I almost went to the Sundance Film Festival this past January because there was a definite Galison connection: Peter Galison and Robb Moss’s acclaimed documentary Secrecy debuted there and has been shown at other film festivals since then. See it when it’s in a theater near you. But today I was at the opening of a different Utah film festival that will definitely not be showing Secrecy…
The Bicknell International Film Festival’s Wild, Wild, Worst—a three film extravaganza devoted to celebrating B movie westerns of yesteryear opened July 25th. The Wayne Theatre will be screening The Outlaw, The Master Gunslinger, and the closing film, The Terror of Tiny Town. Sounds like there are a lot of associated parties! The festival’s trademarked slogan: “Better Living Through Bad Cinema.”
You've got to go to the festival's website and read about these films for yourself! Read about how director Howard Hughes, yes that one, used his engineering skills to design a special cantilevered bra with structural steel(!) for the film in order to "do justice" to The Outlaw's star Jane Russell's breasts. And showcasing said breasts in the film and on the poster defied the Hays Code's standards of acceptable content and delayed the film's released
I joined the tail of the opening parade--although not as part of this float--
which began in downtown Torrey, Utah, and rode into the sunset toward Bicknell's Wayne Theatre. There was a float, lots of interesting autos both old and new, including some dragging horse tails, and lots of cheering spectators. People threw candy from the cars to the viewers at the side of the road, and someone was hawking free really cute kittens (how tempting!). Alas, I was on my mountain bike and was dropped on a big uphill not even halfway to the theater in Bicknell.
Nevertheless, it was a nice downhill back to my lodging, and I stopped to visit with this guy on the way.
Torrey is a great place to be based if you visit Capitol Reef National Park or are on your way south to Kodachrome Basin, Bryce National Park, Zion, etc.
Yes, even the Galison web team goes on vacation, so greetings from a bit west of Manhattan!
--Susan
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