CANNES - A FESTIVAL VIRGIN'S GUIDE
History of the Cannes Film Festival
History, Part 2
Although the 1947 festival had also been successful by most measures, budget problems in 1948 saw the event go dark for a second time. Financial woes also prevented the 1950 festival from going ahead, but in between the 1949 festival managed to secure an impressive line-up of international cinema, including Fred Zinnemann's "Act of Violence", Michelangelo Antonioni's "L'Amorosa Menzogna", Joseoph L. Mankiewicz's "House of Strangers", David Lean's "The Passionate Friends", and Carol Reed's "The Third Man" (the top prize-winner for that year). 1949 also saw the City of Cannes finally make good on its promise of a dedicated venue for the event. Built on the present site of Hotel Palais Stéphanie, and completed in 1952, the brand new Palais Croisette was to be the festival's home for the next 30-odd years.
By the early 1950s, the festival had experienced significant growth in scope and renown so it was decided to change the dates from September to April. The reason for the move was two-fold: firstly, many observers noted that competing festivals, such as Berlin and Venice, took place earlier in the year and consequently Cannes was missing out on a good deal of world premieres. Secondly, many in the local tourist industry questioned the value of holding such a large event at the end of the season when things were naturally winding down.
With the move to spring, Cannes was able to lay the foundations for its 'King of Festivals' crown. After the 1950 wobble the next few festivals burst out of the gate with a range of films from the cream of international cinema. Between 1951 and 1953 over 105 feature films were presented in competition, including George Stevens' "A Place in the Sun", Alfred Hitchcock's "I Confess", Orson Welles' screen adaptation of "Othello", John Ford's "The Sun Shines Bright", Raj Kapoor's "Awara", and a back-to-back triple play from Luis Buñel ("Subida al Cielo", "Los Olividados", and "El").
In 1954 two things happened which would change the image of Cannes forever. The first involved an idea, put forward by Parisian jeweller Suzanne Lazon, that the festival award trophies should incorporate a palm leaf motif (as the trees had long since become an icon of the city). The initial concept was sketched out by legendary director Jean Cocteau - a friend of Lazon - and went down so well with the festival brass that the top prize, the Grand Prix, was renamed the Palme d'Or the following year.
The second change experienced in 1954 was the introduction of 'sex' to the festival's image. During a photo call for Robert Mitchum, French starlet Simone Sylva started the now infamous tradition of 'getting one's boobs out' on the beach for the cameras. A bemused Mitchum stood by as Miss Sylva's assets hit the international news wires, and with them, a lasting image of Cannes was cast in the world's mind. And as the decade progressed this image was only boosted by the presence of a bikini-clad Bridgette Bardot, who, by the end of 1950s, had become almost a permanent fixture on the beach during the festival.
Despite the attention generated by the off-screen antics of its attendees, the festival continued to present a range of films from top international directors. Indeed, the 1950s saw the selection of films starting to read like a list of usual suspects (albeit talented ones) as Cannes alumni were invited back with their next films - a practice which continues to this day. Highlights from the remainder of the decade included Fred Zinnemann's "From Here to Eternity", Walt Disney's "The Living Desert", Satyajit Ray's "Pather Pantchali" and "Parash Pathar", Federico Fellini's "Nights of Cabiria", Louis Malle's "Le Monde du Silence", Stanley Donen's "Funny Face", and a trio from Ingmar Bergman, "Smiles of a Summer Night", "The Seventh Seal", and "So Close to Life".
In the early days Cannes had largely been an event for tourists and socialites who were often more interested in attending the many parties in the expensive hotels and luxury villas than they were in watching the films. However, as the festival's popularity increased, it gradually became a place for the international film industry to gather, do business, and discuss future projects. In 1959, ten participants and a canvas screen on the roof of the Palais Croisette kicked of the first Marché du Film, with the event becoming an official part of the festival in 1961.
Whist the arrival of the 1960s found many western countries in the midst of large scale social and economic change, the festival was building on the success of the previous decade and had begun to hit its stride. In 1965, the festival appointed its first female jury president, Olivia de Havilland (followed the next year by Sophia Loren), and the decade saw a wide variety of films presented including Fellini's "La Dolce Vita", Buñuel's "Viridiana", John Fankenheimer's "All Fall Down", Sidney Lumet's "Long Day's Journey into Night", Robert Mulligan's "To Kill a Mockingbird", François Truffaut's "Le Peau Douce", Masaki Kobayashi's "Kwaidan", David Lean's "Doctor Zhivago", Orson Welles' "Chimes at Midnight", Michelangelo Antonioni's "Blow Up", Costa-Gavras' "Z", and Dennis Hopper's "Easy Rider".