Classic Movie Picks: September

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.)

9/5: Tribute to Telluride
Since 1998, TCM has been airing an annual 24-hour marathon in honor of the Telluride Film Festival. The films chosen for this marathon are usually an interesting and eclectic mix, and this year's group is no exception. The tribute will include all seven episodes of TCM's Emmy-nominated miniseries Moguls and Movie Stars: A History of Hollywood, as well as several TCM premieres: Below Zero (1930), Wanda (1970), The Plumber (1979), and Election (1999). (The film festival will take place Sept. 2-5 in Telluride, Colorado.)

9/10: September Spirits
10 PM - The Innocents (1961)
12 AM - Dead of Night (1945)
Tonight's spotlight on actor Michael Redgrave includes two films about ghosts. The Innocents is an adaptation of Henry James's novella The Turn of the Screw and stars Deborah Kerr as a governess who believes the children she cares for are haunted (or is it all in her head?). Dead of Night is an anthology film of stories of the supernatural. The most famous of the six vignettes is "The Ventriloquist's Dummy" starring Redgrave as an entertainer whose dummy seems to be in control.

9/16, 5:45 AM - Delicious Dishes (1950)
In this vintage short, "experts demonstrate such innovative kitchen gadgets as a cheese slicer and melon baller." This should be instructive; I've always wondered how to use a cheese slicer. And couldn't we all wield a melon baller with a little more expertise?

9/19, 12:15 AM - Invitation to the Dance (1956)
This ambitious film, which tells three stories through dance, was a pet project of Gene Kelly, who was always striving to bring his art form to the fore of popular culture. As a lover of dance and great fan of Gene Kelly in particular, I've been anxious to see this film since I first heard about it in a documentary about Kelly. It also features many of Europe's top ballet dancers, MGM contract player Tommy Rall (Frank in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers), and Broadway star Carol Haney.

9/20: Kirk Douglas
Kirk Douglas is the Star of the Month, so you can see his films each Tuesday in September - and he made a lot of great films! I've chosen to highlight this particular night of programming because it features films from what I consider to be Douglas's prime: the late 50s and early 60s. However, you really can't go wrong on Tuesday nights this month.
8 PM - Lust for Life (1956)
10:15 PM - Paths of Glory (1957)
12 AM - Last Train from Gun Hill (1959)
1:45 AM - The Devil's Disciple (1959)
3:15 AM - Town Without Pity (1961)
5:15 AM - Two Weeks in Another Town (1962)

Thursdays in September: 50 Years of Merchant Ivory
Producer Ismail Merchant and director James Ivory formed their famous partnership in 1961 with the intention of making English-language films in India for an international audience. However, they are best-known today for their elegant British dramas such as Remains of the Day and Howard's End. TCM will be showing these "greatest hits" as well as films from their early years in India, made-for-TV projects spanning from 1959 to 1994, and films by others which their company produced. One thing that stands out among the Merchant Ivory filmography: they attracted some of the most talented actors of the past 60 years. In the films I've listed below you'll see Peggy Ashcroft, Alan Bates, Anne Baxter, Pierce Brosnan, Vanessa Redgrave, Naseeruddin Shah, Maggie Smith, Christopher Walken, and Teresa Wright, among others. Here are my personal picks, but I would urge any cinephile to look over the full schedule of 21 films and 5 shorts since most of these films are unlikely to be shown on TCM again in the near future.
9/8, 8 PM - The Europeans (1979)
9/8, 12 AM - Roseland (1977)
9/8, 2 AM - Quartet (1981)
9/8, 4 AM - Savages (1972)
9/22, 8 PM - The Ballad of the Sad Cafe (1988)
9/22, 10 PM - The Deceivers (1988)
9/22, 12 AM - The Perfect Murder (1990)
9/29, 8 PM - Hullabaloo over Georgie and Bonnie's Pictures (1978)
9/29, 1:45 AM - Jane Austen in Manhattan (1980)