Brigadoon (and Gene Kelly Ceilidh) at the Glasgow Film Festival
This entry is part 8 of 8 in the series Glasgow Film Festival.Saturday, 25 February, 19:30, St Andrews in the Square – Brigadoon (1954) | Gene Kelly Ceilidh Finally! This is the event I’ve been waiting for all year since I first learned of the GFT’s Gene retrospective. What on earth would a Gene Kelly Ceilidh comprise of? A Ceilidh (caley), for those of you who may be unfamiliar with this uniquely Caledonian pastime, is an evening of traditional Scottish dancing, a social gathering to...
Read MoreOn the Town at the Glasgow Film Festival
This entry is part 7 of 8 in the series Glasgow Film Festival.Thursday, 23 February, 11:00 – On the Town (1949) I could barely contain my excitement as I bounded up the stairs of the GFT this morning. After Singin’ in the Rain, this is the Gene Kelly film I have watched more than any other. In fact, in the days of Betamax video, I taped it one Easter and watched it until the tape wore out, literally. On the Town is the second greatest thing Gene Kelly ever did and it is, without question,...
Read MoreThe Pirate at the Glasgow Film Festival
This entry is part 6 of 8 in the series Glasgow Film Festival.Wednesday, 22 February, 11am – The Pirate (1948) Pat wasn’t happy with the management, something about “academic introductions” and “pains in the arse.” Related, I think. Although he did remark that our daily host, Allan Hunter, “does very well.” He does, indeed. So well, in fact, that while espousing on Gene and Judy’s onscreen partnership he mentioned Summer Stock (1950) and explained its omission from the...
Read MoreTake Me Out to the Ballgame at the Glasgow Film Festival
This entry is part 5 of 8 in the series Glasgow Film Festival.Tuesday, 21 February, 11am – Take Me Out to the Ball Game (1949) NOTE: If you haven’t met my fellow viewer Pat, be sure to check out my previous reviews before embarking on this one. Back into Gene’s ‘great’ period this morning with a musical that is criminally underrated. Pat thought he had heard of Busby Berkeley before and as I explained who he was and how Gene was diametrically opposed to his directorial style via...
Read MoreAnchors Aweigh at the Glasgow Film Festival
This entry is part 4 of 8 in the series Glasgow Film Festival.Monday, 20th February, 11:00 – Anchors Aweigh (1945) A fairly sparse crowd as expected, but still better than I anticipated for a Monday morning. This is not a favourite musical of mine and when I bought my tickets initially this film was not included. However, a combination of the fact that this was one of the films that introduced me to Gene in the mid ’70s — I also remember a ‘Christmas with Kelly’ season on BBC...
Read MoreAn American in Paris at the Glasgow Film Festival
This entry is part 3 of 8 in the series Glasgow Film Festival.Sunday 19th February, 11am – An American in Paris (1951) An American in Paris at 11 o’clock on a Sunday morning? This will gauge the true extent of Gene’s appeal in the old city, and, I have to say, the turnout was pretty good, much better than I had anticipated — not like yesterday’s packed-to-the-rafters crowd, but pretty close. As usual we began with an introduction from Allan Hunter and a thank you to the sponsors...
Read MoreSingin’ in the Rain at the Glasgow Film Festival
This entry is part 2 of 8 in the series Glasgow Film Festival.Singin’ in the Rain (1952) | Saturday, 18th February | 1:30pm ‘SOLD OUT!’ A huge red sticker slapped gleefully across the billboard. What a start. What other movie would you choose to kick off a Gene Kelly Film Festival? You bring out the big guns first and if you happen to have the greatest musical in the history of cinema and one of the top five best films ever made in your canon then you load her up… There’s always a...
Read MoreStrictly Song and Dance: Gene Kelly at the Glasgow Film Festival (An Intro)
This entry is part 1 of 8 in the series Glasgow Film Festival.Glasgow has always been a city in love with cinema. Since the 1930s the city has borne the proud title of ’Cinema City,’ a testament to the 130 cinemas (more, per capita, than any city outside of the USA) catering for film-obsessed Glaswegians during Hollywood’s Golden Age. Sadly, all but a couple have been demolished or redeveloped into Bingo Halls, Social Clubs and, on one occasion, an Adult Cinema — itself an eventual...
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