This year the theme at the 16th
Annual Lone Pine Film Festival was Cowboys and Their Horses. This
was a celebration of the heroes of western film, with autograph signings of past
western stars. Old western films could be seen at the high school auditorium
(Mike Bifulco was one of the presenters). There were many panel discussions,
with Noel involved with the “Ladies of the West.” This panel included such stars
as Ann Sutherland, Noel Neill, and Lois Hall (who appeared with George Reeves in
the 1950 serial The Adventures of Sir Galahad). Lone Pine’s population
grows from 2,060 to about 10,000 people for this event.
The streets of Lone Pine had
many cowboys packing six guns, ladies in western attire, and if you waited
around long enough in the center of town, you would see famous TV Western star
look-a-likes including “Hopalong Cassidy,” “The Lone Ranger,” “Gabby Hays,” “The
Cisco Kid,” and “Pallidon,” of Have Gun Will Travel, to name a few.
We arrived on Friday evening to
have dinner with Noel and Larry at a small 24-hour coffee shop that serves
breakfast any time! She was immediately recognized as “Lois Lane” and being the
gentle lady that she is, was warm and inviting—even in the middle of dinner! Her
warm smile always melts the ice and gives her fans an opportunity to engage in a
memorable conversation.
The next day, at the festival’s
autograph sessions, Noel greeted fans with her gentle manner and charming smile.
Fans never miss an opportunity to have a picture with the Original Lois Lane
at the most visited table in the joint! That afternoon, she participated in a
panel discussion of the “Ladies of the West” and seemed to have a little
difficulty opening her bottle of water. This became the “talk of the town”
(remember population 2060) in regards to a lovely but very thirsty lady.
Unfortunately, everyone was so enthralled with watching her fiddle with her
water (trying to open it) that no one offered to help! She had a good laugh out
of it! We heard about it at dinner, about 3 hours later! Even before Noel got to
the restaurant!
The festival parade was on
Sunday. The fun part was that the parade was longer than the town! Noel rode in
a 1947 Chevrolet convertible Town and Country “Woodie” that made other stars
envious (like Richard Anderson). It was a beautiful car for a beautiful lady.
All in all, it was a wonderful
weekend with wonderful friends!
Glass
House Presents
