Classic Movie Picks: February

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.)

This month TCM begins their annual "31 Days of Oscar" programming in honor of the Academy Awards. If you enjoy the Academy Awards and their history, as I do, this is a fun time of year. All the films scheduled for the next 31 days will be Oscar winners or nominees. This year, as an added twist, the schedule also incorporates a variation on "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon" by linking each film through a common performer. So, the first film of the month is Only When I Laugh with Bacon and James Coco, followed by Man of La Mancha featuring Coco and Harry Andrews, followed by the Harry Andrews film 55 Days at Peking, and so on...ending March 3 with Diner starring Kevin Bacon. No connections or films will be repeated throughout the entire month!
Obviously, each film during 31 Days of Oscar has something to recommend it, whether it be a lead performance, score, or costume design. So, to narrow down the field I've selected films which feature some of my favorite leading ladies.

2/7, 5:30 AM: The Actress (1953)
This is a biopic starring the lovely Jean Simmons as Ruth Gordon - yes, the Ruth Gordon. Though she's probably best known today as the kooky old lady from Harold and Maude, her career as an actress began decades earlier. The screenplay for The Actress was adapted by Gordon from her autobiographical play and it covers her early career in the theater. Spencer Tracy and Teresa Wright (such a favorite actress of mine, I made her my profile picture on this site!) lead an impressive cast as Gordon's parents; however, I must admit my real interest lies in Gordon's story. She began acting on the stage in 1915; fifty-three years later, at the age of 74, she won the Best Supporting Actress Academy Award for her role in Rosemary's Baby. Her acceptance speech began, "I can't tell you how encouragin' this is..." In between those milestones she and her husband, writer-director Garson Kanin, collaborated on the screenplays for the Katharine Hepburn-Spencer Tracy classics Adam's Rib and Pat and Mike. In fact, the onscreen relationship between Hepburn and Tracy was modeled on the Kanin marriage. Unfortunately, The Actress only deals with a small portion of Gordon's interesting life, but I am eager to see it just the same.

2/14: A Jean Arthur Triple Feature!
10 AM - A Foreign Affair (1948)
12 PM - The More the Merrier (1943)
2 PM - The Devil and Miss Jones (1941)
One of Hollywood's most unique leading ladies of the 30s and 40s, Jean Arthur was particularly adept at screwball comedy whether she was playing the baby-faced innocent or the worldly wiseacre. In a nod to the quality of Ms. Arthur's films, TCM is playing at least four more throughout this month of award winners: 2/8, 9:15 AM - Mr. Smith Goes to Washington; 2/9, 8:45 AM - Too Many Husbands; 2/9, 2 PM - The Talk of the Town; 2/28, 10:15 AM - You Can't Take it With You.

2/26, 8 PM: Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967)
Julie Andrews has to be one of the most likeable screen presences there is. I've never seen her be anything less than delightful on film and her turn here as Millie is no exception. In my opinion, this film would be worth a watch just for Julie; however, Thoroughly Modern Millie happens to be one of the funniest movie musicals ever made, blending elements of slapstick and farce with plenty of memorable tunes. This film was recently adapted into a popular Broadway musical, so it's not inconceivable that it could be remade into a film in the not-too-distant-future. Watch the original now! Then, when the new version comes out you can act superior and say you've long been a fan and, in all honesty, prefer the original. (Isn't that the secret delight of all classic movie geeks?)

Of course, these aren't the only films I'll be watching! With 31 days of award-winning cinema to take in, I'm afraid I'll barely be leaving the couch!