by Lani
August on TCM means "Summer Under the Stars" - each day of the month is devoted to a single actor or actress. Once again, to give each performer their due, I've decided to pick one film for each day of the month. My picks aren't necessarily an actor's best film or best-known role, they might not even be the best film showing that day! I've just chosen the films (or in some cases two films) that seemed most interesting to me. For me, discovering lesser-known pieces of an actor's filmography is one of the delights of Summer Under the Stars.
8/1: Marlon Brando
4 AM - The Formula (1980)
Speaking of lesser-known films...I love it when TCM pulls out a film which I never dreamed existed, like this thriller about a synthetic gasoline formula co-starring Brando and George C. Scott.
8/2: Paulette Goddard
6:30 PM - Modern Times (1936)
A classic "silent" film made during the sound era, it was Goddard's film debut and the final film for Charlie Chaplin's Little Tramp character.
8/3: Bette Davis
9 AM - Now, Voyager (1942)
This film plays fairly frequently, so I have to hold myself back from picking it every month. However, on Bette Davis day, it is only fitting to pick my favorite Bette Davis role.
8/4: Ronald Colman
1:30 PM - Raffles (1930)
One of Colman's signature roles was as suave gentleman jewel thief Raffles, a.k.a. The Amateur Cracksman.
8/5: John Garfield
3:30 AM - Destination Tokyo (1943)
Garfield himself thought this thriller aboard a WWII submarine was one of his best films.
8/6: Lucille Ball
11:30 AM - Miss Grant Takes Richmond (1949)
In this early effort in Ball's transformation into a slapstick comedienne, Lucy plays secretary to William Holden's phony realtor.
8/7: Charles Laughton
2 PM - Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)
The obvious choice? Maybe, but it's sooo good.
8/8: Orson Welles
6:15 - Mr. Arkadin (1962)
I feel that on Orson Welles day you have to watch one of his directorial efforts, like this film in which plays the titular private eye. Then stay tuned for The Third Man (directed by Carol Reed). Then stay up for Citizen Kane. Or better yet, record these and watch them in the middle of the night. Orson Welles films are somehow better after midnight.
8/9: Ann Dvorak
9:45 PM - Three on a Match (1932)
A pre-code gem co-starring Joan Blondell, Bette Davis, and Dvorak (that's "Vor-shack) as three friends who press their luck by lighting "three on a match."
8/10: Shirley MacLaine
2 PM - Irma La Douce (1963)
Fans of director Billy Wilder should definitely watch this charming comedy starring MacLaine and Jack Lemmon (no, not The Apartment, that's on at 8 PM).
8/11: Ben Johnson
1:15 AM - The Last Picture Show (1971)
Ben Johnson is always good, but this is the one that won him an Oscar.
8/12: Claudette Colbert
Claudette Colbert is one of my favorites, so I couldn't pick just one of her romantic comedies. You could try to pick one based on leading man, but why not just watch them all?
6:15 - She Married Her Boss (1935), Melvyn Douglas
10 PM - It's a Wonderful World (1939), Jimmy Stewart
8/13: James Stewart
6:15 PM - The Naked Spur (1953)
8 PM - The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)
Does anyone else do a double-take when they see "James Stewart"? To me he's always "Jimmy." But here's a Western double-feature befitting the seriousness that "James Stewart" conveys. Jimmy's nowhere to be found here.
8/14: Ralph Bellamy
11:30 PM - Sunrise at Campobello (1960)
For Ralph Bellamy day, I wanted to pick a film in which our star of the day was really the star, and not the poor schmuck in the "Ralph Bellamy role" who loses the girl (see His Girl Friday or The Awful Truth - really, you should see those). So how about this role as FDR, battling polio and striving toward political ambition?
8/15: Lon Chaney
7:30 AM - The Unholy Three (1930)
12 AM - The Unholy Three (1925)
No kidding, the first film that caught my eye today just happened to be the only talkie Chaney ever made. But this story of a criminal alliance between a midget, strongman, and ventriloquist was so nice, they made it twice. Fans of silents can catch the original at midnight.
8/16: Joanne Woodward
1 PM - A Big Hand for the Little Lady (1966)
A rare comedy for Woodward, in this film she takes a seat at a high-stakes poker table alongside a top-notch cast.
