2026 TCM Classic Film Festival Recap: Days 1 and 2
May 7, 2026
The 2026 TCM Classic Film Festival was one for the books—and book! (Yes, it was a thrill to also celebrate Pre-Code Essentials at TCMFF this year.) The 17th edition of the fest wrapped just a few days ago, and I’m starting my yearly tradition of looking back at all the movies I saw and the fun I had.
While I initially had a media pass this year, I was able to snag a VIP pass before the event kicked off, as my co-author Danny and I were doing a book signing at the fest. I never have enjoyed that level of access before, which definitely elevated the experience. I know it was also the pass that made it possible for me to catch every single movie I originally planned on, so thank you TCM for that opportunity!
So thrilled to be a guest at TCMFF #17! (Photo by Kim Luperi)
My final film count this year was 14, a whopping nine of which were new-to-me titles! Of the five I had seen, one I did not remember well and another movie I thought I hadn’t seen before, but it turns out I had. (That was Lady Windermere’s Fan.) This might be one of my highest percentages of new discoveries at the fest, and I love that. So without further ado, let’s get into the fest recap!
THURSDAY 4/30
I clocked out of work early to race over to Hollywood to enjoy lunch with my co-author, Danny, and his lovely wife at the Chado Tea Room, the perfect calm before the storm. After lunch, we headed to the TCM Boutique, where I got to see Pre-Code Essentials for sale, which was surreal. (I only saw the book there twice, because we sold out on day 2!) We signed those copies and headed to the Roosevelt to pick up our passes, which granted access to the opening night film, Barefoot in the Park (1967), my first new discovery of this year’s fest.
Pre-Code Essentials at the TCM Boutique! (Photo by Kim Luperi)
On the way to the red carpet from the Roosevelt, I ran into a couple I had met two years ago at the closing night party, where we discovered that the husband and I both went to Allegheny College. I stopped in my tracks when I heard “Allegheny!” this year and shared a nice chat and walk with them over to the TCL Chinese Theater. After meeting Danny and his wife in line—and not knowing what to do with ourselves on a red carpet!—we took our seats and waited for the show to start. We snagged seats up close, about three or four rows from the front, which was a prime viewing spot for Jane Fonda’s pre-movie conversation with Ben Mankiewicz about co-star Robert Redford. That was a hoot—rest assured I’ll share highlights from that chat at a later time! As for the movie itself, I enjoyed it. I didn’t know anything about it going in, and while the characters, especially Fonda’s, sometimes wore on me, there were plenty of funny lines and situations (especially from Mildred Natwick, playing the mother), and the world premiere restoration looked beautiful, as did the two stars looming large on the big screen.
TCM made the Barefoot in the Park afterparty at the Avalon in Hollywood feel like an actual park! (Photo by Kim Luperi)
My original plan after Barefoot in the Park was Blonde Venus (1932). However, earlier that day I got invited to the opening night party at the Avalon in Hollywood. Since it was my first (and possibly only!) invite to this soiree, I skipped the pre-Code and ventured to the Avalon. The space itself is spectacular, but the way TCM decorated it, from park benches and trees to align with the Barefoot in the Park theme, to the fest artwork on the walls and out front, to the photos hanging on the walls when you entered, was stunning. I hung out with Danny and a few others before heading home to rest my head before the first full day of the fest. What a great way to kick off TCMFF #17!
Sidney Fox and Warren William in The Mouthpiece.
FRIDAY 5/1
I kicked off (almost) five new-to-me movies on Friday with a pre-Code, The Mouthpiece (1932). I hadn’t seen this film in so long that it basically qualified as a new discovery. There’s nothing better than a packed house—over 500 seats!—for a pre-Code. Warren William was in prime slimy mode as a shady attorney—the opening courtroom scene is peak pre-Code William—and he and Aline MacMahon delivered a bevy of terrific lines between them. Andrea Kalas, who used to run Paramount’s archive, talked about the Production Code Administration files in her intro, which I absolutely adored, because the history of how those files made their way to the Academy’s Margaret Herrick Library has sort of been a mystery to me for years. I’m still interested in learning more, but in short, archivist Barbara Hall played a critical role in rescuing the surviving files in the 1980s. (I’m not sure how/why some files had already been destroyed by that time!) The Academy’s then-president Fay Kanin met with Jack Vizzard, formerly of the Production Code Administration, and Kalas gave a humorous rendition of how she thinks that meeting could have gone down to convince Vizzard to hand the files over to the Academy.
