Sunday in Port Townsend

Yipee-ee-ti-yi-o get along little doggies …

Uncle Dave in his cowboy'n days

How much do I love Westerns? Well, I spent my youth within a bicycle ride of Niles Canyon, where Bronco Billy and the Essanay cowboys filmed amid the sagebrush and rattlesnakes. There were more than a few Saturday afternoons spent watching old movies on Oakland’s Channel 2, and many evenings at the local drive-in. My favorite amusement park was a place called Frontier Village in San Jose, and the highlight of our annual camping trip to Yosemite was always the pony rides. Years later, I made a point of visiting Monument Valley to see ‘Ford Country’ for myself. My collection of Zane Grey, A. B. Guthrie, Max Brand, Louis L’Amour novels, 16mm prints of Stagecoach (1939), Jesse James (1939) and others also testify to my lifelong fondness for the genre. It is our own mythology, as uniquely American as Baseball and Jazz. Last July I traveled to the SFSFF to see Bucking Broadway (1917), and this past Sunday I made the 130 mile, five hour round-trip to see Hell’s Heroes (1930) at the PTFF. I’ve been told this picture aired on TCM about ten tears ago, but it’s never been released on video (get off your ass and do it Ted!).

It’s been twenty years since I traveled to Port Townsend on a motorcycle, so the trip was a bit nostalgic as I fired up the Beemer and ferried over to Bainbridge. The highway is wider, faster, there’s a monstrous new casino in Suquamish, but Agate Pass, and the bridge are as beautiful as ever. As I motored around the old courthouse on the bluff above Port Townsend’s waterfront, in the yard of an old Victorian, two very large deer paused from their meal of flowers and grass long enough to acknowledge my passing. I’m told it’s considered an honor to have the town deer graze in your yard.

The Port Townsend Film Festival

Looking through the catalogue, what I noticed first at the seventh annual Port Townsend Film Festival was the great collection of archive presentations. Midnight shows included A Clockwork Orange (1971) and Brazil (1985). One of the landmarks of film noir, Laura (1944) was introduced by Robert Osborne, and the two silent films, Show People (1928), and the screening I attended, Hell’s Heroes, featured piano accompaniment by Donald Sosin. On Saturday there was a screening of Finding Thea (2006), a new documentary about Thea Foss, the matriarch of the Foss Tug Company, followed by the film she inspired, Tugboat Annie (1933), with Marie Dressler and Wallace Beery. I was a little sorry I missed what must have been a great double-bill. Evening films on the outdoor screen this year included Michael Curtiz’ The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) and the Marx Brothers in A Night at the Opera (1935).
This year’s three-day series consisted of roughly sixty screenings at seven different venues, five in Port Townsend’s commercial district, which includes The Rose Theater. Hell’s Heroes was screened at the Broughton Theater, Port Townsend High School’s well-appointed auditorium and the festival’s largest space. As is customary, there was a staff of friendly, helpful volunteers. The PTFF also offered a shuttle bus between venues as well as food and live music between shows.

Hell's Heroes

Inevitably, there are problems, and the screening I attended had a hitch. Due to the period of transition from silent to sound film taking place when Hell’s Heroes was released, the studio produced both silent and sound versions, a common practice. The film was originally billed as the first sound feature filmed primarily outdoors. The PTFF screening was presented with a print of the sound version (without the soundtrack), which had no intertitles. For anyone unfamiliar with the story (fortunately, it is extremely well known), there may have been some confusion regarding the plot, but the overall print quality was very good, Richie Meyer’s introduction was interesting and informative, Sosin was excellent as usual and the presentation was very satisfactory with this one exception.
I enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere, something most urban festivals lack, and plan on attending the full three days in 2007.