8/17: Humphrey Bogart
4:30 PM - They Drive by Night (1940)
From before Bogie was Bogie - he co-stars with George Raft as trucker brothers framed for murder by a scorned and psychotic Ida Lupino. Fans of Ice Road Truckers may enjoy this depiction of the wildcat trucking circuit.
8/18: Jean Gabin
8 PM - Pepe le Moko (1937)
I'm so excited to see Jean Gabin on the schedule this year since he's the star of one of my favorite films, Grand Illusion (playing at 10 PM). In Gabin's other big film of 1937, he plays a gangster drawn out of hiding by the woman he loves.
8/19: Debbie Reynolds
7:15 AM - I Love Melvin (1953)
In this zany musical Reynolds is re-teamed with her Singin' in the Rain co-star Donald O'Connor, but this time O'Connor gets the girl and the lead role.
8/20: Montgomery Clift
12:15 AM - The Search (1948)
In what was only his second film role, Clift stars as an American G.I. who befriends a young survivor of Auschwitz. This film is notable for its quasi-documentary style, much of it shot on location in postwar Germany, and excellent cast. Ivan Jandl, who plays the young boy, received a special Oscar for outstanding juvenile performance.
8/21: Cary Grant
8 PM - Gunga Din (1939)
According to The New York Times (Jan. 27, 1939), "All movies should be like the first 25 minutes and the last 30 minutes of Gunga Din, which are sheer poetry of cinematic motion."
8/22: Joan Crawford
7:30 AM - I Live My Life (1935)
Normally, I wouldn't watch a Joan Crawford movie - I just don't get her appeal. But in this film, society girl Joan marries an archaeologist, which promises to produce a combination of glamorous gowns and archaeology, two things which don't mix often enough.
8/23: Conrad Veidt
8 PM - The Hands of Orlac (1925)
3:15 AM - The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920)
In you are in the mood for something spooky, check out these two German silents from inventive expressionist director Robert Wiene.
8/24: Joan Blondell
9:15 PM - Dames (1934)
Stick with this featherweight story about some plucky kids trying to put on a show to get to the eye-popping musical numbers.
8/25: Burt Lancaster
8 PM - The Leopard (1963)
I'm hoping this is the newly restored version of this lush Technicolor epic about Sicilian aristocrats. Who among us wouldn't want to see Claudia Cardinale or Alain Delon in greater detail?
8/26: Peter Lawford
11:45 PM - Salt & Pepper (1968)
Lawford, "Pepper," and Sammy Davis, Jr., "Salt," play nightclub owners (good) investigating a murder (better) of a secret agent (!!!). Also, a submarine is involved. This must be seen.
8/27: Linda Darnell
8 PM - A Letter to Three Wives (1948)
A must-see for any fan of the "woman's picture" melodramas.
8/28: Carole Lombard
2:30 PM - In Name Only (1939)
This films features the dynamite love triangle of Lombard, Cary Grant, and Kay Francis.
8/29: Anne Francis
7:45 AM - So Young, So Bad (1950)
Francis, Rita Moreno, and Anne Jackson play reform school girls who just might actually get reformed. I didn't think that was possible in the movies!
8/30: Howard Keel
9:30 PM - Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954)
Not to slight Keel's acting chops, or good looks, but the best thing about a Howard Keel movie is when his gorgeous baritone voice belts out a tune. Few things bring me more joy than hearing him bellow "Bless your beautiful hide!" and the beginning of Seven Brides.
8/31: Marlene Dietrich
3:15 PM - Rancho Notorious (1952)
4:45 PM - Marlene Dietrich: Her Own Song (2001)
This Western/revenge thriller was originally going to be called "Chuck-A-Luck," but according to director Fritz Lang the title was changed to the more salacious sounding "Rancho Notorious" because the studio owner Howard Hughes felt foreign audiences wouldn't know what a chuck-a-luck was. Well, in this film it's a casino game, an outlaw hideout, and a dying man's last words.
BONUS: I'm interested to learn more about Dietrich's war efforts and political activism in this documentary made by her grandson.
Enjoy your Summer Under the Stars!
