San Francisco Film Society Oral History Project Interview with ...

money to organizations that need it. So we were punished for doing a good job. Rather than being able
to use the money the next year, they cut $10,000. OK—We had Robert Aldrich, Melvin Van Peebles—
that was an interesting thing—
MARGARITA LANDAZURI: Now, he had a connection to San Francisco, didn’t he?
CLAUDE JARMAN: Yes, he did. He was an interesting guy. He was just starting out making films at
that point. And then Jacques Demy, which was—
MARGARITA LANDAZURI: You had trouble getting films for the Festival. That reminded me: Why
was that problem coming up again?
CLAUDE JARMAN: I don’t recall. I can’t really say why it was a particularly difficult year. In terms of
the tributes, we had Henry Fonda. He was one of my idols. I think he was a fantastic actor.
MARGARITA LANDAZURI: How was he as a Festival guest?
CLAUDE JARMAN: He was very, very nice. He was here with his wife, Shirley. He was a delightful
guy. I heard he was a difficult person though. I used to hear horror stories of him and John Ford working
together, particularly as Ford got older and more cranky. It was bad. We also had William Holden, also
one of my favorite actors. It was a great tribute because he had great roles, between Sunset Boulevard
and Stalag 17, Picnic.
MARGARITA LANDAZURI: Did he have good stories?
CLAUDE JARMAN: Yeah. He was very quiet. I think he’d quit drinking at that point. He was very
subdued. And they had the Judy Garland tribute which was Albert’s tour de force.
MARGARITA LANDAZURI: She wasn’t there.
CLAUDE JARMAN: No, she wasn’t.
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