Classic Movie Picks: February 2013

by Lani

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.)

I love making connections between contemporary and classic films that share similar characters, themes, and stories. So, in honor of TCM's "31 Days of Oscar" this month's picks have been inspired by the 9 films nominated for Best Picture of 2012. 

Amour

2/10, 5:45 PM - Cocoon (1985) - In most respects, these two films couldn’t be more different. While Amour is a deliberate and realistic drama, Cocoon is a lightly comic, sci-fi story. However, both films deal with elderly people confronting their own mortality and  feature veteran actors. Cocoon’s 77-year old break-out star, Don Ameche, won the Best Supporting actor award that year.

2/11, 8 PM - Little Women (1933) - If you feel that the subject matter of Amour is too bleak, you may appreciate the warmth of the March family in Little Women. Little Women shows a family facing tragedy with optimism and making sacrifices for love.


Argo

2/2, 8 PM - Casablanca (1942) - Whether you’re flying out of Tehran or Casablanca, you can’t beat a tense scene at the airport!

2/12,10:15 PM - Notorious (1946) - If there’s one classic star who Ben Affleck reminds me of, it’s Ingrid Bergman. Not really, but I’ve chosen another Bergman movie because this one, co-starring Cary Grant is spy story with a terrific sense of suspense.


Beasts of the Southern Wild
2/7,11:30 AM - My Life as a Dog (1985) - Transport Beasts’ Hushpuppy, her father, and their community of eccentric bayou-dwellers to rural Sweden (and switch the main characters’ genders) and you might get My Life as a Dog. Lasse Hallstrom earned his first Best Director nomination for this film about the adventures of a sweet and spirited boy who is sent away from home when his mother falls ill. Both films excel at portraying life from the point of view of a child and the way children try to make sense of a confusing world.

2/23,8 AM - The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T (1953) - Dr. T takes the child’s point of view to an extreme creating a fantasy world in which a boy’s disagreeable piano teacher becomes a supervillian out for world-domination.


Django Unchained
2/4, 2:15 AM - The Wild Bunch (1969) - Sam Peckinpah’s The Wild Bunch took movie violence from simply serving the plot to a visual motif in and of itself, a concept that Quentin Tarantino has eagerly adopted and taken to new heights (or lows, depending on your point of view).

2/5,5:30 AM - Friendly Persuasion (1956) - In stark contrast, the Quaker family in Friendly Persuasion rejects violence. However, they find their values tested when their town is threatened by a band of Confederate raiders.


Les Misèrables
2/12, 6:15 AM - The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939) - If the persecution and despair in the streets of Paris depicted in Les Misèrables has you hungry for more, check out this other adaptation of a Victor Hugo novel.

2/18, 5 AM - Pennies From Heaven (1981) - Much of the Les Misèrables publicity has been about the director’s choice to film the actors singing live on set, rather than using vocals recorded in a studio. If you feel that this live-singing thing isn’t your bag, Pennies From Heaven may just be the musical for you. Like Les Miz, Pennies features prostitution, murder, and homelessness; however, it uses only pre-recorded tracks, with the actors lip-synching to popular recordings from the 1930s.


Life of Pi
3/2, 7 AM - The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe (1954) - The most famous shipwreck survivor may still be Robinson Crusoe; however, I suspect that these days The Life of Pi is more widely read than the classic novel by Daniel Defoe. The two stories are somewhat different, but both are anchored by the trials of a man, alone, struggling to survive.

2/10, Flight of the Phoenix (1965) - Watch this film and play a game of “would you rather”...Would you rather be set adrift at sea or crash land in the desert?


Lincoln
2/8, 8PM - Wilson (1945) - President Woodrow Wilson may not be as present in popular culture as Abraham Lincoln, but he is just as pivotal a figure in history. This rally-round-the-flag biopic, made as the world was engaged in World War II, focuses on America’s reluctant, but necessary entrance into World War I and Wilson’s subsequent struggle to establish a lasting international peace through the League of Nations.

