Film Fest packed with plenty for locals in 2011

October 4, 2011

A Hopalong Cassidy impersonator poses for a shot along a tour of an Alabama Hills film location featuring Hoppy himself. This year’s 22nd Annual Lone Pine Film Festival, Oct. 7-9, is trying to lure more locals and will offer discounted all-day passes for entry to see movies, watch a stunt show and more. There will also be vendors at the park and free music all weekend. Photo by Mike Bodine

The Lone Pine Film Festival is back for its 22nd year with more free events and attractions for locals than ever before.
There will be the tours to movie locales, talks with Hollywood legends and the Friday night concert along with a free rodeo, more than 70 vendors, artists and food booths at Spainhower Park, free music all weekend long at the museum and the park and the ever-popular parade. And, new this year, will be a live stunt demonstration. All-day passes are available for $25 include admission to the Museum of Lone Pine Film History, movies, panel discussions and admission to the stunt show with Loren James, Steve McQueen’s stunt double, on Saturday.
The fun starts Friday, Oct. 7 and runs through Sunday, Oct. 9.
One of the organizers of the event, Julie Fought, chairperson of the festival committee, said there is a drive to get as many locals to the festival as possible.
“The festival is mostly geared toward out-of-towners,” Fought explained, as well as those with a lack of knowledge of the area that can seem vast and remote.
But organizers have realized “the only way we’re going to keep this festival alive is to get locals involved,” she explained.
Fought said that while most locals have already seen the Alabama Hills, a sunrise on the flanks of the Sierra Nevada and other popular tour locations, she expects that, like herself, most locals enjoy free music, a rodeo and a parade.
Volunteer Tim Jones has been working on getting more locals, especially kids, involved with the festival by coordinating the Lone Pine Film Festival Rodeo for the past several years. This year’s offerings will include adult rodeo events such as team roping and barrel racing, and a variety of events for kids.
The rodeo is a tribute to Roy Rogers who entertained rodeo crowds for more than three decades with his cowboy talents, according to the museum website. “Small Town Rodeo. Big Time Fun,” is the motto of the rodeo, going on all weekend at the museum’s historic Lone Pine Rodeo Grounds, just a short walk behind the museum.
Peter Ford, son of acting legend Glenn Ford, will give a free presentation on his new book about his father, “Glenn Ford: A Life.” Ford and Inyo County Film Commissioner Chris Langley will discuss the book and the man from 4-5:30 p.m. on Friday at the museum.
New this year will be a demonstration of the Foley-style sound effects made popular by Bishop resident Jack Foley in 1927. The effects are basically the background noises, like footsteps or floor creaks that must be added to a movie later. Lone Pine resident, Emmy nominee and professional Foley artist, Vince Nicastro will give a demonstration.
Cow Bop will play at 7 p.m. Friday at the Lone Pine High School.
The parade at 1 p.m. Sunday is a Hollywood-style spectacle complete with legendary actors and actresses in fancy cars or on horseback, stunt men and women, impersonators of John Wayne and Hopalong Cassidy and other dignitaries. There is also plenty of local color in the parade in the form of Native American hoop dancers, mules, Future Farmers of America and the rough and tumble Alabama Hills Gang, with twirling six-shooters, chaps and garter belts – although, usually not all three on the same gang member.
Music at the park from 11 a.m.-6 p.m. will include Michael Knapp, Jean Butterfield and Gary Lynch and George and Noah Castaneda on Friday. Hoop Dancer Sage Romero and the Aka-Mya dancers begin Saturday’s park enetertainment at 10 a.m., followed by Knapp, then Byron Kosters and Nancy Masters, Butterfield and Lynch, then the father-and-son group the Castenadas. Charlie Broten and String Theory will play from 5-6 p.m. The Hispanic Church Band starts at noon Sunday followed by Victor Silvas at 1:30 p.m.
Movies at the museum start early Friday at the Lone Pine High School Auditorium:
• 9 a.m. – “Outlaws of the Desert” (Paramount, 1941): In this, the first of five with Brad King as Hopalong Cassidy’s sidekick, the Alabama Hills stand in for the Arabian desert.
• 10:15 a.m. – “Purple Hills” (Columbia, 1950): Gene Autry, Pat Buttram.
• 11:30 a.m. – “Border Treasure” (RKO, 1950): Tim Holt, Richard Martin.
• 12:45 p.m. – “Brigham Young” (20th / Fox, 1940): Tyrone Power, Linda Darnell.
• 3 p.m. – “Seven Men From” (Warner Brothers 1956): Randolph Scott, Lee Marvin.
Saturday’s lineup includes:
• 9 a.m. – “Under Western Stars” (Republic, 1938): Roy Rogers, Smiley Burnette.
•10:15 a.m. – “Western Gold” (20th Century Fox, 1937): Smith Ballew.
• 11:30 a.m. – “Freighters of Destiny” (RKO Radio, 1931): Tom Keene.
• 12:45 p.m. – “Fiddlin’ Buckaroo” (Universal, 1933); Ken Maynard.
• 2 p.m. – “Secret Valley” (20th Century Fox, 1936): Richard Arlen, Virginia Grey.
• 3:15 p.m. – “Robinson Cruso on Mars” (Paramount, 1963): Paul Mantee. An astronaut on an exploratory mission crashes on Mars and must figure out how to survive in the hostile environment. Filmed mostly in Death Valley.
• 3:30 p.m. – James V. D’Arc will introduce a screening of two rare Lone Pine related short films. “The Mormon Trail” trailer for “Brigham Young” includes extensive production footage of the Lone Pine tent city for cast and crew, camera towers and camera set-ups in the Lone Pine area. The second is a special trailer about the world premier of the movie in Salt Lake City. After the screenings, D’Arc will discuss these films as well as his new book, “When Hollywood Came to Town: A History of Moviemaking in Utah” The presentation and the screening will be in the Museum Theater, NOT the High School auditorium.
• 7:30 p.m. – “I Died A Thousand Times” (Warner Bros,1955): Jack Palance, Shelly Winters. An interesting remake of High Sierra with color and in scope.
• 9:30 p.m. – “Springtime in the Sierras” (Republic, 1947): Roy Rogers. In honor of Roy Rogers’ centennial, we are screening this recently found color film, re-mastered for this years festival.
Sunday’s movie lineup includes:
• 9 a.m. a.m. – “The Violent Men” (Columbia, 1955): Glenn Ford, Barbra Stanwyck, Edward G. Robinson. A rancher takes exception to the low price and bullying tactics of the owner of the Anchor Ranch when he attempts to sell out to move east. He decides to stay and all hell breaks loose.
• 10:45 a.m. – “Bad Day at Black Rock” (MGM, 1955): Spencer Tracy, Robert Ryan. One of Lone Pine’s iconic films tells the story of a one-armed man who comes to a small isolated town and asks the whereabouts of a Japanese-American and touches a nerve so sensitive that he spends the next 24 hours fighting for his life.
• 2 p.m. – “Ride the High Country” (MGM, 1962): Joel McCrea, Randolph Scott. McCrea, Scott and Peckinpah, along with the Eastern Sierra landscapes make this one of the all time underrated Westerns.
• 4:15 p.m. – “From Hell to Texas” (20th Century Fox, 1958): Don Murray, Diane Varsi.
A full list of who is going to be at the festival, the tour locations, ticket purchases and other information is available at the festival’s website at www.lonepinefilmfestival.org or in the event program available for sale at the museum.
The program also includes guest bios and feature articles on several other 2011 Film Festival offerings.
For more information, call the museum at (760) 873-9103 or e-mail to lpfilmfest@lonepinetv.com.