a pleasing international perspective on cinema and its delights.

After making Academy Award history with the first best picture win Wings (1927), and before A Star is Born (1937), Beau Geste (1939), and The Ox-Bow Incident (1942), director William Wellman had an exhilarating run in the pre-code era. Knowing all this, The Star Witness certainly pales in comparison, but it is still a fascinating flick, and unusual in the way it combines the sweetness of family life with the horror of a crime syndicate. The Star Witness opens on the Leeds family cozily eating dinner: Ma (Frances Starr) and Pa (Grant Mitchell), their children Sue, Jackie Ned and Donny, and crusty, but energetic Grandpa Summerill (Charles “Chic” Sale) who is visiting from the Veteran’s home. With the exception of pre-Our Gang Dickie Moore, there are few other star names or remarkable performances in the nevertheless solid cast, though the family patriarch Grant Mitchell has some heart-wrenching moments.