2/11, 10:15 PM - Abe Lincoln in Illinois (1940) - Before Daniel Day-Lewis donned a beard and wart and wrapped himself in a wool blanket, Raymond Massey was the definitive Lincoln, playing the president on stage, in films, and on TV and radio. Abe Lincoln in Illinois centers on Lincoln before his ascent to the White House: his early romance with Ann Rutledge, his eventual marriage to the ambitious Mary Todd, and his famous face-off against Stephen Douglas. 2012’s Lincoln serves as a fitting sequel, continuing the story of his life to it’s conclusion.


Silver Linings Playbook
3/3, 8 PM - Annie Hall (1977) - The neuroses of Annie and Alvy may not compare to the mental problems experienced by Pat and Tiffany in Silver Linings, but both films are offbeat romantic comedies about two people coming together despite themselves. Diane Keaton won an Oscar for her performance as the quirky and wholesome Annie and this year Jennifer Lawrence has a good chance to follow in Keaton’s footsteps for her role as the mercurial Tiffany.

2/12, 4:15 PM - The Enchanted Cottage (1945) - The Enchanted Cottage is a touching story about love’s power to transform. This film is completely earnest, with no trace of Silver Linings dark humor. But if you give it a chance, you may be pleasantly surprised.


Zero Dark Thirty
2/16, 2:30 AM - Bad Day at Black Rock (1955) - Zero Dark Thirty has come under much criticism for its depiction of torture tactics used by the CIA during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Bad Day at Black Rock also deals with a controversial chapter in American history: the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II.

2/3, 12:15 PM - The Nun’s Story (1959) - I could say that Maya, the CIA analyst at the center of Zero Dark Thirty, was so consumed by her job that she was, in effect, living like a nun; but the real connection I see between these two films is their heroines. They are determined women frustrated by the restrictions imposed by male-dominated organizations. For Maya, it is the CIA; for Audrey Hepburn’s novice nun, it is the Catholic church. And each woman is unable to shake the inner feeling that she is right.

My Favorite Performances of 2012

by Lani

From where I sit, it hasn't been a great year for movies. There have been plenty that I liked, just read our Best of 2012, So Far post from July for proof. Unfortunately, I had a much harder time adding to the list in the second half of the year. None of the big fall releases brought me as much enjoyment as Bernie or 21 Jump Street (with great performances by Jack Black and Channing Tatum, respectively). However, I did admire individual performances by Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Denzel Washington, Joaquin Phoenix, Hugh Jackman, and Anne Hathaway, among others. I've compiled a list of some of my favorite performances of the year, but I won't be talking about the actors already mentioned. They have Oscar nominations and Golden Globes; they're doing fine. This time I've focused on the actors and performances who will not be getting much recognition this awards season.

Favorite Tom Hardy Performance: Tom Hardy, The Dark Knight Rises
I promise it only seems like I am the president of the Tom Hardy fan club. He's not even my favorite actor, but he manages to impress me year after year. In 2012, Hardy appeared in a few duds -- the unappealing romantic-comedy This Means War and dull moonshiner drama Lawless -- but his high-profile role as the villain Bane in The Dark Knight Rises was a winner. Hardy and director Christopher Nolan received criticism from audiences because Bane's face was covered by a mask and his voice slightly muffled. I had no trouble hearing his dialogue, delivered in a voice suggesting Sean Connery crossed with Yoda, and thought his voice work expressed enough personality to overcome the barrier of the mask. And because he wears that mask, Hardy also uses body language to convey the character; his menacing swagger isn't just because he has a bulked-up body. Compare the physicality of Bane to Hardy's character in last year's Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy -- spy Ricki Tarr was softer, more fluid. Or, in Lawless, as a man "who can't be killed" Hardy becomes increasingly stiff and immobile as his character sustains more and more near-fatal injuries. Which reminds me that Hardy's biggest triumph this year may actually be how in Lawless he manages to look extremely tough despite a wardrobe filled with cardigans.

