13 Nights of Shocktober: The Company of Wolves

by A.J. 

This is my favorite time of year, second only to Christmas. Autumn has arrived, the weather is cooling down, and October becomes the month long celebration of scary movies called Shocktober. There are a lot of horror movies out there, but as a genre, horror is still looked down upon by some mainstream critics and moviegoers. It doesn’t help that, admittedly, there are so few quality horror movies made but, like comedy, it’s a very difficult and subjective genre. So, in the days leading up Halloween I’ll be posting some recommendations for scary movies to help you celebrate Shocktober.

Night 6: Werewolf Party Night, "As you're pretty, so be wise/ Wolves may lurk in every guise/ Now as then, 'tis simple truth/ Sweetest tongue has sharpest tooth."

The Company of Wolves

The Company of Wolves, released in 1985, is a fantastically dark and surreal fairy tale about the dangers lurking in the deep, dark woods for young girls, especially ones that wear red hoods and venture to grandmother’s house, but this movie is more than just an adult reworking of Little Red Riding Hood. Directed by Neil Jordan and co-written by Jordan and Angela Carter, from Carter’s story of the same name, The Company of Wolves brings to the forefront the warnings and hidden truths that make fairy tales a fount of childhood nightmares. The entire movie itself is one young girl’s nightmare. 

The film begins at a home in the English countryside but quickly moves into the dream of teenage Rosaleen. Her dream will more than once slip into nightmare territory. No part of the peasant village or the woods where her dream takes place ever feels entirely safe. There is no specific time period for the village setting; it seems to take place “once upon a time…" Everything about her dream, and thus the movie, feels simultaneously familiar and strange. Everything feels like a distorted reflection of a waking counterpart. As her dream begins we see her sister being chased by wolves running past distorted, surreal versions of thing in Rosaleen's room, like the giant stuffed bear that tries to grab her.

Rosaleen spends much of her time with her Granny, played with great but subtle authority by Angela Lansbury, listening to her stories. Granny is full of wisdom both practical (never eat a windblown apple) and cryptic (never trust a man whose eyebrows meet, he’ll show his true nature in the moonlight). She never hides the darker side of life from her granddaughter. Granny begins her stories with, yes, “once upon a time…” When Rosaleen asks if a young bride and groom in a story live happily ever after, Granny replies quickly, “Indeed they did not!” The groom showed his true beastly nature on their wedding night.

Because The Company of Wolves takes place in a dream, many things are possible and it could delve into the wildly fantastic but it is smart enough to restrain itself. The village and surrounding dark woods were built and shot on soundstages and though everything looks clearly artificial it all feels right for Rosaleen’s dream. The sets are dark, nightmarish, and macabre, but also familiar. Since the setting and characters are from the realm of the familiar, we are jarred when the surreal and macabre poke into Rosaleen’s world. She finds that an egg in a bird’s nest hatches into something made of stone. Rosaleen’s father returns from hunting and killing the wolf that killed her sister with its severed paw of as a trophy. It was a paw when he took it, he says, but the trophy has turned into a human hand.

This is a different kind of werewolf movie. It seems that any man can change into a wolf and any wolf can change into a man, not because of a bite or a curse, but because of their true, hidden nature. There is a confrontation at the climax of the film when Rosaleen sets off to Granny’s house in her red hood and on the path meets a man whose eyebrows meet. It plays out very differently than the traditional fairy tale. The words of Rosaleen’s mother echo through the final act: “You pay too much attention to your granny. She knows a lot but she doesn't know everything. And if there's a beast in men, it meets its match in women too.”

The Company of Wolves is a wonderful nightmare. I’ve seen very few films that successfully convey how a dream can feel completely bizarre and utterly real at the same time. Everything makes sense as it is happening even if you don’t know why or how it is happening or what will happen next. You might think that because the movie is a dream there is no weight to the scenes or no real danger to Rosaleen. However, every encounter and experience Rosaleen has are rooted in very real fears and anxieties that the sleeping adolescent Rosaleen likely does not yet fully understand. Even if they came to her in a dream, the lessons of Granny’s stories are very real. This is horror that does not make you jump out of your seat or shut your eyes. This is horror that wants to disturb and stir the thoughts buried deep down in your mind. 

Classic Movie Picks: January 2014

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.)

Happy New Year! January on TCM is dominated by Star of the Month Joan Crawford. Pickings were scarce if you're not a big fan of la Joan, but I've collected a few picks with some unintentional connecting threads: Private Screenings...Academy Awards...and Murder, She Wrote?

