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by Lani
Each month, I scour the Turner Classic Movies schedule 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.)
5/8, 8 PM & 11:30 PM - Don't Say No Until I've Finished Talking: The Story of Richard Zanuck (2013)
The latest TCM original documentary takes on producer Richard Zanuck, son of 20th Century Fox studio mogul Darryl F. Zanuck. The younger Zanuck was Fox studio president in the 1960, and well-regarded producer in his own right. Under Richard's tenure the studio produced Best Picture winners The Sound of Music, Patton, and The French Connection; it also turned out legendary flops like Dr. Doolittle and Star!, which led to his being fired...by his father Darryl. Richard was an independent producer from the 1970s until his death in 2012, bringing to the screen Jaws, The Sting, Cocoon, and Driving Miss Daisy. With such a distinguished career to cover, not to mention Zanuck's family legacy in Hollywood, this doc should have some interesting tidbits about "the biz".
5/20: Spy Spoofs
From a 21st century filmgoer's perspective, the early James Bond films can sometimes seem like a parody of 1960s culture all on their own. However, at the time, Bond was definitely more cool than kitsch. Dr. No, starring Sean Connery as Bond, hit theatres in 1963 and almost immediately inspired a new genre of secret agent comedies which served their martinis with a wink and tongue planted firmly in cheek.
8 PM - Our Man Flint (1965) - Probably the best-remembered film in the genre, this one stars James Coburn as American secret agent Derek Flink.
10 PM - The Silencers (1965) - Dean Martin had his own franchise starring as suave super-spy Matt Helm which included this film and Murderer's Row.
11:45 PM - Murderer's Row (1966)
1:45 AM - Carry on Spying (1964) - This entry in the British Carry On... series of B-movies may have contained the first Bond parody.
3:30 AM - Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine (1965) - The Goldfoot films are mash-ups of three 1960s genres -- beach party movie, spy parody, and horror-comedy -- starring Vincent Price as the super-villain of the title. Frankie Avalon plays Price's secret agent foil in the first film, while Fabian fills the role in the sequel.
5:15 AM - Dr. Goldfoot and the Girl Bombs (1966)
5/22, 12:30 AM - True Confessions (1981)
I'm curious about this neo-noir based on the infamous Black Dahlia murder case. Not because of the mystery -- the Black Dahlia case remains unsolved, after all -- but because it was the first time Robert Duvall and Robert DeNiro shared the screen (The Godfather: Part II doesn't count because they had zero scenes together). Duvall plays a police detective investigating the murder of a prostitute with ties to prominent Los Angeles businessmen, as well as to his own brother, played by DeNiro, a monsignor supervising several generously funded church building projects. Both actors were at the top of their careers -- DeNiro had just won the Best Actor Oscar for Raging Bull and Duvall would soon win for 1983's Tender Mercies -- so why have I never heard of this movie? We'll see...
5/28, 8 PM - Hard Times (1975)
There was only one Jimmy Stewart, but at the same time there was also Henry Fonda and Gary Cooper. There was only one William Powell, too, but then you also had Melvyn Douglas and Don Ameche. Charles Bronson, though, was a singular presence in his era. I can't think of any contemporary who had quite the same quality. He certainly didn't have the look of a leading man, like co-stars Steve McQueen or Yul Brynner. With his round head, exceedingly lined face, and eyes hidden by a perpetual squint, Bronson sort of resembled a compressed Clark Gable. Then there was his athletic body. Sporting the sort of extreme muscle tone that was not yet de rigueur for all male action stars, Bronson often played the heavy or strong-man type. After notable performances in the ensembles of The Great Escape, The Dirty Dozen, and The Magnificent Seven, he achieved worldwide stardom in the 70s with a string of violent, though simplistic, thrillers including The Mechanic and Death Wish. In the midst of those films, however, he got the chance to play a more complex character in Hard Times, the first feature by writer-director Walter Hill. Here Bronson plays a drifter during the Great Depression who gets by as a bare-knuckle boxer. He's surrounded by a strong supporting cast which includes James Coburn, Strother Martin, and Bronson's real-life wife Jill Ireland. TCM is showing the film as part of its Tuesday night spotlight of classic "tough guys" on film and I agree that Bronson deserves his place among other tough guy icons like Robert Mitchum and John Garfield. (Today, an actor who reminds me a bit of Bronson is Daniel Craig in a film like Munich or Defiance; however, it's an indicator of how much times have changed that someone with Bronson-like grit and physicality is now also portraying James Bond. Can you imagine Roger Moore as a street fighter?)
BONUS: 5/14, 3:15 AM - The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974)
This thriller set on the NYC subway is scheduled late night after the Tuesday "tough guys" programming in prime time and I think it fits the evening's theme, too. Though I'm not sure who's tougher -- Walter Matthau as a veteran transit officer or Robert Shaw as the leader of a gang of train hijackers.