Favorite Suicidal Adultress: Rachel Weisz, The Deep Blue Sea
This year brought two eerily similar stories of unhappy wives to the screen. Set among the opulent aristocracy of tsarist Russia, Anna Karenina was lovely to look at, but too chaotic to allow the stories to resonate -- which is a shame since Keira Knightley can wear the heck out of a fur hat. In the surely Karenina-inspired The Deep Blue Sea, the atmosphere is bleak, tweedy post-WWII England, but human nature hasn't changed. Rachel Weisz's performance garnered praise from critics when the film was released, but she's been overlooked for the major awards. Like Karenina, Weisz's Hester Collyer is driven mad by her passion for a young lover; however, Hester is still capable of some measure of British restraint. She is all plaintive neediness, quiet desperation, and blind love.

Favorite Ringer: Colm Wilkinson, Les Misérables
Les Misérables had many good performers (Eddie Redmayne, Anne Hathaway, Samantha Barks, and Aaron Tveidt among then), but they were let down by poor directing choices and a screenplay which left little room for context. Hugh Jackman was particularly well-cast as Jean Valjean, 19th century French superhero (he has the strength of 4 men, but no adamantium skeleton), finally breaking his streak of movies-I-don't-want-to-see. His Oscar-nominated performance is a worthy addition to the Valjean pantheon and was usually the best part of any given scene. However, in an early scene between Valjean and a kind bishop I found myself thinking, "This guy is killing it as the bishop! What a voice -- who is this guy?" Of course, it was Colm Wilkinson, the original Valjean on Broadway and the West End. Of course, he killed it. That's kind of his thing.




Supporting Performance Which Needs Its Own Movie: James Spader, Lincoln 
As Lincoln continues to receive praise (it's looking like the front-runner for Best Picture at the Oscars), I've yet to hear any acknowledgement for the film's most interesting, most alive performance: James Spader as Mr. Bilbo, a "gentleman from Albany" called down to D.C. to broker some back-room deals. Would the film have been 10 times better if Bilbo had been the main character? No. It would have been 100 times better.
Drunkenly luxuriating behind a greasy mustache and rumpled clothes, Bilbo stands out among the stiff collars of Washington, yet effortlessly speaks the local language of bribery and extortion. Spader is the only actor here who seems to feel at ease in his own skin; the difference between Bilbo and his two fellow wheeler-dealers, played by the usually fine John Hawkes and Tim Blake Nelson, is striking. Hawkes and Nelson are achingly dull and often look unsure of why they are even in the movie. If I were to learn that Hawkes and Nelson were forced to perform at gunpoint (likely by Spader), I would not be at all surprised. I don't give a hoot about the new Hobbit trilogy, Spader is the only Bilbo I want to see more of.

More Please?
Kerry Washington proved to be a woman worth fighting for as Broomhilda in Django Unchained, too bad it was such a small part. Perhaps the next chapter of the Django series could show Django and Broomhilda on adventures together. I know Tarantino is capable of writing a strong female character, a la Jackie Brown or The Bride. Unfortunately, he says he's retiring from making movies...
Alicia Vikander was also shortchanged by Anna Karenina. The sweet, evolving love story between Kitty (played by Vikander) and Levin (Domhnall Gleeson) serves as a counterpoint to the intensely passionate affair of Anna and Vronsky -- at least it's meant to, if one bothers to put it in the screenplay. With a bit more screen time this could have been a star-making role for Vikander.

Rookie of the Year: Suraj Sharma, Life of Pi
It's not a spoiler to say that the majority of this film follows the teenaged Pi, played by Sharma, shipwrecked in the Pacific, alone, but for a Bengal tiger. Since the tiger was created through special effects, Sharma was truly alone on that boat acting opposite air - a difficult job for any actor. At least Tom Hanks had a real volleyball to talk to in Cast Away. So I was shocked to learn that this was Sharma's first movie role. Was he perfect? No, but it was a fine debut.

Classic Movie Picks: January 2013

by Lani

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.)

