0 So Many Events, So Little Time

Santa Clarita Cowboy Festival

There are so many events coming up it's getting hard to find time for them all. Here are a few on my radar.

Beginning April 27 and running through May 1, is the Santa Clarita Cowboy Festival. If you are a fan of movie Westerns this event might be for you. Legendary director, John Ford, will be inducted into Santa Clarita's "Walk of Western Stars," which is similar to the Hollywood stars along the streets of Hollywood. There will also be a screening of the classic Ford film, Stagecoach, outside on the Main Street of Melody Ranch, an active movie studio lot where many Westerns have been filmed. Other activities include chuckwagon dinners, live western music, tours of the Melody Ranch, Street Shows, and many other activities.

Melody Ranch (c) discoverLosAngeles.com

To see full details for the Cowboy Festival visit the official site at: www.cowboyfestival.org.

TCM Classic Film Festival 2013

I'm sure every classic film fan is already aware that the second TCM Classic Film Festival is just around the corner. April 28 through May 1, TCM will be taking over Hollywood Boulevard for four nights of classic movie screenings, discussions with Hollywood celebrities and film experts, and the chance for classic movie fans to connect with their movie loving peers. When I attended last year it really felt a little like comic con for the classic film geeks. TCM recently posted the festival schedule which you can view at their official site, along with ticket information and all the other nitty gritty details. Click here to learn more. Last year I made a short video from my visit to the festival which you can watch here.

Errol & Olivia

Larry Edmunds bookstore in Hollywood is hosting two special book signings later this month. The first, on Thursday, April 14, author Robert Matzen will be in town to sign his engaging read, Errol & Olivia: Ego & Obsession in Golden Era Hollywood. 

Glen Ford: A Life

The second book signing is with author Peter Ford who will be signing his new book Glen Ford: A Life. This signing will be held at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood and is being tied in with the Noir Film Festival which is running now. To find out more about both book signing visit Larry Edmund's Bookshop. To learn more about the Noir Film Festival visit the American Cinematheque. Laura over at Laura's Miscellaneous Musings has also been writing some reviews from her ongoing visits to the Noir Film Festival. Check Laura's blog out here.

Vincentennial

This last event which kicks off in May, I unfortunately will not be able to attend, but it is on my wish list of events and I will be attending in spirit. Cinema St. Louis will be presenting "Vincentennial," The Vincent Price 100th Birthday Celebration. Vincentennial willl be held in Price's hometown of St. Louis and will run from May 19-28. There will be many screenings of Vincent Price films along with many special guests in appearance to do interviews, discuss films, present lectures and introduce films. Longtime Price collaborator, Roger Corman will be in attendance to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award. Victoria Price, Price's daughter, will also be participating in the Vincentennial.  There will be exhibits of Vincent Price artifacts, artwork and memorabilia, live theatrical performances of the Vincent Price film, The Abominable Dr. Phibes, as well as other Price related events. Visit the Cinema St. Louis official site to learn more about Vincentennial.

Will you be attending any of the upcoming events? I'm especially curious about the Vincentennial celebration. If anyone attends please report back and let us know how it went!

Detail: So Many Events, So Little Time

0 Hollywood Cooking: Vincent Price Cheese Delights Biscuits

Vincent Price in the Kitchen

In addition to acting and art collecting, Vincent Price was also known for his culinary expertise. He was the author of several cookbooks and even appeared on television frequently to discuss and/or prepare food. My wife and I own one of Price's cookbooks, "A Treasury of Great Recipes," which is a collection of recipes Price and his wife Mary had collected from their world travels. The book is filled with many delicious recipes and is beautifully illustrated. If you find a copy it is worth the purchase.

I recently found online over at Food.com a recipe for "Vincent Price Cheese Delights" which is a recipe from another Price cookbook that I don't own. This past weekend I figured I would give this cheesy biscuit recipe a try. Unfortunately, this recent experiment in cooking didn't quite turn out the way I had hoped. I don't think the recipe that was posted online was complete - something was surely missing, but here is the recipe as I found it and how my cooking venture went.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup chilled butter
• 1/2 lb grated sharp cheddar cheese
• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• split blanched almond, for garnish
• salt, to taste

Directions:

1. In a bowl, cream together the butter and cheddar cheese.
2. Mix in the flour, salt, and cayenne pepper.
3. Gather dough into a ball, cover with plastic, and chill in refrigerator for 1 hour. (I needed to add a little milk to make the flour mix with the butter and cheese.)
4. Remove from refrigerator and turn out the dough onto a lightly-floured board.
5. Roll dough to a 1/4-inch thickness and cut with a small round biscuit cutter.
6. Place biscuits on a non-stick baking sheet, press a half of a blanched almond in the center of each biscuit, and lightly sprinkle the biscuits to taste with salt.
7. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
8. Bake at 350 degrees F for 7 to 8 minutes or until golden. (I needed to cook closer 20 minutes in my oven.)

Ingredients

Mixing Everything Together

Roll dough into ball and place in plastic.

Roll refrigerated dough out on board.

Place almonds in center of each biscuit.

Sample the finish product.

