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.)
A few weeks ago, disaster struck. I spilled a full glass of iced tea on my copy of Turner Classic Movies Now Playing guide for June. How could I make my picks without the guide? It was surely an omen that this month's post would be a challenge. And sure enough, as Now Playing lay drying on the fireplace, my mind was diverted by work, houseguests, and attempts to knit one blasted sock (at this rate I should have a matched pair sometime next spring). Yesterday, when I received the July issue of Now Playing and realized that I still hadn't written my post for June, I considered taking the month off, but that felt too much like quitting. If I can't bring myself to finish typing up some movie suggestions, how will I ever finish that sock!
6/3, 2 AM - A Man and a Woman (1966)
An unprecedented hit with American audiences, this romantic drama from France won two Oscars, Best Screenplay and Best Foreign Film. This type of story was a staple of classic films - a glamorous romance between two mature adults (almost anything seemed more glamorous in a classic movie). Romances like Now, Voyager, An Affair to Remember, or A Man and a Woman which all deal with characters well past the blush of youth don't seem to get made as much anymore.
6/6, 3 AM - Eat a Bowl of Tea (1989)
Part of TCM's June spotlight on the immigrant experience, this comedy about Chinese families in New York is directed by Wayne Wang and based on a novel by Louis Chu. The story is set during the 1940s following the repeal of the Chinese Exclusion Act which prevented immigrants from bringing their families to the U.S. I really enjoyed Wang's film The Joy Luck Club, another literary adaptation which also deals with the experiences of Chinese immigrants in America. However, Eat a Bowl of Tea takes a more straightforwardly comedic approach to issues like arranged marriage and the politics of a Chinatown community.
6/7, 6:30 AM - The Barretts of Wimpole Street (1957)
Speaking of romance...here we have the legendary love story of poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning, an invalid held back by her overbearing father, and Robert Browning, the dashing fellow poet who gave Elizabeth the strength to break free from her family. This is the Metrocolor remake of MGM's 1934 black & white version starring Norma Shearer, Fredric March, and Charles Laughton. The 1957 version was shot on location in England with mostly British actors, including Bill Travers as Browning and John Gielgud as patriarch Edward Moulton-Barrett. Jennifer Jones leads the fine cast as Elizabeth Barrett.
Fans of Virginia Woolf's Flush: A Biography will be happy to know that Barrett Browning's cocker spaniel has also been well-cast. Flush even merited a mention by critic Bosley Crowther in his New York Times review: "played to perfection by a charming spaniel not named in the cast."
6/17, 8 PM - Rio Bravo (1959)
You know what's a pretty good little movie? Rio Bravo.While not officially part of this month's Teen Idols programming, this is probably the best film Ricky Nelson ever made. Rio Bravo is also part of TCM's Essentials, Jr. series this summer, so why not watch with the whole family.
6/30, 9:45 PM - Christmas in July (1940)
It was actually radio which made me a Dick Powell fan. Like many movie stars of the 40s and 50s, Dick Powell also appeared in radio dramas. I was born several decades too late to hear these shows on the radio; however, I'm grateful to the dedicated fans who have made old-time radio shows available via podcast. I especially enjoy the detective shows and Powell's apperances on Rogue's Gallery and Richard Diamond: Private Detective are some of my favorites. It doesn't hurt that he usually finds an excuse to sing at the end of each episode, either. I'm also on a bit of a Preston Sturges kick after watching Sullivan's Travels and The Palm Beach Story in May, so this film directed by Sturges and starring Powell sounds like a winning combination.
(Visit RelicRadio.com for lots of old-time radio goodness.)
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