Tuesdays in January: Great Capers
A month of bank jobs, jewel heists, and art thefts! This is one of my favorite film genres; I just love watching the gang assemble and layout a plan, then seeing how it all plays out. The films range from clever comedies like The Pink Panther (1/1) and The Lavender Hill Mob (1/29) to gritty noirs like Rififi (1/1) and Bob le Flambeur (1/8). As a fan of the genre, I've seen quite a few caper movies; however, about half the titles in this series are films I'd never even heard of! These are a few of the ones I want to check out this month:
1/1, 2:15 AM - Big Deal on Madonna Street (1958)

1/8, 10:15 PM - Seven Thieves (1960)

1/15, 8 PM - The League of Gentleman (1960)

1/22, 4 AM - The Anderson Tapes (1971)

1/23, 6 AM - The Split (1968)

1/6: Starring Sessue Hayakawa
12 AM - The Cheat (1915)
1 AM - The Dragon Painter (1919)
Sessue Hayakawa rose to stardom during the silent era, the first Asian actor to reach that status in Hollywood. I'm having a hard time thinking of any Asian actor since Hayakawa who has risen to the same level of popularity and industry clout. Tonight you can see the film that made him a star (even though he plays the villain), The Cheat, and one of the films made by Hayakawa's own production company, The Dragon Painter.

1/7: Bill Paxton's Picks
8 PM - Juliet of the Spirits (1965)
10:30 PM - The Spirit of the Beehive (1973)
12:30 AM - California Split (1974)
2:30 AM - The Last Detail (1973)
Oftentimes, the celebrity guest programmers select films which seem a tad safe and predictable, e.g. Lawrence of Arabia, Network, My Fair Lady. So, it is refreshing when someone picks films which are rarely shown on TCM, as Bill Paxton has done this month. Two European art house classics followed by two prime examples of 70s American cinema.

BONUS PICK: 1/7, 4:30 AM - A Soldier's Story (1984)
Catch an early performance by Denzel Washington in this drama, directed by Norman Jewison, about racism in the army during WWII. (By the way, Washington also gives a great performance in Flight, which may still be playing in a theatre near you.)

1/13, 10 AM - Les Miserables (1935)
A musical version of "Les Mis" is now on the big screen, the latest in a long line of film adaptations from Victor Hugo's classic novel. (Of course, the current film is really more of an adaptation of the stage musical; therefore, it's heavy on music, light on context.) This 1935 version is regarded as one of the best adaptations and features two of the top actors of the era, Fredric March and Charles Laughton, going head to head as Jean Valjean and Inspector Javert.

1/16, 2 PM - The Detective (1954)
Alec Guinness was surely one of the most versatile actors to grace stage and screen. He is best known today as Obi Wan Kenobi of Star Wars (the only performance from the Star Wars series to earn an Academy Award nomination), or for his Oscar-winning performance in the WWII drama Bridge on the River Kwai. However, I think my favorite Guinness performances are in comedies, like tonight's film. He plays Father Brown, a country priest who sets out to catch an art thief. The role seems to have made an impression on Guinness, too - he and his wife subsequently converted to Catholicism.

1/20: Danny Kaye's 100th
It is my personal opinion that Danny Kaye was one of the greatest American entertainers of the 20th century. Actor, singer, comedian, showman - he could even dance a little. The TCM programming elves must agree with me as today they devote all programming to Kaye. The featured films are all delightful, exuberant comedies - I would particularly recommend The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (6 PM), Hans Christian Andersen (8 PM), and A Song is Born (12 AM). Also in the mix is an episode of The Danny Kaye Show (6 AM), Kaye's variety show from the mid-60s, and his appearance on The Dick Cavett Show (10:30 AM) in 1971. 

Happy New Year, everyone!

Classic Movie Picks: December 2012

by Lani

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.)

