Forgotten Hollywood

Manny P. here…

“`My venture to New York is over and what a whirlwhind! A couple of days with friends in the Bronx and my first visit to CapitolFest in Rome in upstate New York proved to be exhilerating!

“`While in the legendary burough, I visited Yankee Stadium. The home of the Bronx Bombers, including Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle, it is actually a new stadium that was built across the street from the original site. My friend Timothy (above with Percy the Posh Pug)  also brought me into midtown Manhattan right where  See No Evil, Hear No Evil (co-starring Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor) was filmed.

“`Traveling by bus and a short distance by train was a great way to see the lush greenery that surrounds the state outside the city. Once in Rome, I discovered it is a city steeped in military pride. The city is also an hour’s drive from Cooperstown, home of Major League Baseball Hall of Fame.

“`CapitolFest 22 was all pomp and circumstance, with a beautiful marquee and theatre. While there, I met with cinephiles from all over the country. They marveled at the lineup of obscure movies featured over the weekend. Good friends, Rob Stone, John Millen and Rosalie and Ben Kicks, made the three-day event really special. Though I was under the weather for a spell, I was still able to deliver my oral presentation to an enthusiastic crowd.

“`One of the Capitolfest organizers is the tireless Dr. Julie Pierce. She invited me to check out some of the films. I went to the Saturday evening session and I saw a rare pristine print of the silent 1927 classic, The Gorilla, and a 1934 pot-boiler, Menace. It starred two of my favorite character actors, Paul Cavanaugh and Burton Churchill. A very-young Ray Milland was featured in the who-done-it.

“`I was fortunate to receive advanced rushes of my new hardcover, Beware of the Blog  (co-written with my sister, Virginia Vandewouwer), to autograph for avid readers of my Forgotten Hollywood book series.

“`This is one trip I will remember for a long time!

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

“`Due to the efforts of a number of  friends and cinephiles, I will be making my first visit to Capitolfest, beginning Friday, August 8th. It’s taking place at the Capitol Arts Complex in Rome, New York.

“`Capitolfest is Central New York’s 35mm classic film festival,  screening rarely-seen silent and early talking cinema from around the turn-of-the-20th Century into the late 1930s. Most of the movies are shown via 35mm films from archives such as the  Library of Congress, Museum of Modern Art, George Eastman Museum and UCLA Film & Television Archive as well as prints from studios, such as  Sony, Universal, Warner Brothers and Disney. For this year’s kick-off movie, they selected  Ruggles of Red Gap, a 1935 comedy directed by Leo McCarey and co-starring Charles Laughton, Mary Boland, Charles Ruggles and Capitolfest tribute star — ZaSu Pitts.

“`On a personal note, I have been asked to be the Saturday luncheon speaker the event. And I am thrilled to debut my new hardcover book, Forgotten Hollywood: Beware of the Blog. My printers have assured me that they will overnight copies of my work to debut and autograph!

“`CapitolFest takes place at the Capitol Arts Complex, 220 East Dominick Street, Rome, NY.

Until next time>                               “never forget”