Looking for a great Old Hollywood themed event? Then go check out the website maxwelldemille.com, which presents numerous retro ongoings in the Los Angeles area such as big band performances, jitterbug contests, old Hollywood film showcases and much more.
In addition to a calendar of full events, maxwelldemille.com also has available vintage films, cartoons, newsreels, and other novelties to view. Anyone who is a fan of early 20th century Americana or Old Hollywood should definitely stop by this great website.
Here is a great short video of Chris Nichols, one of LA’s greatest preservationists of everything 1950s. Los Angeles has the largest display of the fanciful “Googie” architecture and in this video Nichol’s talks about some of the popular LA Googie landmarks.
This was originally posted on Curbed LA, a wonderful blog of all the rumbling and bumblings going on in present day Los Angeles. If you live in Los Angeles or just want to know what’s happening in the city, you should check the site out here: Curbed LA
What could be better than spending a warm summer day watching a classic film with a bunch of dead celebrities? For the large crowd that showed up on Saturday to see Alfred Hitchcock’s film, Vertigo, presented in the Hollywood Forever Cemetery, apparently not much.
Since 2001, Cinespia, an organization started by set designer John Wyatt, has sponsored screenings of many classic films that are projected onto Rudolph Valentino’s mausoleum. This interesting showcase allows film fans to watch some of their favorite pictures amongst the crypts and graves of many old Hollywood stars. Some of the stars on the Hollywood Forever Cemetery grounds include Cecille B. Demille, John Huston, Jayne Mansfield, and Marion Davies.
And if having many old Hollywood stars buried around you isn’t enough to make you feel like you are in Hollywood, all you have to do is look North to see the Hollywood sign up in the hills, or south to see the cemetery borderd by long running studio, Paramount Pictures.
Your host, directing the cameraman. Work with me people. In front of Rudolph Valentino’s Mausoleum, where the film is projected.
The crowd filling in. The buildings along the left are part of Paramount Studios.
The screenings in the cemetery only take place during the summer on each Saturday. The gates open at 7:00p.m. and the films begin at 8:30p.m. once the sun sets. Most people come with blankets and lawn chairs and bring their own food and drinks to dine on. Prior to the start of the film, there are DJs spinning records to entertain the audience, so don’t worry about being bored if you show up early, in fact if you don’t show up early, you probably will not get a choice seating area. Admission is only $10 and I’m told the funds go towards the upkeep of the cemetary grounds. Another exciting thing, in addition to all the stars of Hollywood’s past, some of Hollywood’s current stars have shown up for screenings, including Eddie Izzard and John Voight! And even many of the regulars are fun, die-hard cinema lovers who are always up for good movie conversation.
This season of films has just begun and the upcoming screening is going to be the 1946 film, Gilda, starring the lovely Rita Hayworth and Glen Ford. If you live in Los Angeles, or you are going to be visiting the city this summer, you should definitely take advantage of this unique experience. Find out more details by visiting www.cemeteryscreenings.com.
