2 Brendel titles to be screened at the final Cinefest.

I'm back! Yes, after longer than wanted hiatus I am here to tell all my readers that 2 rare El Brendel features will be screened next week at the final Cinefest in Syracuse, NY. I have been going to this festival for about 12 years now and when word came down late last year that this would be the final Cinefest, I was heartbroken. I clearly understood the reasons the Syracuse Cinephile Society laid out for it's ending but the thought of not trudging up to central NY in March ever again to see rare films and all my friends, was depressing.

But, the people who put on the show had two great bits of news for all the El Brendel fans, this year they were going to be running two rare feature films he appears in! The first is a 1939 Universal feature, "Risky Business", which will be shown at 11:45pm on Friday night. The film is a radio crime drama and features El in the role of a janitor. His time on the screen is brief but he's there!

an Australian daybill for "Risky Business"

The other, and certainly harder to see film, will screen on Saturday afternoon at 3:45. "My Lips Betray" (1933) is one of the handful of starring roles made in the US by Lilian Harvey and co-stars John Boles. Our hero plays Oswald Stigmat, a chauffeur. This print comes from UCLA and has certainly been on my "most wanted to see" list for some time. According to the UCLA website, the print they have in 35mm is missing reel 6.  I don't know if they have found the missing reel or the film is being presented to us without the lost portion, I'll guess I'll find out when everyone else does!

this German postcard depicts a scene, probably a musical one, from "My Lips Betray"

The dates of the Syracuse Cinefest are March 19th-22nd and there is still time to make your reservations to attend. It is a wonderful weekend and I will miss it so, but it looks to be going out with a bang!! Just look at these great films:

2015 CINEFEST PROGRAM SCHEDULE
(Films and starting times may be subject to change)

Thursday, March 19th
9:00 am    OUT ALL NIGHT (1933) with Zasu Pitts, Slim Summerville
10:15 am    BEST OF MOSTLY LOST III From the Library of Congress
11:05 am    YELLOW FINGERS (1926) with Olive Borden, Ralph Ince
1:15 pm    TOWER OF TREASURES, RKO TRAILERS Hosted by Ray Faiola
2:15 pm    LIFE IN THE RAW (1933) with George O’Brien, Claire Trevor
3:20 pm    LAST MAN ON EARTH (1924) with Earle Fox, Grace Cunard
4:30 pm    THE ROAD BACK (1937) with John King, Richard Cromwell  
8:00 pm    IT PAYS TO BE IGNORANT (1948) with Tom Howard
8:10 pm    KING OF THE KONGO, CHAPTER 10 (1929) With Boris Karloff
8:35 pm    LUCKY BEGINNERS Hal Roach All Stars
9:00 pm    RETURN OF PETER GRIMM (1926) with Janet Gaynor
10:10 pm    CAPTAIN FLY-BY-NIGHT (1922) with Johnnie Walker, Shannon Day
11:15 pm    THE THIRD ALARM (1922) w/Johnnie Walker, Ralph Lewis, Ella Hall

Friday, March 20th
9:00 am     SERVICE STRIPES (1930) Vitaphone short with Joe Penner
9:10 am    MEN ON CALL (1931) with Edmund Lowe, Mae Clarke
10:20 am    ME AND THE BOYS
10:30 am    DICK BANN’S HAL ROACH SHOW #1 Hosted by Dick Bann
1:00 pm    STORY OF COLOR IN THE MOVIES Hosted by Eric Grayson
2:30 pm     PAINTED WOMAN (1932) with Spencer Tracy, Peggy Shannon
3:40 pm    VITAGRAPH VARIETIES From the Library of Congress
4:45 pm    SECOND FLOOR MYSTERY (1930) with Loretta Young
8:00 pm    BRIDE OF FINKLESTEIN (2015) Hosted by Michael Schlesinger
8:20 pm    A SONG IN THE DARK, More Dangerous Rhythms by Richard Barrios
9:35 pm    HEART TO HEART (1928) with Mary Astor, Lloyd Hughes
10:40 pm    LUCRETIA LOMBARD (1923) with Irene Rich, Monte Blue
11:45 pm    RISKY BUSINESS(1938) with George Murphy, Dorothea Kent
 
Saturday, March 21st
9:00 am    SMOKING GUNS (1934) with Ken Maynard, Gloria Shea
10:00 am    WELCOME DANGER with Harold Lloyd, Barbara Kent
12 Noon    THE DAWN OF TECHNICOLOR  Early Technicolor Musicals
1:10 pm    FLORIDA STUDIO FILMS  From the Library of Congress
2:15 pm    NEW KLONDIKE (1926) with Thomas Meighan, Lilia Lee, Paul Kelly
3:25 pm    SEA SORE (1934) with Arthur Tracy, Baby Rose Marie
3:45 pm    MY LIPS BETRAY (1933) with Lilian Harvey, John Boles
4:50 pm    TESS OF THE STORM COUNTRY (1914) with Mary Pickford
8:00 pm    WE WE MARIE (1930) with Slim Summerville, Eddie Gribbon
8:20 pm    GERRY ORLANDO COMMENTS
8:30 pm    TEA MAKING TIPS (1925)
8:45 pm    COLLEEN MOORE HOME MOVIES (1)
8:50 pm    SYNTHETIC SIN (1928) with Colleen Moore, Antonio Moreno
10:05 pm    THE DANGER GAME (1917) with Madge Kennedy, Tom Moore
11:10 pm    BABIES, THEY’RE WONDERFUL (1947) with Patsy Kelly
11:20 pm    THREE KISSES (1955) Paramount Topper
11:35 pm    THE BACK PAGE (1933) with Peggy Shannon, Russell Hopkin

Sunday, March 22nd
9:00 am    THE BIG BROADCAST (1932) with Bing Crosby, Burns and Allen
10:30 am    THE AUCTION (2015) Hosted by Leonard Maltin and George Read
12 noon    HISTORY & DEVELOPMENT OF THE 35MM PROJECTOR
12:30 pm    ONCE A SINNER (1931) with Dorothy MacKaill, Joel McCrea 
1:40 pm    CALGARY STAMPEDE (1926) with Hoot Gibson, Virginia Brown
2:35 pm    DICK BANN’S HAL ROACH SHOW #2 Hosted by Dick Bann
3:40 pm    CODE OF THE SEA (1924) with Rod LaRocque, Jacqueline Logan
4:40 pm    THE SEA LION (1922) with Hobart Bosworth, Bessie Love

 Richard Walling & Janet Gaynor in "The Return of Peter Grimm"