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.)
Sinatra Sings!
12/2, 8 PM - Frank Sinatra -- A Man and His Music (1965)
12/9, 8 PM - Sinatra Sings (2011)
12/16, 8 PM - Frank Sinatra: Ol' Blue Eyes is Back (1973)
12/23, 8 PM - Happy Holidays with Bing and Frank (1957)
12/30, 8 PM - Sinatra (1969)
Frank Sinatra is TCM's Star of the Month for December and they'll be showing his films each Wednesday - from the effervescent MGM Musicals like Anchors Aweigh and On the Town, to gritty dramas including The Man with the Golden Arm and The Detective, to his capers with the Rat Pack in Ocean's Eleven and Robin and the Seven Hoods, even his Oscar-winning turn as Maggio in From Here to Eternity. But the real treat, in my opinion, will be hearing Frank sing in the five TV specials they've included in the line-up.
Whether you agree that he's the greatest singer of the 20th Century, or just in the top five, it's hard to deny the quality of his voice and his ability to interpret a song. That heavenly croon and charismatic presence, plus those twinkly blue eyes, made Sinatra the most popular singer in the country during WWII...with young women especially. (At the same time he was hated by American men, who saw him as a draft dodger hanging around the homefront stealing their women.) However, these specials show Frank after his teen idol phase, in full "Chairman of the Board" mode singing songs that have become standards. As a holiday treat, there's even Frank with his idol Bing Crosby singing Christmas songs!
If you're interested in learning more about Sinatra's career, I highly recommend two episodes of the "You Must Remember This" podcast: episode 41 about Sinatra's rise to fame in the 1940s and episode 2 about his epic and weird triple album "Trilogy: Past, Present, and Future."
12/17: Once More into the Disney Vault
Film critic Leonard Maltin hosts this evening of 5 movies and 4 shorts, many with a "winter" theme, dating from 1934 to 1983. I've really been enjoying these periodic peeks into the vault because the programming highlights the variety and depth of the Disney Studios output, particularly during the 50s and beyond when they were producing animated features and shorts, live-action films, documentaries, and television specials.
8 PM - So Dear to My Heart (1948)
Burl Ives, Beulah Bondi, and Bobby Driscoll star in this film about a farming family who adopts a black lamb. I haven't seen it, but I predict that Burl will break into song at some point.
9:30 PM - Rescue Dog (1947)
The Grasshopper and the Ants (1934)
Corn Chips (1951)
Three wintry animated shorts starring Pluto and a playful seal, some insects preparing (or not) for winter, and Donald Duck with Chip and Dale.
10 PM - Babes in Toyland (1961)
I enjoyed this film when I was a kid, and I think that it's really meant for an audience of children - adults may find it too cutesy. However, the costumes and score were nominated for Academy Awards, reflecting the high level of quality which was brought to all Disney productions. Former Mouseketeer Annette Funicello stars with Tommy Sands (who I always thought was Annette's Beach Party costar Frankie Avalon) as residents of Toyland and the plot revolves around whether they'll be able to marry as the evil Ray Bolger throws obstacles in their path to the altar.
12 AM - Never Cry Wolf (1983)
Far, far from Toyland, Charles Martin Smith stars as a biologist sent alone up to the Yukon to study wolves and their impact on the caribou population. Filmed in Alaska, this movie is praised for its beautiful visuals including scenes of the native wildlife.
2 AM - White Wilderness (1958)
One of Disney's famous "true-life adventures," this film spotlights Arctic wildlife. It won the 1958 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.
3:30 AM - Polar Trappers (1938)
Back to cartoons with Donald and Goofy in their first short together without Mickey.
3:45 AM - The Island at the Top of the World (1974)
End the evening with this adventure tale about a Victorian Englishman who discovers a lost civilization of Vikings in the Arctic.
12/18 - Christmas with Criminals
8 PM - I'll Be Seeing You (1944) [also showing 12/25, 12:30 PM]
11:30 PM - Remember the Night (1940)
If you're looking for new movies to add to your usual Christmas line-up, consider the mini-genre of holiday love stories between a strait-laced guy and a wayward gal. Two films in this category (actually, the only two I'm aware of) are showing tonight!
In I'll Be Seeing You, Joseph Cotten is a shell-shocked soldier on leave from WWII who meets Ginger Rogers on a train. She's also on leave, but from prison where she's serving a sentence for manslaughter (it was an accident though!). A few days spent celebrating the holiday with Ginger's family brings the two lost souls closer together.
Remember the Night casts Fred MacMurray as a District Attorney who feels sorry for accused shoplifter Barbara Stanwyck. Rather then letting her spend Christmas in jail, he bails her out and brings her home with him and the two are brought closer together...you know how it goes.
BONUS PICK: 12/5, 3:45 AM - Haxan (1922)
If you aren't into the warm and fuzzies going around during the holiday season, here is an antidote -- a bizarre silent film about witchcraft through the ages.
As my blogging partner put it in his recommendation of Haxan last Halloween:
"It’s one of those movies that you’ll want to watch with someone so there’s another witness to the crazy, bizarre, spooky, and oddly funny scenes that make up this silent movie. Haxan is a truly unique film: part documentary, part history lesson, part folklore study, part 'reenactment' of witchcraft confessions, and part social commentary."
This film has everything: medieval depictions of witches and demons, trial and torture of those accused of witchcraft, a Witches' Sabbath ritual, and, of course, Satan himself churning butter (what else?). The weird juxtaposition of the disturbing and ridiculous makes this an oddly funny film, despite the filmmaker's intentions to horrify. And it may horrify you, too; there's a lot of weird stuff here! Whether humorous or horrible, Haxan is the total opposite of the typical holiday film.
No comments:
Post a Comment