The 73rd edition of the Festival de Cannes, aka the Cannes Film Festival, would have kicked off today in the south of France, but was cancelled a while back. It’s just one of a wave of event cancellations that will cascade through the year. Festivals as diverse as Burning Man and San Fermin, aka the Running of the Bulls, have also been shelved. But getting back to Cannes, we thought this would be a good moment to commemorate past fests with some historical photos. Above you see Alfred Hitchcock on a boat with the town in the background, in 1972, and below are about fifty pix from the 1940s through 1970s, documenting various iconic moments, and a few quieter ones. Maybe the Cannes Film Festival will back next year, maybe not. At this point, predicting anything is an exercise in futility. But at least we’ll always have the memories.
Hitchcock says no festival for you this year!
France, Cannes, Festival du Cannes, Cannes Film Festival, Palme d’Or, La dolce vita, A Man Called Adam, The Birds, Alfred Hitchcock, Edith Piaf, Diana Dors, Ginger Rogers, Kirk Douglas, Brigitte Bardot, Michèle Morgan, Robert Mitchum, Simone Sylva, Romy Schneider, Alain Delon, Sidney Poitier, Jean Seberg, Natalie Wood, Grace Kelly, Sammy Davis Jr., Sharon Tate, Roman Polanski, Marlene Dietrich, Tippi Hedren, Gene Kelly, Maria Callas, Sophia Loren, Carlo Ponti, Raquel Welch, Jane Birkin, Joan Scott, Dorothy Dandridge, Robert Redford, John Lennon, Cynthia Lennon, Yoko Ono, Rock Hudson, Lauren Bacall, Humphrey Bogart, George Baker, Bella Darvi, Jayne Mansfield, Tatiana Samoïlova, Catherine Deneuve, Françoise Dorléac, Fernandel, Arlette Patrick, Jeanne Moreau, Danielle Darrieux, Bernard Blier, PhilomeÌ€ne Toulouse, Monica Vitti, poster art, cinema