The 2nd Annual It Came From Texas Film Festival returns to the Plaza Theatre in Garland Sept. 13-15.
This second installment of the festival shifts from the horror/sci-fi films of last year’s fest to films celebrating and examining the Western genre.
“There’s no better place than Texas to pay homage to the Western, which is one of the foundational genres of cinema,” said festival director Kelly Kitchens.
“This is why we’ve chosen as our headliners three Oscar-winning Texas films that embody the Texas Spirit — Giant, The Last Picture Show and Tender Mercies.”
The festival also includes The Blood of Jesus from 1941, a film thought lost for more than three decades.
Here are some highlights to get you ready for the festival.
Remember to check the websites or social media associated with each event for any last-minute changes. You can find more events at Go See DFW.
The headliner of the festival is one that should be seen on the big screen because of the beautiful panoramic shots of the Texas plains. Adapted from the novel of the same name by Edna Ferber, it was nominated for 10 Oscars, including one posthumous nomination for James Dean. George Stevens won for best director.
What it’s about: Prejudice, greed, class issues and the importance of love and understanding are all explored over two decades on a Texas Ranch called Reata.
Texas tie: It was filmed in the West Texas town of Marfa, near Big Bend National Park and the Davis Mountains.
Best line: “Bick, you should have shot that fellow a long time ago. Now he’s too rich to kill.”
Fun Facts: The Hotel Paisano, where the cast and crew stayed during the filming of Giant, is still in Marfa. You can stay in one of the same rooms Rock Hudson, Elizabeth Taylor or James Dean occupied while they were making the film.
When Bick and Leslie first arrive in Benedict, we see copious amounts of tumbleweeds blowing across the dusty and remote train station. Children in Marfa were paid 25 cents a piece to gather tumbleweeds for the scene.
This film that captured small-town life so perfectly appears on the American Film Institute’s Greatest Movies of All Time list. It earned eight Oscar nominations with two wins for best actor and actress in a supporting role (for Ben Johnson and Cloris Leachman). It also introduced audiences to Cybill Shepard, Randy Quaid and Sam Bottoms.
What it’s about: Set in a tiny North Texas town in the mid-1950s, the story follows the coming of age of three teenagers in a place that is dying both economically and culturally.
Texas Tie: The film is adapted from the semi-autobiographical 1966 novel of the same name by Texan Larry McMurtry. It was shot in McMurtry’s hometown of Archer City.
Best line: “I guess if it wasn’t for Sam, I’d have missed it, whatever it is. I’d have been one of them amity types that thinks that playin’ bridge is about the best thing that life has to offer.”
Fun facts: Ben Johnson was on screen as Sam the Lion for just 9 minutes and 54 seconds. It was the shortest performance ever to win an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
The Royal Theater in Archer City was the inspiration for the theater in the film. And while the theater itself has been gutted, it’s now an open-air space with a stage for events and concerts. The theater marquee and the box office are still in place.
Even though Robert Duvall has been nominated for seven Academy Awards, the understated performance he gave in Tender Mercies has been his only win. Film critic Roger Ebert included the film in his book The Great Movies IV and said “Rarely does a movie elaborate less and explain more.”
What it’s about: The film tells the story of Mac Sledge, an alcoholic and a has-been country singer. Despite his challenges, Mac gets a second chance at love, reaches out to his long-lost daughter, and tries to put his troubled life back together.
Texas Tie: The film was written by Texan Horton Foote, who won the Oscar for best original screenplay. It was filmed primarily in Waxahachie, Arlington and Palmer. Additional scenes were shot in Dallas, which stood in for Austin and Nashville.
Best line: Woman with Groceries: “Hey, mister, were you really Mac Sledge?”
Mac Sledge: “Yes, ma’am, I guess I was.”
Fun facts: The concert sequence featuring Betty Buckley was filmed at the Grapevine Opry, which later became the Palace Theater.
Robert Duvall does his own singing and even wrote some of the songs featured in the film.
Best known for playing Andy on The Amos ‘n’ Andy Show throughout the 1940s, Spencer Williams wrote, directed and starred in The Blood of Jesus. He was one of only a handful of African American filmmakers who made movies exclusively for Black audiences known at the time as “race films.”
“These films were difficult to get made,” said Kitchens. “Suppliers wouldn’t sell a whole reel of film to Black filmmakers so they ended up shooting the movie on film ends — the leftover film — usually the two or three minutes at the end of a reel and would piece together the film to make a full movie. Since they were very limited on the amount of film stock, the scenes were limited to one, maybe two takes at the most.”
What it’s about: The film tells the story of an atheist who accidentally shoots his godly wife. When she dies, she ends up at the fabled crossroads of Hell or Zion, where the devil tries to lead her astray.
Texas Tie: The Blood of Jesus was lost for several decades. In the mid-’80s, prints of the movie, as well as several other “lost” films of the era, were discovered in a warehouse in Tyler. The film is archived at Southern Methodist University as part of the G. William Jones Film and Video Collection.
Fun fact: In 1991, The Blood of Jesus was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress. It was the first “race film” to be chosen.
OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
Besides the classic films listed above, the three-day festival also includes a lineup of documentaries, special guests and panel discussions.
On Saturday, there’s a panel discussion with SMU film studies head Rick Worland, Ph.D., who delves into the historical and artistic significance of The Blood of Jesus. He’s joined by Elizabeth Hansen of the Texas Archives of the Moving Image, who talks about the importance of film preservation and archiving.
The festival wraps up with a special interactive event.
“Last year’s festival had a lot of campy, quirky, films in it,” Kitchens said. So honoring our commitment to the campy and quirky we decided to wrap up the festival this year with the movie Rock Baby, Rock It from 1957.”
Kitchens says the film is sort of a campy rock ‘n’ roll-themed movie that was filmed in Dallas.
“It features Texas versions of famous music acts of the time. Like there’s a Texas version of the Everly Brothers as well as lots of others. The star of the film is Kay Wheeler. And the reason she’s the star is because she was the national president for the Elvis Presley Fan Club.”
Paired with Rock Baby, Rock It is the comedy group The Mocky Horror Picture Show. They’ll be doing live riffing while the film is playing.
“They have prompts on the screen for the audience to participate and they’ll have props,” said Kitchens. “So, they’ll have fun with it as well as the audience.”
The It Came From Texas Film Festival happens Friday through Sunday at the Plaza Theater in downtown Garland. Tickets are $10 to $75.
Kitchens says that Garland is the perfect place for the festival.
“Garland is known as the Cowboy Hat Capital of the World. All three of the posters for the headlining films depict characters wearing cowboy hats, so it’s fitting the festival takes place at the Plaza Theatre in Garland.”
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