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.)
Tuesdays in January: Great Capers
A month of bank jobs, jewel heists, and art thefts! This is one of my favorite film genres; I just love watching the gang assemble and layout a plan, then seeing how it all plays out. The films range from clever comedies like The Pink Panther (1/1) and The Lavender Hill Mob (1/29) to gritty noirs like Rififi (1/1) and Bob le Flambeur (1/8). As a fan of the genre, I've seen quite a few caper movies; however, about half the titles in this series are films I'd never even heard of! These are a few of the ones I want to check out this month:
1/1, 2:15 AM - Big Deal on Madonna Street (1958)
1/8, 10:15 PM - Seven Thieves (1960)
1/15, 8 PM - The League of Gentleman (1960)
1/22, 4 AM - The Anderson Tapes (1971)
1/23, 6 AM - The Split (1968)
1/6: Starring Sessue Hayakawa
12 AM - The Cheat (1915)
1 AM - The Dragon Painter (1919)
Sessue Hayakawa rose to stardom during the silent era, the first Asian actor to reach that status in Hollywood. I'm having a hard time thinking of any Asian actor since Hayakawa who has risen to the same level of popularity and industry clout. Tonight you can see the film that made him a star (even though he plays the villain), The Cheat, and one of the films made by Hayakawa's own production company, The Dragon Painter.
1/7: Bill Paxton's Picks
8 PM - Juliet of the Spirits (1965)
10:30 PM - The Spirit of the Beehive (1973)
12:30 AM - California Split (1974)
2:30 AM - The Last Detail (1973)
Oftentimes, the celebrity guest programmers select films which seem a tad safe and predictable, e.g. Lawrence of Arabia, Network, My Fair Lady. So, it is refreshing when someone picks films which are rarely shown on TCM, as Bill Paxton has done this month. Two European art house classics followed by two prime examples of 70s American cinema.
BONUS PICK: 1/7, 4:30 AM - A Soldier's Story (1984)
Catch an early performance by Denzel Washington in this drama, directed by Norman Jewison, about racism in the army during WWII. (By the way, Washington also gives a great performance in Flight, which may still be playing in a theatre near you.)
1/13, 10 AM - Les Miserables (1935)
A musical version of "Les Mis" is now on the big screen, the latest in a long line of film adaptations from Victor Hugo's classic novel. (Of course, the current film is really more of an adaptation of the stage musical; therefore, it's heavy on music, light on context.) This 1935 version is regarded as one of the best adaptations and features two of the top actors of the era, Fredric March and Charles Laughton, going head to head as Jean Valjean and Inspector Javert.
1/16, 2 PM - The Detective (1954)
Alec Guinness was surely one of the most versatile actors to grace stage and screen. He is best known today as Obi Wan Kenobi of Star Wars (the only performance from the Star Wars series to earn an Academy Award nomination), or for his Oscar-winning performance in the WWII drama Bridge on the River Kwai. However, I think my favorite Guinness performances are in comedies, like tonight's film. He plays Father Brown, a country priest who sets out to catch an art thief. The role seems to have made an impression on Guinness, too - he and his wife subsequently converted to Catholicism.
1/20: Danny Kaye's 100th
It is my personal opinion that Danny Kaye was one of the greatest American entertainers of the 20th century. Actor, singer, comedian, showman - he could even dance a little. The TCM programming elves must agree with me as today they devote all programming to Kaye. The featured films are all delightful, exuberant comedies - I would particularly recommend The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (6 PM), Hans Christian Andersen (8 PM), and A Song is Born (12 AM). Also in the mix is an episode of The Danny Kaye Show (6 AM), Kaye's variety show from the mid-60s, and his appearance on The Dick Cavett Show (10:30 AM) in 1971.
Happy New Year, everyone!
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