It was very helpful to be in this line for Letty Lynton, likely the most popular film of the fest! (Photo by Kim Luperi)
Even with the higher level pass, I raced out of The Mouthpiece to get in line for my most anticipated film of the fest, the world premiere restoration of Letty Lynton (1932). The movie hadn’t been publicly screened in 90 years due to rights issues, and the TCMFF attendees' enthusiasm showed, before the film even rolled, through super long lines. I’ll share more from the intro later, but for now I’ll say that it was a true thrill to be able to experience this screening with such an appreciative crowd. This year was a pivotal one for star Joan Crawford—you can really see her star power fully blooming—and she was breathtaking in this film. Her relationship with Nils Asther’s character was very pre-Code and still rather shocking in its obsession and brutality. I wasn’t quite sure where the film was headed at the end, and I was pleasantly surprised by the finale, as were the rest of the fans sitting in the theater. The title card drew raucous applause, Crawford’s first appearance elicited enthusiastic admiration, several individual Adrian costumes received hearty clapping—it was obviously a very grateful crowd. It was nice to hear that the DVD will be coming out in June so fans all over the world will finally be able to enjoy this long-buried movie!
My snazzy 3-D clip on glasses before the Money From Home screening! (Photo by Kim Luperi)
My next stop was another newbie: Money From Home (1953), the only Dean Martin-Jerry Lewis pairing filmed in 3-D. The 3-D Film Archive’s Bob Furmanek, who was also Lewis’ personal archivist for years, joined Lewis’ son Chris and Paramount archivist Charlotte Barker for a conversation before the movie about the restoration, 3-D, and more. It was interesting to hear that fewer than two percent of theaters released the movie in 3-D; it truly was a rare treat to see the film screened the way it was originally intended! I’m not very familiar with Martin and Lewis’ work, but the horse-racing comedy was humorous (if not a tad long in my opinion), and the 3-D effects were subtle enough to add an amusing layer to the proceedings without being too gimmicky or headache inducing. There were some absolutely hilarious lines and scenes as well, my favorite being Lewis dramatically lip syncing to a variety of different songs—some in other languages!
Jimmy Stewart, Margaret Sullavan, and Ray Milland in Next Time We Love.
I raced straight from Theater 6 to Theater 4 for Next Time We Love (1936), a title I had never heard of before. All I knew going in was that it starred Jimmy Stewart and Margaret Sullavan in their first pairing and his first starring role. Well, I’m here to say that this now ranks as my favorite discovery of the fest—yes, just a tiny bit ahead of Letty Lynton! Marsha Gordon, Ursula Parrott’s biographer, was on hand to discuss the film. Parrott penned Ex-Wife, the basis for The Divorcee (1930), and as with that tale, this one seemed incredibly ahead of its time. All the while watching it, I kept thinking how it did not feel like a 1936 release—in the way it dealt with a woman being the breadwinner, in the way it dealt with a dual-income marriage, and in the way it honestly showed the repercussions of a married couple living apart. Now I’m interested in learning more about Parrott’s underlying work and how that differed from the movie! Next Time We Love was also a total roller coaster; I did not know where it was headed, at all, and I certainly did not expect the ending, which was rather sad. That said, the strong (at times heartbreaking) performances and the film’s nuanced look at relationships and marriage kept this movie in my mind long after the lights came up.
After being shattered by Next Time We Love, I walked right back in line for Theater 4 and another new discovery: 1936’s The Princess Comes Across. All I knew beforehand for this one was Carole Lombard, Fred MacMurray, boat, and comedy-murder mystery. MacMurray’s daughter Kate was on hand to talk about her father; he said he never admitted it in interviews, but his favorite co-star was Lombard. The film was entertaining, but the almost even split between the first half of comedy and second half mystery was a bit jarring. (I adore those two genres together in movies like 1934’s The Thin Man, but they barely mixed in this; it almost felt like two different films.) I thought I knew where the murder mystery was headed, but there was a nice little twist at the end that came as a surprise. Though The Princess Comes Across wasn’t my favorite of the fest, it was still a pleasure discovering another new-to-me 90-year old film that I had never heard of!
Thus ended my five-film marathon day on Friday. Check back here for my Saturday and Sunday recap, coming next week!
thanks for stopping by!
I See a Dark Theater is a website dedicated to classic movie-going—and loving—in the City of Angels. Whether it's coverage on screenings, special presentations, or Q&As around Los Angeles that you're looking for, or commentary on the wonderful and sometimes wacky world of classic cinema, you've come to the right place for a variety of pieces written with zeal, awe, and (occasionally) wit. Enjoy.
