Classic Movie Picks: September 2015

by Lani

Each month, I scour the Turner Classic Movies schedule 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.)

9/14: Directed by Sidney Lumet
8 PM - Deathtrap (1982)
10:15 PM - Running on Empty (1988)
12:30 AM - The Verdict (1982)
2:45 AM - Just Tell Me What You Want (1980)
4:45 AM - Bye Bye Braverman (1968)
Tonight's line-up spotlights the films of the versatile director Sidney Lumet, ranging from mystery-thriller to courtroom drama to romantic comedy. Trained as an actor in the theatre, Lumet was known for bringing out great performances from his actors and made several successful film adaptations of stage plays. Deathtrap was a hit play on Broadway in the late 70s, the story of a washed-up playwright who plots to murder a younger writer and steal his work. Starring Michael Caine and Christopher Reeve, the film's twist may seem less shocking to today's audiences, but it is still a fun thriller. Running on Empty follows a family on the run from the law and how the actions of the parents have had (predictably) adverse effects on their children. Screenwriter Naomi Foner and River Phoenix, portraying the rebellious teenage son, both received Oscar nominations. The Verdict features a great performance by Paul Newman as an alcoholic lawyer with a challenging case. The last two films tonight --  Just Tell Me What You Want and Bye Bye Braverman -- are two comedies set in Lumet's home base of New York City. Both films make the most of the location, such as Just Tell Me's fight inside Manhattan department store Bergdorff-Goodman, and feature eclectic casts including Myrna Loy, Alan King, Ali McGraw, George Segal, Jack Warden, and Joseph Wiseman (aka Bond villain Dr. No).

9/15, 6:15 PM - Agatha (1979)
This film comes at the end of a day-long birthday tribute to writer Agatha Christie featuring film versions of some of her best-loved mystery stories. However, Agatha takes the author herself as the subject of the central mystery, speculating on what might have happened during Christie's eleven-day disappearance in 1926. Vanessa Redgrave portrays Christie and Dustin Hoffman stars as an American journalist who befriends her. 

9/19: Starring Anton Walbrook
8 PM - The Red Shoes (1948)
10:30 PM - The Soldier and the Lady (1937)
12 AM - I Accuse! (1950)
It's always a treat when Anton Walbrook shows up in a film. Originally from Austria (aka Adolf Wohlbrueck), his acting career flourished as a character actor in British films with some of his best roles in collaboration with the Archers -- filmmakers Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, including tonight's first film, The Red Shoes. Walbrook is wonderful as the controlling ballet impresario Boris Lermontov. Even though he's the villain of the piece, I always find myself perking up during his scenes -- some feat considering the film's famous dance sequences. I Accuse! is director-star Jose Ferrer's take on the Dreyfus affair, a notorious espionage scandal from 1890s France. Often cast as the villain, Walbrook portrays the traitorous Maj. Esterhazy. The Soldier and the Lady was Walbrook's first Hollywood film and he stars as a Russian courier who must trek behind enemy lines to deliver military messages. It should be a nice change to see Walbrook as the hero in this one!

9/29, 12 PM - The Age of Innocence (1934)
In this first film adaptation of Edith Wharton's prize-winning novel, Irene Dunne stars as the glamorous Countess Olenska who catches the eye of a young attorney engaged to another woman. I've read that this film is perhaps inferior to Martin Scorsese's wonderful 1993 version starring Michelle Pfeiffer. However, I'm such a fan of Dunne's that I'm very interested in seeing her take on this emotionally complex part.