Classic Movie Picks: October

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.)

10/3: A Night at the Movies: The Horrors of Stephen King

October always puts me in the mood for spooky movies. I'm not a fan of "hardcore" horror--the super gory, super gross, or super violent--but I can appreciate a good (i.e. not too scary) chiller-thriller, especially in the season of ghosts and goblins. Stephen King's stories tend to be too much for my innocent psyche, but I can't deny that he is an accomplished storyteller and a pretty knowledgeable guy when it comes to the horror genre. In tonight's TCM original documentary, King is our guide on a tour of the history of horror movies. It kicks off a month-long line-up of classic horror films on Monday nights, culminating in an all-day marathon on Halloween. The films are arranged in a basic chronology, beginning with silents from the 20s on October 3rd and ending with films from the 60s in primetime on October 31st. Get the complete schedule on the TCM website to pick out your "must-sees."

BONUS PICK: 10/1, 7 PM - A Night at the Movies: The Gigantic World of Epics

10/2, 7 PM - A Night at the Movies: The Suspenseful World of Thrillers

Two more TCM originals exploring a particular genre through interviews and film clips.

DOUBLE BONUS PICK: 10/29 - Films of Val Lewton

As a Halloween appetizer watch some of Lewton's exotic, psychological thrillers, starting with Cat People (1942) at 8 PM followed by Martin Scorsese's documentary on the revered producer, Val Lewton - The Man in the Shadows (2007).

10/9, 8 PM - Sherlock, Jr. (1924)

As "Star of the Month" for October, Buster Keaton is taking over primetime on Sundays. I haven't seen many of his films, especially the silents, so this is a great time for me to catch up. In Sherlock, Jr., Keaton plays a theater projectionist who dreams that he has entered the movie screen as a master detective. This is one of Keaton's best-loved films, filled with his signature gags and stunts. Of course, he does all his own stunts and while some of the visual effects are achieved through camerawork, many were done with clever visual tricks Keaton brought from vaudeville.

10/20: Featuring Zachary Scott

8 PM - The Mask of Dimitrios (1944)

9:45 PM - The Southerner (1945)

11:30 PM - Colt .45 (1950)

1 AM - Danger Signal (1945)

2:30 AM - Flamingo Road (1949)

4:15 AM - Bandido (1956)

In 1968, the Austin Civic Theatre was renamed The Zachary Scott Theatre Center in honor of the recently deceased Academy Award-nominated actor and Austin native Zachary Scott. Though Austinites today know the theater as simply "The ZACH," the theater staff endeavor to keep the memory of Austin's first big film star alive with Scott memorabilia throughout the building. (I confess I wasn't familiar with Scott when I moved to Austin, and apparently I wasn't alone according to this article from the local paper: "Who was Zachary Scott?") Scott's best-known movie role is as Joan Crawford's untrustworthy second husband in Mildred Pierce. He was often typecast as caddish characters, but tonight's line-up shows Scott playing a variety of roles: a notorious criminal, a hard-working cotton farmer, an escaped convict on a spree, a womanizing cad (there had to be one!), a weak-willed politician, and a corrupt arms dealer. If you wondered "who's Zachary Scott" before, you'll definitely know after tonight!

10/22, 11:45 PM - My Name is Julia Ross (1945)

I said I was in the mood for spooky films and I think this one starring a young Nina Foch fits the bill. Director Joseph H. Lewis brings the noir-ish touches of his later films to this suspense thriller in the vein of Gaslight. Young Julia Ross is a maid to a wealthy widow in London...or is she Marion, a lady of the manor in Cornwall suffering from a nervous breakdown? And why does Ralph keep playing with that knife? This film seems perfect for watching on a chilly October night.

10/27: 1970s Musicals

8 PM - Fiddler on the Roof (1971)

11:15 PM - The Boy Friend (1971)

1:45 AM - Hair (1979)

4 AM - Man of La Mancha (1972)

The 1970s were an interesting decade for the movie musical; some books about film history will tell you that at this point the musical was dead, having gone out of favor with audiences in the 60s, despite the success of Oscar-winning The Sound of Music (others will say it was dead even before that having become unpopular in the late 50s, despite the success of Oscar-winning Gigi). Young directors, usually with no experience filming musicals, began taking chances with movie musical conventions, often focusing on injecting their films with realism--a seemingly contradictory idea for this most unreal of movie genres. While not all these films were successful with audiences or critics, their influence can be seen in the newest influx of movie musicals. For example, director Milos Forman shot Hair on the real streets of New York, a stark contrast the soundstages representing the city in 1949's On the Town. 2005's Rent did a similar thing by opening up the static settings of the stage musical; and, also like Hair, it was unfortunately made about 10 years too late to be truly relevant. Ken Russell's The Boy Friend sets its most lavish production numbers within dream sequences, grounding the rest of the film in a decidedly unglamorous suburban theater. This device was later used by director Rob Marshall in his 2003 adaptation of Chicago. Chicago won the Oscar for best picture, so perhaps the musical isn't so dead after all.

BONUS: Teresa Wright Day, 10/27

Before tonight's line-up of musicals, TCM will fill the day with the films of Teresa Wright. She's one of my favorite classic movie stars, so I always like to give her films a recommendation when they're scheduled.

Here's to a chill-filled October, and a happy Halloween!