1/6, 8 PM and 11:30 PM - Private Screenings: Robert Osborne
In this special episode of TCM's series, Alec Baldwin steps into the role of host to interview Robert Osborne about his life and career -- including his nearly 30 years as the host of Turner Classic Movies. We'll get to see clips of Osborne's most memorable Private Screenings interviews with classic film stars, as well as clips from his early appearances as an actor on TV shows such as The Beverly Hillbillies.
I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Osborne when I appeared as a fan programmer on TCM a few years ago and last September I saw him give a special presentation about Gone with the Wind. He is truly a class act with a treasure trove of knowledge about classic film. I look forward to learning more about his career before TCM and how he got his start in Hollywood.

Bob and me - as seen on TV!

1/15: Birthday Tribute to Margaret O'Brien
8:30 AM - Private Screenings: Child Stars (2006)
6 PM - Our Vines Have Tender Grapes (1945)
Margaret O'Brien, who turns 76 today, was one of classic Hollywood's great child stars. During the day, TCM is showing 6 of her films, as well as a Private Screenings episode featuring interviews with O'Brien as well as other child stars of the era Jane Withers, Darryl Hickman, and Dickie Moore. Our Vines Have Tender Grapes is a warm and fuzzy story of a Norwegian immigrants making a life in rural Wisconsin. The ever versatile Edward G. Robinson plays Margaret's father in the film and the little girl was more than up to the task of acting opposite the great actor. The year she made this film, at age 8, O'Brien was awarded a special Juvenile Academy Award for her performance in the previous year's Meet Me in St. Louis.

1/25, 12:15 AM - Rollercoaster (1977)
This entry in tonight's lineup of 1970s thrillers (Jaws at 8 PM, Alien at 10:15 PM) follows that decade's trend of disaster movies starring a sprawling cast featuring a mix Hollywood veterans and newcomers. However, Rollercoaster is more of suspense story than others in the disaster genre, centered on a cat-and-mouse game between a young terrorist threatening sabotage in several amusement parks and the detective trying to stop him. It features a very 70s cast headed by George Segal, Timothy Bottoms, and Richard Widmark. Also look for a young Steve Guttenberg, 13-year-old Helen Hunt (in her film debut), and a cameo by Henry Fonda. In researching this film, I discovered that the writers, Richard Levinson and William Link, wrote many episodes of my favorite mystery TV shows -- Columbo, Ellery Queen, and Murder, She Wrote. Before I knew about the writers, I wasn't sure about this film; the disaster genre often has weak characters and plot, in addition to relying on overblown spectacle; however, knowing that this film favors plot more than explosions makes me optimistic that I'll enjoy it.

1/29: Academy Governor's Award Winners
8 PM - The Manchurian Candidate (1962)
10:15 PM - The Harvey Girls (1946)
12:15 AM - Pennies From Heaven (1981)
2:15 AM - Father of the Bride (1991)
4:15 AM - I Compagni (1963)
6:30 AM - Le Notti Bianche (1961)
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences handed out these honorary Oscars in a special ceremony last November, along with the Jean Herscholt Humanitarian Award to Angelina Jolie. As an appetizer for "31 Days of Oscar" in February, tonight TCM features the work of the three Governor's Award honorees: Angela Lansbury, Steve Martin, and Piero Tosi. 
Lansbury will always live in my heart as my honorary grandma for her work as Jessica Fletcher on Murder, She Wrote. But she has also received three Oscar nominations for Best Supporting Actress for her film work, including for what is probably her most celebrated movie role -- "Raymond's mother" in The Manchurian Candidate, the first film in tonight's line up. Though she was a trained singer (and subsequently won 4 of her 5 Tony awards for musicals), Lansbury's singing voice was dubbed in The Harvey Girls. In a Private Screenings interview, Lansbury admitted that it was the right choice. The full-throated alto of Virginia Rees which you hear in the film was better suited to the character of scheming saloon girl Em than Lansbury's natural high soprano.
Tonight's selections honoring Steve Martin show his dramatic and comedic sides. Father of the Bride shows the Martin most recognizable to today's moviegoers; playing the befuddled father of a bride-to-be in a light, family comedy. On the other hand, Pennies From Heaven might be Martin's strangest movie, a serious story about a traveling salesman during the Great Depression, which also features musical numbers in which the actors all lip-synch to recordings from the era.
The final honoree tonight, Tosi, is a 5-time Oscar nominated costume designer, known especially for his work with Italian new wave directors such as Luchino Visconti and Federico Fellini. The two films showing tonight are both stories about working-class Italian life starring Marcello Mastroianni. However, it was Tosi's more lavish designs for films like The Leopard, Death in Venice, and La Cage Aux Folles which attracted the notice of the Academy.