My monthly post is late this time due to technical difficulties. I’ve just moved into a new house and am currently making do without internet (how will I live?!) and cable (seriously, how will I live?!). Everything was supposed to be hooked up earlier this week, but I was subsequently told by Time Warner Cable that it couldn’t be done since the neighbor’s dogs happened to be outside when the technician arrived. So, I’m now forced to make another appointment based on the schedule of these dogs – capricious, free-living animals, who come and go as they please with no sense of obligation to their neighbors’ need for cable TV. So, I don’t know when I’ll be able to get TCM again, but here’s what I would watch if I could.

Lubitsch Fridays

12/7, 12 AM – The Shop Around the Corner (1940)
12/14, 9:30 PM - Design for Living (1933)
12/28, 1:30 AM – That Uncertain Feeling (1941)
TGIF becomes doubly true this month with films by master director Ernst Lubitsch in primetime. There seems to be a Lubitsch revival of late and I think some of the credit goes to Nora Ephron’s film You’ve Got Mail. Whether you like that film or not, before Ephron’s remake, how many people had really even seen Lubitsch’s The Shop Around the Corner? Now, it’s a Christmas mainstay on TCM (and deservedly so!). I’ve picked this film and two other Lubitsch comedies as my recommendations for the month, but if you tune in on any Friday night, you will surely be entertained. What makes his films great? People often point to the “Lubitsch Touch” – the director’s knack for using unexpected details to delight the audience. I think that Lubitsch films also feature some of the most interesting female characters of the era; independent women who often rebel against the expected.

12/21: Waiting for the End of the World

7 AM – The Lost Missile (1958)
8:30 AM – The Satan Bug (1965)
10:30 AM – The Last Man on Earth (1964)
12 PM – The Bed Sitting Room (1969)
2 PM – Five (1951)
4 PM – Panic in Year Zero (1962)
6 PM – The World, The Flesh and The Devil (1959)
Rogue missiles, deadly viruses, nuclear war – many films have made a guess at what could eventually bring an end to civilization as we know it. Lately zombies are a popular culprit, also calendars. December 21, 2012 marks the end of the Mayan calendar; therefore, the end of world as well. If you’re able to watch movies in your underground bunker or emergency ark, today’s TCM line-up may be instructive (if you survive).

Directed by Vincente Minelli

12/15, 4 AM – Two Weeks in Another Town (1962)
12/18, 10 PM &12/24, 4:30 PM – Meet Me in St. Louis (1944)
Since I read a biography of Vincente Minelli last year (A Hundred or More Hidden Things: The Life and Films of Vincente Minelli by Mark Griffin), I’ve been motivated to see all the films by this talented and diverse director. This month I’m looking forward to revisiting an old favorite – Meet Me in St. Louis – and discovering something new – Two Weeks in Another Town. Each film shows a different aspect of Minelli’s filmography. St. Louis is a buoyant Technicolor musical showcasing his frequent leading lady, and one-time wife, Judy Garland. On the other end of the spectrum, metaphorically speaking, Two Weeks features another key Minelli collaborator, Kirk Douglas, in a drama about the darker side of Hollywood.

12/16, 8 PM – Carol for Another Christmas (1964)

Usually the thought of another twist on A Christmas Carol wouldn’t excite me; however, this film sounds like a rarity worth checking out: a made-for-TV movie with an anti-war theme written by Rod Serling and directed by Joseph Mankiewicz, starring Sterling Hayden, Eva Marie Saint, Ben Gazzara, and Peter Sellers. Since it aired only once, in 1964, chances are you haven’t seen this one either.

12/24, 12 AM – Auntie Mame (1958)

Who can sleep on Christmas Eve anyway? Live life to the fullest! Ring in Christmas morning with Mame!
(And if you’re able to watch this, it means you have survived the Mayan apocalypse - even more reason to celebrate!)

BONUS: TCM has two evenings of special programming which I also wanted to give a mention:
12/3, 8 PM - Baby Peggy
1 movie, 1 documentary, and 3 shorts starring one of cinema’s first child stars, “Baby Peggy.”
12/10, 8 PM - Academy Conversations: The Art of Production Design
This special presentation of 4 artfully-designed films is co-hosted by two Oscar-nominated production designers, Guy Hendrix Dyas and Lilly Kilvert.