Vincent Price Cheese Delights - Biscuits

As I mentioned, I don't think all the ingredients were included or something was left out. The cheesy biscuits turned out ok, but were not what I was expecting. Next time I will definitely be preparing one of the Price recipes from the cookbook which I know are correct. Nevertheless, it was a fun venture in cooking and I think Price would be proud of my culinary experimenting.

Detail: Hollywood Cooking: Vincent Price Cheese Delights Biscuits

0 Vincent Price's "Little Gallery"

Vincent Price 1940s

Vincent Price is most famous for being an actor, particularly of sinister characters which he so often portrayed in his later acting career, but Price was nearly as well known as a connoisseur of art. Price always had a fascination with art. As a twelve-year-old in St. Louis, Price purchased his first Rembrandt, a small etching entitled Two Nude Models, One Standing. The piece of art captivated Price so much that he saved his allowance for a year and worked odd jobs to purchase the etching. This was the beginning of Price's long association of art.

Price would go on to study art at Yale and then later at the University of London. He continued to study art by visiting museums and collecting. By the 1960s, Price had become so synonymous with art that the Sears department store approached him to be a spokesperson for a new art department they were creating. In the position, Price travelled the world buying and selecting quality pieces of art that Sears would then sell in their stores to their customers. The line of art would be known as the Vincent Price Collection for Sears. Price was essentially bringing fine art to the masses. 

A couple decades earlier, in the 1940s, Price, along with friend and fellow actor George Macready, opened an art gallery in Beverly Hills. Both Price and Macready had been stage actors in New York, where there were many museums and great collections of art, but when the two came to Hollywood, they quickly realized Los Angeles lacked a strong art community. Despite all the affluent people and the large size of Los Angeles, there wasn't that many great collections of art, galleries, or even a community supportive of fine art. Price and Macready sought to change that.

The Little Gallery

9461 Santa Monica Blvd, Beverly Hills

In 1943, the two actors opened "The Little Gallery," located at 9461 Santa Monica Boulevard, in Beverly Hills, near the famous Rodeo Drive. I found the address for the gallery by looking in a Beverly Hills City Directory from 1943.  Above is a photo of the Little Gallery location. I'm not sure if this is the original building that housed the gallery, only remodeled, or if the building was torn down and a new structure erected in its place? If you know the answer to that please comment.

According to Vincent Price: A Daughter's Biography, by Victoria Price, the rent for the small shop was $65 a month. The gallery was filled mainly with paintings and drawings that Price and Macready had purchased from their days in New York, pieces from their own collection, and works by California artists. 

Victoria Price wrote the following about the opening night of the gallery in her book: "They launched the opening show with vodka martinis dripped out of a silver-plated porcelain-lined urn that Vincent's mother had given him for serving iced tea. As he recalled, 'Most of our friends liked martinis, especially free ones, and we drew an overflow crowd who hadn't the slightest intention of buying anything. A few idle pricing passes were made, but no purchases; but the main joy was that we were launched and art was back in our lives."

The Little Gallery was a success. California artists and visiting artists were always coming in, as well as a crowd from a nearby bar. Even big celebrities of the time would come in to buy art, including Charles Laughton, Otto Preminger, Greta Garbo, and Katherine Hepburn to name a few. Unfortunately, Price and Mcready did not have the time for both their movie careers and for running a gallery, so the store closed in 1944, after about two years in operation.

Your thoughts?

Detail: Vincent Price's "Little Gallery"

0 Three Films I Wish Were on DVD or Blu-Ray

Bachelor in Paradise (1961)

There are many great films that still haven't found their way on to DVD or Blu-Ray yet, but over on the Turner Classic Movies website you can vote for films to be released on home video. Here are three films that I wish were on DVD or Blu-ray, and if you want to help me out, you can go over to TCM and vote on these three films too.

First, I love Bob Hope and I think he is one of the underrated comedians. Many people think of him for his work entertaining the troops which is great, but forget how hilarious his films were. One of his films, Bachelor in Paradise, although shown on Turner Classic Movies occasionally, is not available on DVD. In the film Hope plays an author who settles down in the suburbs to write a book about American suburban culture, but when Hope is the only bachelor amongst many lonely housewives, trouble ensues. The film has been uploaded to YouTube but that is no way to watch a feature film.

Scavenger Hunt (1979)

As a kid one of my favorite films was Scavenger Hunt. It's got a great cast filled with cameos including Ruth Gordon, Roddy McDowall, Meat Loaf, Dirk Benedict, Cloris Leachman, Vincent Price, Tony Randall, Scatman Crothers, and a young body builder named Arnold Schwarzenegger. In the film, Mr. Parker, a game inventor, passes away. At the reading of his will, his family, servants, and friends learn that they must compete on a scavenger hunt in order to win their inheritance. The movie is a fun gag filled ride and like Bachelor in Paradise, is also available on YouTube, but not on DVD.

Song of the South (1946)

Another childhood favorite of mine is the Disney live-action/animated film Song of the South. This controversial film tells the stories of Brer Rabbit, Brer Bear, and Brer Fox. Many people are familiar with the ride Splash Mountain at Disneyland and Walt Disney World, but I wonder how many people know or remember the film on which the attraction was based?

So what movies do you wish were on DVD or Blu-ray? You should hop on over to TCM to vote for some films, preferably the three above :)

Detail: Three Films I Wish Were on DVD or Blu-Ray