Angela Lansbury, George Murphy, and Margaret O'Brien from Tenth Avenue Angel

Classic Movie Picks: January

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.)

My New Year's resolution is to "discover" a new film each month by watching something I've never seen before. January has many interesting prospects; in fact, of the 21 films I've listed here, I've only seen 7! Happy New Year, and here's to another year of classic movies!

Star of the Month: Angela Lansbury
I first came to know Lansbury on TV, as novelist & amateur sleuth Jessica Fletcher on Murder, She Wrote. At that time, I had no idea that television was just the latest arena of entertainment in which Lansbury had made her mark. As Robert Osborne details in his Star of the Month article, Lansbury's long career includes great successes in film, on Broadway, and on television - a feat that arguably no other entertainer can claim. TCM is airing her films each Wednesday in January and I've singled out some of my favorites below; however, the entire month's line-up looks strong. I am especially looking forward to the TCM premiere of a production of Sweeney Todd which was filmed for television in 1982, and stars the Broadway cast. I also highly recommend TCM's Private Screenings interview with Lansbury, airing on January 25. True to form, her interview is one of the best of the series!
1/4, 12:15 AM - The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945)
1/11, 10:15 PM - The Three Musketeers (1948)
1/18, 10 PM - The Manchurian Candidate (1962)
1/18, 2:15 AM - The Court Jester (1956)
1/25, 8 PM - Private Screenings: Angela Lansbury
1/25, 9 PM - Sweeney Todd: Demon Barber of Fleet Street (1982)
1/25, 11:30 PM - Death on the Nile (1978)

Starring Joseph Cotten
He may not be the Star of the Month, but Joseph Cotten is an actor who I always enjoy watching. Cotten gets the spotlight in prime time on January 2nd. That evening I'm especially interested in the premiere of The Steel Trap (1952), a race-against-the-clock thriller co-starring Teresa Wright (another of my faves) as Cotten's wife. He also stars in the period drama Under Capricorn (1949) on January 19, part of the month-long tribute to cinematographer Jack Cardiff, and in Love Letters (1945), a romance co-starring Jennifer Jones. In one of those "only in Hollywood" situations, Cotten had previously starred opposite both Wright and Jones - in Shadow of a Doubt (1943) and Since You Went Away (1944), respectively - but both times he played the actress's older uncle, not a love interest!

1/2, 11:15 PM - The Steel Trap

1/19, 8 PM - Under Capricorn

1/21, 10 PM - Love Letters

1/3: Happy Birthday, Marion Davies!

6 AM - 6:30 PM, 9 films

These days Marion Davies is probably better known for her real-life role as William Randolph Hearst's girlfriend, rather than for her many films. Hearst's championing of Davies' film career, for better and worse, is the stuff of Hollywood legend. Teen-aged Marion was already a Broadway veteran when Hearst vowed to make her a star in pictures. He used his newspapers to give Davies publicity and even created a production company devoted to making her films; however, Hearst's insistence that Davies star in serious dramas, rather than the comedies at which she excelled, also hampered her career. Despite the behind-the-scenes machinations on her behalf, the truth remains that Davies was a charming performer whose talent speaks for itself.

1/31: Governor's Award Winner - James Earl Jones

12 AM - Claudine (1974)

2 AM - Gardens of Stone (1987)

As a prelude to February's "30 Days of Oscar" programming, tonight's films honor the Governor's Awards recipients for 2011, including two TCM premieres starring James Earl Jones. I'm especially interested in Claudine, a working-class romance that was made as a conscious alternative to the blaxsplotation films of the 70s. It was the first, and unfortunately last, project of the Third World Cinema Corporation, a partnership of famous black artists that set out to train minorities in film production and make films which presented a dignified portrayal of African-American life. Gardens of Stone is a story of soldiers stationed at Arlington Cemetery during the Vietnam War; it boasts a rich cast of character actors, including Elias Koteas, Dean Stockwell, and Laurence Fishburne, and was directed by Francis Ford Coppola.

BONUS: TCM is honoring more pioneering African American filmmakers - Charles Burnet, Gordon Parks, Ossie Davis, Sidney Poitier, Melvin Van Peebles - on January 16.