Classic Movie Picks: November 2012

by Lani

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.)

Star of the Month: Constance Bennett
11/6, 8 PM - Lady With a Past (1932)
11/6, 9:30 PM - Sin Takes a Holiday (1930)
11/20, 8 PM - After Office Hours (1935)
11/20, 9:30 PM - Merrily We Live (1938)
I know Constance Bennett primarily for her delightful performance as a society ghost in Topper (showing 11/20, 11:15 PM), so I'm looking forward to seeing more of her films in the light comedy vein. I love the ease she brings to comedy, but the real highlight of any Connie Bennett film is watching her wear stylish clothes while swanning through gorgeous art deco interiors.

11/9: Man With No Name Trilogy
8 PM - A Fistful of Dollars (1964)
9:45 PM - For a Few Dollars More (1965)
12 AM - The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly (1966)
For something on the opposite end of the spectrum from Connie Bennett, try Clint Eastwood in a trio of Spaghetti Westerns directed by Sergio Leone. Before he was Dirty Harry, before he achieved directorial acclaim, before he chastised an empty chair - Clint was The Man With No Name, a lone gunman based on the ronin of Akira Kurosawa's Yojimbo. While they may not feature art deco high rises, Leone's films do have an abundance of style; notably, the famous score by Ennio Morricone which complements the stark desert landscape to create an iconic representation of the Old West.

11/14: Sister, Sister
6 AM - Little Women (1933)
8 AM - Fog Over Frisco (1934)
9:15 AM - Double Wedding (1937)
10:45 AM - The Sisters (1938)
12:30 PM - My Sister Eileen (1942)
2:15 PM - Two Sisters From Boston (1946)
4:15 PM - A Stolen Life (1946)
6:15 PM - Born to Kill (1947)
Sisters, sisters, never were there such devoted sisters... - so goes the song from White Christmas. That lyric could describe some of the siblings in today's line-up of films with a sisterly theme - the March girls from Little Women, Rosalind Russell and Janet Blair in My Sister Eileen. This line-up also teaches us that if Bette Davis is your sister, you'd be better off as an only child. This is a perfect day of films for November, the beginning of the holiday season and a time to be with your family, or, on the other hand, to think about why you don't want to be with your family.

11/26, 6:30 PM - The Steel Trap (1952)
I already picked this film when it made its TCM premiere last January because it sounded interesting and co-starred Joseph Cotten and Teresa Wright. If you missed it then, don't miss it this time - what a gem of a thriller! Cotten plays a middle manager at a bank who devises a plan to rob the bank over the weekend and escape to Brazil with his wife. However, Murphy's Law is in full effect every step of the way. If he decides to turn back, can he replace the money by Monday morning? I was squirming in my seat the whole time, hoping that Cotten could come away clean one way or another.

11/30, 11:15 PM - Touchez Pas Au Grisbi (1954)
Touchez Pas Au Grisbi, a.k.a. Don't Touch the Loot, was directed by Jacques Becker, a former assistant to the great French director Jean Renoir. With this film, Becker set off a new era of French crime films featuring experienced pros whose codes of honor are threatened by changing times - see Rififi, Bob le Flambeur, Le Samourai, Le Cercle Rouge. In Grisbi, the wonderful Jean Gabin plays a gangster who comes out of retirement when his best friend is kidnapped and their loot is demanded as ransom.

Classic Movie Picks: October 2012

by Lani

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.)

