Classic Movie Picks: April 2013

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.)

Game of Thrones returns to HBO tonight and I can only determine that my excitement for the new season has made me a bit bloodthirsty. How else to explain why almost all my picks for April revolve around murder?

4/7, 10 PM - Diabolique (1955)
On this evening devoted to masters of suspense, my pick would be this classic French thriller from director Henri-Georges Clouzot. Two women conspire to murder a cruel, abusive school master in a meticulously plotted crime; however, once the deed is done they continue to feel his presence - is it a ghost or did he somehow survive?

BONUS: 4/7, 2 AM - The Murderer Lives at Number 21 (1947)
Clouzot's first film is a bit lighter than the thrillers for which he's best known; however, murder is still at the heart of the story. Inspector Wens of the Paris police and his girlfriend Mila are like a French answer to Nick and Nora Charles as they track down a serial killer.

4/8, 8 PM - Roxie Hart (1942)
Ginger Rogers stars as the fame-hungry Roxie, who sees a murder trial as her ticket to stardom during the Roaring '20s, in this earlier version of the story made famous by the stage and screen musical Chicago.

4/9, 4:15 AM - The Verdict (1946)
This film bears little resemblence to the Paul Newman vehicle of the same name, starting with leading man Sydney Greenstreet. Warner Brothers supporting player Greenstreet and fellow character actor Peter Lorre are the stars for a change in this film about a "perfect crime." Of course, half the fun of a perfect crime is watching the perpetrators squirm as their plan inevitably unravels.

4/13, 10:15 PM - Unfaithfully Yours (1948)
In this screwball comedy from writer-director Preston Sturges, Rex Harrison played an egotistical symphony conductor who believes his wife has been unfaithful. During a concert he imagines three scenarios for dealing with her - including murder; however, his bumbling actions thwart his plans in the real world. Linda Darnell, "the girl with the perfect face," co-stars as the accused wife.

A Women's World: The Defining Era of Women in Film
TCM's Friday Night Spotlight this month features "woman's films" from the 1930s through 50s. The series is co-hosted by Robert Osborne and Cher, which would be incentive enough for me to tune in; however, the line-up of films showing life from a female perspective would be strong enough to draw me in without the promise of intros by Cher. I'm especially interested in the theme for week four, Women Taking Charge, featuring Ginger Rogers, Claudette Colbert, and (of course) Bette Davis.
4/26, 8 PM - The Great Lie (1941)
10 PM - Kitty Foyle (1940)
12 AM - The Palm Beach Story (1942)
1:45 AM - The Women (1939)

A Stripper is Born

by Lani

Because I am mildly interested in any movie which contains musical numbers, it was only a matter of time before I would see Burlesque. Starring Christina Aguilera and Cher as a hungry up-and-comer and a jaded veteran of the stage, respectively, Burlesque looked like a combination of Chicago and Showgirls...encrusted with rhinestones and sequins and wearing a feather headdress. The anticipation was palpable.

It has been awhile since I saw a decent modern musical film. I'm not asking for something that stands up to Singin in the Rain, I just want something fun with catchy music and dancing. The big musical of 2009, Nine, ultimately took itself too seriously to be fun; but Burlesque could not possibly take itself too seriously because it stars Cher, who doesn't even take herself seriously. Furthermore, Nine was cast to the gills with Oscar-winners who are not also singers, but here Cher has the upper-hand again because she is both.

Well, Burlesque is now on video and I have seen it. I wouldn't suggest that anyone seek it out, but if you, too, feel unable to resist the lure of this movie then, by all means, watch it. However, I suggest you also listen to episode #1 of the How Did This Get Made? podcast which delves into the many ridiculous and problematic elements of Burlesque - including Tony award-winner Alan Cumming's appearance as a glorified extra, Stanley Tucci playing literally the same character he played in The Devil Wears Prada, and an excessive use of wigs. Unfortunately, the biggest problem with Burlesque is the lack of consensus about what "burlesque" actually is. Is it, as Cher explains in the one number, the seemingly counterproductive process of showing "a little more" then showing "a little less"? Is it go-go dancing? Is it lip-syncing to Megan Mullaly CDs? (It is none of these.)

For a more definitive portrayal of the art of the striptease, I suggest you look to Gypsy (1962), the classic musical biopic of famed burlesque dancer Gypsy Rose Lee. More specifically, watch the "You Gotta Have a Gimmick" number in which three experienced performers explain the finer points of their profession to young Rose. Sure, it isn't exactly realistic, but at least this film acknowledges that burlesque dancers are supposed to take their clothes off.

I think my favorite burlesque-themed film would have to be She's Working Her Way Through College (1952) starring Virginia Mayo and Ronald Reagan. As you may have guessed from the title, Mayo is working her way through college by stripping at the burly-q. With the encouragement of her teacher, played by Reagan, she brings her talents to the school's struggling drama department. In the end, the students put on a lavish musical which, like all musical productions put on by film characters, has no plot and no songs that relate to each other in any way.

But under all the wigs, Burlesque follows a tried-and-true formula: the nobody who goes out on stage and comes back a star. In this case, Aguilera achieves stardom as a singer in a burlesque club, so the pinnacle of her success is getting her photo in the weekend section of the newspaper. Though it wasn't the first film to use the formula, A Star is Born has become the archetype for this type of showbiz story. In both the 1937 version and its 1954 musical remake, little Vicki Lester becomes a movie star almost overnight, even going on to win an Oscar. Unfortunately, her husband is a drunk and he can't handle her success in the face of his own professional failures.

A Star is Born doesn't have much in common with Burlesque; however, one could argue that both films deserve to be remade. A Star is Born has been made three times (and a fourth version may be coming soon) because it is an affecting story that can be adapted to any decade and appeals to a wide audience; Burlesque should be remade because it's terrible.