Classic Movie Picks: April

Each month, I scour the Turner Classic Movies Now Playing guide for upcoming films that I can't miss. The highlights are posted here for your reading and viewing pleasure! (All listed times are Eastern Standard, check your local listings or TCM.com for actual air times in your area. Each day's schedule begins at 6:00 a.m.; if a film airs between midnight and 6 a.m. it is listed on the previous day's programming schedule.)

4/3: Rarely-Seen Gems
8 PM – Fragments (2010)
10 PM – Unseen Cinema (2006)
Fragments is a collection of restored segments from “lost” silents and early sound films, including a clip of Emil Jannings’ Oscar-winning performance in The Way of All Flesh (1927). As many as 80% of the films made before 1930 are thought to be lost forever, mostly due to badly-preserved film stock. This compilation is as much a celebration of the important work of film archivists as it is to the art of film itself. Unseen Cinema is another treat for cinephiles, featuring examples of avant-garde cinema by filmmakers in the US and Europe from 1894 to 1941.
BONUS PICK: 4/17, 8PM – The Mysterious House of Dr. C (1976)
This film, part of TCM’s Lost and Found series spotlighting films that have long been unseen or unavailable, is an American remake of a Spanish adaptation of the ballet Coppelia in which an inventor creates a beautiful mechanical doll.

4/6, 1 PM: American Madness (1932)
This is a film by Frank Capra which deserves to be better-known. Walter Huston stars as banker Tom Dixon, who must fight to protect his customers from panic and the bank’s Board of Directors in the face of the Depression. The tense scene of a panic-fueled run on the bank is especially memorable. Capra recycled some of the ideas from this film, such as Dixon’s basic business philosophy, 14 years later in It’s a Wonderful Life.

4/10: In Memory of Elizabeth Taylor
6 AM – Lassie Come Home (1943)
7:30 AM – National Velvet (1944)
10 AM – Conspirator (1949)
11:30 AM – Father of the Bride (1950)
1:15 PM – Father’s Little Dividend (1951)
2:45 PM – Raintree County (1957)
6 PM – Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958)
8 PM – Butterfield 8 (1960)
10 PM – Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)
12:30 AM – Giant (1956)
4 AM – Ivanhoe (1952)
Like many, I was saddened by the recent death of Elizabeth Taylor. She was one of the last great stars of the studio era, and one of the first who achieved even more celebrity due to her turbulent personal life. However, younger generations may know her better for her iconic (I’m not joking) commercials for White Diamonds perfume. They may not understand how her dazzling beauty fascinated moviegoers in the 1950s, or how her undeniable talent kept audiences’ attention for nearly 70 years. Today’s tribute includes many of Taylor’s career high-points, from her early triumph in National Velvet to her Oscar-winning roles in Butterfield 8 and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?. If you only know Taylor as a pop culture figure, today is a great opportunity to discover her films. And if you're already a fan, then maybe there's something here you havne't seen before. I am especially fond of the heart-warming Father of the Bride and it’s sequel Father’s Little Dividend, but I’ll also be tuning in for the rarely-shown spy thriller Conspirator.
Other Elizabeth Taylor films this month:
4/1, 2AM – Secret Ceremony (1968)
4/4, 12 AM – Raintree County (1957)
4/6, 2:45 AM – Little Women (1949)
4/16, 2 PM – National Velvet (1944)

4/15: Prison Break!
8 PM – The Wooden Horse (1950)
10 PM – The Colditz Story (1955)
12 AM – The One That Got Away (1958)
I love a good “prison break” movie, Grand Illusion and The Great Escape are two of my all-time favorites. Many of the classic Hollywood prison breaks take place in POW camps during WWI and WWII, which mitigates any sense of wrongdoing on the part of our escaping heroes – they’re breaking out so we can win the war! Tonight’s lineup starts with two such films about Allied POWs, one incorporating gymnastics and the other taking place at a special prison for high-risk escapees. The third film of the night breaks the mold as it is about the only German POW to escape the British during WWII, and told with an air of neutrality uncommon to this genre.
(Note: The April edition of Now Playing lists Breakout (1959) at 12 AM; however, the TCM website lists The One That Got Away, so I’ve chosen to go with what I assume is the more current web schedule.)

4/29: Royal Romance
8 PM – Royal Wedding (1951)
10 PM – Roman Holiday (1953)
12:15 AM – The Glass Slipper (1955)
2 AM – The Swan (1956)
4 AM – The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg (1927)
In honor of the impending marriage of Prince William and Kate Middleton, (almost) all of tonight’s films involve romance between a royal and a commoner. The exception is Royal Wedding, the romantic mismatch here is between an American and a Brit; however, it is set in London during the 1948 wedding of Prince William’s grandparents, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip. I’m especially looking forward to The Glass Slipper, a musical adaptation of Cinderella showcasing Leslie Caron’s dancing alongside a fine supporting cast of non-dancers including Michael Wilding, Keenan Wynn, Estelle Winwood, and Elsa Lanchester.