Classic Horror for Halloween
I can't let this month go by without picking some movies from TCM's line-up of classic horror showing Wednesday nights (and throughout the week during the day) and culminating on Halloween with the Universal horror films from the 30s and 40s. You've got your pick of all the great spooky movie subjects - vampires, zombies, mummies, monsters, hauntings, and, of course, mad scientists who train animals for evil purposes. If you've seen the iconic versions of Dracula, Frankenstein, etc. why not try some of these variations on the theme?
10/3, 12:15 AM - House of Dracula (1945)
10/3, 1:30 AM - Zombies of Mora Tau (1957)
10/20, 10:15 AM - The Revenge of Frankenstein (1958)
10/27, 6:30 PM - The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959)
10/31, 4 PM - The Devil Bat (1940)
10/31, 2 AM - The Mummy's Hand (1940)

Hollywood Goes to Washington
10/5, 8 PM & 11:15 PM - A Night at the Movies: Hollywood Goes to Washington (2012)
10/12, 11 PM - The Great McGinty (1940)
10/26, 8 PM - Advise and Consent (1962)
10/26, 10:30 PM - All the President's Men (1976)
As this election year goes into the home stretch, TCM premieres it's newest original documentary about the history of politics on film. They'll also be showing political films each Friday in primetime and I've picked out three that I'm looking forward to. After looking over the schedule, it seems that these movies almost always deal with the corrupting influence brought on by political power. Even the morally upright Mr. Jefferson Smith is shown in contrast to crooked Washington "insiders" such as fellow senator Joseph Paine. However, in the movies at least there are Mr. Smiths and in real life politics there are more often Senator Paines. (Mr. Smith Goes to Washington will show immediately after the premiere of the documentary special at 9 PM on 10/5.)

Star of the Month: Spencer Tracy
So, this month Wednesdays are for spooky chillers and Fridays are for political intrigues; however, Mondays belong to Spencer Tracy. During his time as a top star, Tracy was not only popular with audiences, but he was revered by his peers in the film industry as evidenced by his 9 Best Actor Academy Award nominations and 2 wins. If you're not sure where to jump in with the Tracy filmography, you could do worse than TCM's line-up of Oscar-nominated performances on 10/15.
8 PM - Boys' Town (1938)
9:45 PM - Father of the Bride (1950)
11:30 PM - Bad Day at Black Rock (1955)
1 AM - The Old Man and the Sea (1958)
2:30 AM - Captains Courageous (1937)
4:30 AM - San Francisco (1936)

10/18: Cinerama!
8 PM - Cinerama Adventure (2002)
10 PM - This is Cinerama (1952)
I love classic movies for their pure entertainment value, but I'm also bit of a filmmaking geek who enjoys learning about the technical processes and history behind the spectacle. So, I'm really looking forward to tonight's documentary about Cinerama and the legendary This is Cinerama, a travelogue-of-sorts designed to showcase the newly developed widescreen process. When you think about how far we've come with film technology, it's hard to imagine what a revelation Cinerama was at the time (at least for youngsters like me). The premiere of This is Cinerama sparked the first-ever front page movie article, written by film critic Bosley Crowther for the New York Times, and audiences were thrilled. This is Cinerama went on to be the 5th highest grossing movie of 1952! 
I can appreciate the irony that the Cinerama process was developed specifically for showing films on big screens in theaters - getting audiences away from their boxy 1950s TV sets - and now, 60 years later, I'm watching it at home on my widescreen TV. I know it's not quite the original Cinerama experience, but it'll have to do for now.

10/21: Rare Animation
8 PM - Gulliver's Travels (1939)
9:39 PM - Mr. Bug Goes to Town (1941)
11:00 PM - UPA Cartoons (1949-51)
12 AM - Silent Animation from NY Studios (1907-32)
1 AM - The Adventures of Prince Achmed (1927)
Tonight looks like a fun evening for kids or adults with 3 features and 18 shorts of rarely seen animations. Gulliver's Travels and Mr. Bug were both early efforts by Paramount to compete with Disney's animated films (Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarves had come out in 1937). We'll also get some of the best shorts by UPA and NY Studios, both groundbreaking animation studios whose work has fallen out of circulation. However, Prince Achmed is perhaps the most unique film in tonight's line-up as it uses paper silhouette puppets against ornate backgrounds, rather than the familiar cel animation of the other features.

Classic Movie Picks: September 2012

by Lani


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.)

