From the archive to the screening

Cinecon, the annual celebration of film rarities, started inauspiciously in 1965 in Indiana, Pa. -- the hometown of Jimmy Stewart -- as a way for 8 millimeter film collectors to congregate and show their films.

Now in its 43rd year, the gathering, which kicks off Thursday, has morphed into a five-day festival, memorabilia show and book fair in Hollywood, and virtually all the films screened are 35 mm.

“We get cooperation from all the archives and all the studios,” says film historian Robert Birchard, who heads up the event for the Society of Cinephiles. Cinecon typically draws 500 to 600 people through the course of the weekend, he says, all of them members of the cinephiles’ group, which is open to anyone who pays a $25 fee.

This year, Cinecon is honoring three veteran performers -- John Saxon, Piper Laurie and Alan Young -- at its career achievement awards banquet at the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel, and all three will participate in a Q&A; session after a screening of their films.

Saxon appears Thursday after the presentation of his 1962 drama “War Hunt,” which marked Robert Redford’s film debut; Young will discuss the 1958 fantasy “Tom Thumb” on Saturday evening; and Laurie will chat about her 1955 comedy “Ain’t Misbehavin’.”

The film selection, says Birchard, can best be described as a mixed bag of offerings. “We do survey the archives and see what they are working on and what they want to highlight,” says Birchard. “If possible there will always be a western, a musical, some sort of detective movie. . . . It’s about half silent and half sound pictures.”

Among the highlights of the festival is the 1935 romantic comedy “The Gilded Lily,” starring Claudette Colbert and Fred MacMurray in his movie debut. “I had never seen the picture,” says Birchard. “But I heard the ‘Lux Radio Theatre’ version, so [the selection committee] put that on the list.”

Another rarity is the 1940 western comedy “Trail of the Vigilantes,” starring Franchot Tone. “It’s not often seen,” says Birchard. “It has just been restored by Universal. Supposedly [director] Allan Dwan started it as a serious picture and then turned it into a comic thing. It’s sort of a follow-up to ‘Destry Rides Again.’ ”

“Hollywood Speaks,” from 1932, starring Pat O’Brien, has long been considered a lost film. “I don’t think any of us has seen it,” says Birchard. “We called up Columbia Pictures and they said, ‘We got it.’ ”

There’s even a B-movie version of “A League of Their Own” from 1937 called “Girls Can Play,” starring a young Rita Hayworth before her hairline was refashioned through electrolysis.

Other films in the lineup include the complete version of 1927’s “The Patent Leather Kid,” starring Richard Barthelmess in an Oscar-nominated performance; a newly restored print of the 1922 Mary Pickford classic “Dorothy Vernon of Haddon Hall”; the 1928 William Wellman drama “Beggars of Life” with Richard Arlen and Louise Brooks; and Paramount’s first talkie, 1928’s “Interference,” starring William Powell and Evelyn Brent.

All the screenings will be at the Egyptian Theatre. The memorabilia show and film book fair take place at the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel.

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susan.king@latimes.com

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Cinecon 43

Where: Screenings are at the Egyptian Theatre, 6712 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood; memorabilia, film book fair and Celebrity Achievement Awards Banquet, Renaissance Hollywood Hotel, 1755 N. Highland Ave., Hollywood

When: Thursday through Sept. 3

Contact: For schedule, prices and more information go to www.cinecon.org.