Frustrations of a Fan

by Lani

Anyone who is a fan of movies also has their favorite movie stars. Even film critics are not immune to a bit of bias: I can always tell which actresses Roger Ebert has a crush on and the Filmspotting guys are notoriously fond of Naomi Watts and Michael Fassbender.

One of my favorite actors is Hugh Jackman. One reason I like him is that he harkens back to the movie stars of classic Hollywood, combining the musky masculinity and athleticism of swashbucklers like Douglas Fairbanks and Errol Flynn with the physical presence and booming baritone of Howard Keel. Sure, he's a bit "theater people," but I love theater people. I am theater people. And it was at the theater, watching Jackman's Tony-winning turn as singer/songwriter/showman Peter Allen in The Boy From Oz, when I was truly and thoroughly convinced of his talent.

All this is to say, I would like to see Hugh Jackman in a movie; however, his choice of film roles is making this more difficult than it should be. At the beginning of his movie career Jackman made a couple of good action films (X-Men, X2) and a decent romantic-comedy (Kate & Leopold), but in the ensuing years he's had more duds than not. I'm speaking of Swordfish, Van Helsing, Deception. And with every new movie trailer, I'm left asking: Why can't Hugh Jackman just be in a movie that I want to see?

For a comparison, let's look at the career of Brad Pitt. Like Jackman, Pitt is handsome, charismatic, and able to handle both comedy and drama. But can Brad Pitt sing? I haven't heard any compelling evidence. And, let's be real, if Wolverine walked into Fight Club, he'd kick Tyler Durden's ass. Yet almost every year Brad Pitt puts out a movie that I want to see. He has two high-profile films out this year: The Tree of Life, an arty, dreamlike meditation on life and loss, and Moneyball, a mainstream-yet-intellectual true story set in the world of pro baseball. These films are very different from each other, but they both seem to have been made for intelligent adults. What's Hugh Jackman's big movie next month? Well, he's starring in Real Steel, a schlocky-looking popcorn flick about boxing robots. Now, I'm not against a robot boxing movie on principle; I would just prefer that movie if it starred Vinnie Jones. Frankly, Real Steel looks like the kind of movie that would star Gerard Butler, an actor who, at this point, either needs to fire his agent or just stop making films altogether because he seems to be a magnet for terrible scripts. And no one wants to look like they are taking Gerard Butler's cast-offs (except maybe Vinnie Jones). I don't want to have to watch something that I don't like just to see an actor that I do.

The last Hugh Jackman film I really liked was The Fountain, an arty, dreamlike meditation on life and loss. (Sound familiar? This film was also originally set to star Brad Pitt.) Some people, myself included, felt it was a haunting, poetic film about a love that transcends time. Others felt it was just really weird. However, I think everyone who saw The Fountain could agree that co-star Rachel Weisz was luminous even while on her deathbed. Jackman was in love with her on camera, director Darren Aronofsky was clearly in love with her from behind the camera, and I fell in love, too. Unfortunately, Weisz is another star with frustrating taste in projects. Her new film, Dream House, is advertised as a haunted house thriller reminiscent of everything from The Shining to The Others. So, while I like Rachel Weisz, I just can't get excited for Dream House. First of all, I don't like scary movies. Sure, I can sometimes be persuaded to watch one if it stars a compelling performer or has a unique premise, but I've been burned too many times before. There was the disappointment of The Forgotten with Julianne Moore and her pretty red hair. Then there was the drab, depressing Dark Water with Jennifer Connelly and her cute ankle-strap shoes. I refuse to be seduced this time by Weisz and her adorable paint-splattered jeans. And while I think Weisz sparkles on screen with beauty, wit, and intelligence, I hate, hate, hate her American accent. As soon as I hear it in a movie trailer, I'm out.

I'm not asking that Hugh or Rachel only make movies which are good. I'm just asking them to make a movie that I might be interested in seeing. I realize this is highly subjective and entirely selfish, but if I'm going to commit to being a fan, I will need something to work with beyond X-Men and The Mummy.

Of course, they aren't the only actors I like who pick films in which I have no interest at all. Joseph Gordon-Levitt was at the top of this list for nine years. Since 3rd Rock from the Sun ended in 2001 until last year when he co-starred in Inception, Joe did not make a single film which I wanted to see. Paul Bettany, so charming in A Knight's Tale and Wimbeldon, is lately starring in weird, religious-themed action movies like Priest and Legion. Then there's Bettany's wife, the aforementioned Jennifer Connelly, who despite being an Oscar-winner is stuck playing fourth fiddle in lame relationship comedies like He's Just Not That Into You. Ryan Reynolds is a gifted comedian who is usually the best thing about a crummy movie, but even he couldn't get me to watch The Green Lantern. Brendan Fraser was the best thing about several movies circa 1999, but then came Monkeybone...and I haven't watched a Brendan Fraser movie in ten years. I'm almost ready to give up on Anna Faris after a string of films in which she is either a vapid airhead (Observe and Report) or a good-hearted Jezebel (The House Bunny). I feel like she is capable of more, but it looks like we may never see a film which proves it.

I guess I just have to accept that while the guys who run Hollywood continue to insist that Julia Roberts is America's Sweetheart and Sam Worthington is the greatest actor of his generation, my favorites will have a harder time getting the roles that I want for them. Sure, it can be frustrating, but isn't cheering for the underdog what real fans love to do anyway?