First things first, as of this week the delightfully dark romantic comedy A New Leaf is finally available on DVD!  It stars Walter Matthau as a spoiled Manhattanite who can't accept the fact that he's broke. A solution to his money troubles appears in the form of a mousy, but rich, botanist played by Elaine May, who also wrote and directed the film. Their romance is a bit awkward, since Matthau plans to follow marriage with murder; however, the film overall is funny, sweet, and completely unique.  If you haven't seen this film, and don't mind taking a risk, buy this now (or at least rent it)!

9/2: Give 'em a hand
8 PM - Hands of a Stranger (1962)
9:45 PM - The Beast with Five Fingers (1946)
11:30 PM - Mad Love (1935)
12:45 AM - The Hands of Orlac (1925)
In an interesting bit of programming, tonight the TCM elves have given us 3 versions of the same tale - The Hands of Orlac, Mad Love, and Hands of a Stranger - in which an experimental operation gives a concert pianist the hands of a murderer, hands which are not necessarily under his control. Then, in a twist, the elves have thrown in a film with an almost opposite story: In The Beast with Five Fingers a concert pianist's hand is severed, and the hand goes on to become a murderer itself!

9/3, 10:45 AM - The Dot and the Line (1965)
This Academy Award-winning animated short by Chuck Jones is simply delightful. Simple - in that the characters are a dot and a line; delightful - because it succeeds in giving these shapes personalities. A romance for the ages alongside Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy, Scarlet and Rhett, or Harry and Sally.

9/10: Choreo by Jack Cole
8 PM - Tonight and Every Night (1945)
10 PM - On the Riviera (1951)
11:45 PM - Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953)
1:30 AM - Les Girls (1957)
3:30 AM - River of No Return (1954)
As a huge fan of movie musicals, I've certainly seen the work of Jack Cole; however, I was completely unaware of it. So I'm grateful for TCM's tribute to Cole this month and looking forward to learning more about this extremely influential, but little known choreographer. Plus, tonight's line-up gives me a chance to see some of my favorite musical stars - Rita Hayworth, Danny Kaye, and Gene Kelly - in films that aren't shown very often on TCM.




9/16: Around the World with Maggie Smith!
8 PM - Travels with My Aunt (1972)
10 PM - Love, and Pain and the Whole Damn Thing (1973)
It may come as a surprise to some younger viewers, but Dame Maggie Smith, recognizable today as proper schoolmarm Professor McGonagall in the Harry Potter series and Downtown Abbey's Dowager Countess (the Edwardian version of the sassy grandma), was young once. But even as a young woman, like Angela Lansbury before her, Smith often played above her age. Never so much as in Travels with My Aunt, which casts the not-yet-forty Smith as a septuagenarian. The role was originally meant for Katharine Hepburn, but Smith was able to make it her own, earning a Best Actress nomination. In Love... Maggie is once again cast as the older woman opposite a younger leading man. However, she's playing much closer to her own age as a 40 year old "spinster" who has a love affair with an 18 year old college dropout (Timothy Bottoms) on a bus trip through Spain.

By Agatha Christie
9/23, 8 PM - Ten Little Indians (1966)
9/26, 2:15 AM - Murder on the Orient Express (1974)
I love mysteries and I'm on a bit of a Christie kick lately, so I'm looking forward to these adaptations of two of her most popular stories. Ten Little Indians diverges a bit from the original story, but retains the main plot of 10 strangers trapped in a remote location and bumped off one-by-one. Murder on the Orient Express hews much closer to Christie's book and features a formidable cast of stars including Albert Finney as detective Hercule Poirot. This film along with two other all-star adaptations of Poirot stories, Death on the Nile (1978) and Evil Under the Sun (1982), offer a great introduction to Christie's work.

Thursdays in September: Mack Sennett
Producer and director Mack Sennett was a comedy pioneer who worked with many of the great talents of the silent era including Charlie Chaplin, Fatty Arbuckle, the Keystone Cops, and Mabel Normand. TCM is showing 83 shorts and 4 feature-length films by Sennett every Thursday this month in primetime.