Friday Night Spotlight: Second Looks
This month-long series programmed by actress & filmmaker Ileana Douglas features movies which weren't enthusiastically received at time of their release, but warrant a revisit for one reason or another. I'm interested to see Top Banana (1954) starring Phil Silvers on 5/17 and The Horn Blows at Midnight (1945) starring Jack Benny on 5/10; Silvers and Benny were two extremely popular comics who conquered just about every other medium -- radio, stage, TV -- but neither had much of a film career despite their talent.
However, the real story here is that A New Leaf is finally being shown on TCM! Sure, Ileana picked it, but I like to think that my consistent mentions of this 1971 film by writer-director Elaine May made a difference, too. Consider this: in a July 2010 post about Walter Matthau's hilarious performance as a spoiled golddigger, I complained that A New Leaf was not available on DVD; then, a mere 2 years and 2 months later, the film came out on DVD (which I celebrated alongside the September 2012 classic movie picks)! Of course, it still hadn't been shown on TCM. And so I began my imaginary letter-writing campaign (it works sort of like The Secret) to get this darkly comic romance into its rightful place in the TCM rotation. Now, seven months after my first victory, I've done it again! So, on 5/31 at 8 PM, I'll be toasting the TCM premiere of A New Leaf!
Cheers!
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.)
First things first, as of this week the delightfully dark romantic comedy A New Leaf is finally available on DVD! It stars Walter Matthau as a spoiled Manhattanite who can't accept the fact that he's broke. A solution to his money troubles appears in the form of a mousy, but rich, botanist played by Elaine May, who also wrote and directed the film. Their romance is a bit awkward, since Matthau plans to follow marriage with murder; however, the film overall is funny, sweet, and completely unique. If you haven't seen this film, and don't mind taking a risk, buy this now (or at least rent it)!
9/2: Give 'em a hand
8 PM - Hands of a Stranger (1962)
9:45 PM - The Beast with Five Fingers (1946)
11:30 PM - Mad Love (1935)
12:45 AM - The Hands of Orlac (1925)
In an interesting bit of programming, tonight the TCM elves have given us 3 versions of the same tale - The Hands of Orlac, Mad Love, and Hands of a Stranger - in which an experimental operation gives a concert pianist the hands of a murderer, hands which are not necessarily under his control. Then, in a twist, the elves have thrown in a film with an almost opposite story: In The Beast with Five Fingers a concert pianist's hand is severed, and the hand goes on to become a murderer itself!
9/3, 10:45 AM - The Dot and the Line (1965)
This Academy Award-winning animated short by Chuck Jones is simply delightful. Simple - in that the characters are a dot and a line; delightful - because it succeeds in giving these shapes personalities. A romance for the ages alongside Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy, Scarlet and Rhett, or Harry and Sally.
9/10: Choreo by Jack Cole
8 PM - Tonight and Every Night (1945)
10 PM - On the Riviera (1951)
11:45 PM - Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953)
1:30 AM - Les Girls (1957)
3:30 AM - River of No Return (1954)
As a huge fan of movie musicals, I've certainly seen the work of Jack Cole; however, I was completely unaware of it. So I'm grateful for TCM's tribute to Cole this month and looking forward to learning more about this extremely influential, but little known choreographer. Plus, tonight's line-up gives me a chance to see some of my favorite musical stars - Rita Hayworth, Danny Kaye, and Gene Kelly - in films that aren't shown very often on TCM.
9/16: Around the World with Maggie Smith!
8 PM - Travels with My Aunt (1972)
10 PM - Love, and Pain and the Whole Damn Thing (1973)
It may come as a surprise to some younger viewers, but Dame Maggie Smith, recognizable today as proper schoolmarm Professor McGonagall in the Harry Potter series and Downtown Abbey's Dowager Countess (the Edwardian version of the sassy grandma), was young once. But even as a young woman, like Angela Lansbury before her, Smith often played above her age. Never so much as in Travels with My Aunt, which casts the not-yet-forty Smith as a septuagenarian. The role was originally meant for Katharine Hepburn, but Smith was able to make it her own, earning a Best Actress nomination. In Love... Maggie is once again cast as the older woman opposite a younger leading man. However, she's playing much closer to her own age as a 40 year old "spinster" who has a love affair with an 18 year old college dropout (Timothy Bottoms) on a bus trip through Spain.
By Agatha Christie
9/23, 8 PM - Ten Little Indians (1966)
9/26, 2:15 AM - Murder on the Orient Express (1974)
I love mysteries and I'm on a bit of a Christie kick lately, so I'm looking forward to these adaptations of two of her most popular stories. Ten Little Indians diverges a bit from the original story, but retains the main plot of 10 strangers trapped in a remote location and bumped off one-by-one. Murder on the Orient Express hews much closer to Christie's book and features a formidable cast of stars including Albert Finney as detective Hercule Poirot. This film along with two other all-star adaptations of Poirot stories, Death on the Nile (1978) and Evil Under the Sun (1982), offer a great introduction to Christie's work.
Thursdays in September: Mack Sennett
Producer and director Mack Sennett was a comedy pioneer who worked with many of the great talents of the silent era including Charlie Chaplin, Fatty Arbuckle, the Keystone Cops, and Mabel Normand. TCM is showing 83 shorts and 4 feature-length films by Sennett every Thursday this month in primetime.
