Classic Movie Picks: March 2015

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.)

3/11 - Daytime Thrillers
8 AM - Ministry of Fear (1944)
9:45 AM - Lured (1947)
You know you're a classic movie fan when...you consider taking a sick day from work to stay home and watch TCM. Yep, that's what happens when I see a line-up full of interesting films, like this one. I'd especially like to stay home and watch these two London-set thrillers by two directing masters, Fritz Lang and Douglas Sirk. Thank goodness for the DVR.

3/13: Roadshow Musicals, part 1
8 PM - Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968)
10:45 PM - Oliver! (1968)
1:30 AM - Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1969)
This month's Friday Night Spotlight is on "Roadshow Musicals." This film trend from the 60s and 70s is a foreign concept to today's movie goers -- these elaborate musicals were given advance openings in major cities with reserved seating and special ticket prices. Some were box office successes, but others flopped so badly they were blamed for bankrupting studios. All three of tonight's films are good, in my opinion, though Goodbye, Mr. Chips was one of the flops. This musical remake of the classic 1939 film changes the story a bit, but maintains the basic plot of a reserved teacher whose unexpected marriage opens him up to the world and his students. This version of Chips is worth seeing for Petula Clark as a vicious actress who eventually becomes "Mrs. Chips." I knew Clark could sing, but could she live up to the role (played to perfection by Greer Garson in 1939)? Turns out, she is delightful and really enlivens the entire film.
On the other hand, the musical adaptation of Oliver Twist was so popular it won the Oscar for Best Picture. I first saw Oliver! as a young child and it was a gateway drug into musical fandom (along with Seven Brides for Seven Brothers). Which may seem odd since the story is about an orphan living in horrible poverty surrounded by misfortune - but the songs, so catchy! I write this as a warning to anyone with small children: watching this film could result in your child becoming a fan of musicals. And speaking of the kids, do yours need some nightmare fuel? Then check out Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, specifically for the Child Catcher, voted by British audiences as one of the most frightening onscreen characters ever. Luckily, in this film about an inventor with a flying car that basically saves the world, he is a minor (but memorable) character.

3/15: Inside the Disney Vault!
8 PM - Darby O'Gill and the Little People (1959)
9:45 PM - I Captured the King of the Leprechauns (1959)
10:45 PM - Babes in the Woods (1932)
11 PM -  The Story of Animated Drawing (1955)
12 AM - The Three Caballeros (1944)
1:30 AM - Walt & El Grupo (2008)
3:15 AM - The Fighting Prince of Donegal (1966)
In this trip into the Disney Vault, we'll split our time mainly between Ireland and South America. Darby O'Gill and the Fighting Prince of Donegal are live-action films set in Ireland, while the short I Captured the King of the Leprechauns goes into the folklore behind the Darby O'Gill story. Three Caballeros has always been a favorite of mine; Donald Duck's adventure across several countries with his friends Jose and Panchito is just pure fun. The documentary Walt & El Grupo tells the story of Disney's goodwill tour through South America as he and his team collected material for the Caballeros and other films. 

3/20: Roadshow Musicals, part 2

8 PM - Darling Lili (1970)
10:30 PM - Star! (1968)
1:30 AM - Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967)
Tonight's line-up is for the Julie Andrews fans. While her films may not always be winners, I find that Julie is always on her game. For that reason, I'm excited to see Darling Lili for the first time. This musical, in which Julie plays a German spy romancing WWI flying ace Rock Hudson, was one of the big flops of the era. It will be interesting to see if the public and critics got it right at the time, or if this film deserved a bigger audience. 
One film whose flop status was deserved is Star!, a biopic of British stage star of the 30s and 40s Gertrude Lawrence. Many of the musical numbers are fantastic -- "Jenny" is a real show stopper, truly something to behold -- but the story overall just sags. As someone who owns the Star! soundtrack and has seen this on a big screen, I think I can say with authority that it's for the hardcore only. Do you enjoy camp? (For example, does the image of a sequined-clad Julie riding a zip line through a ring of fire sound like something you NEED to see?) Then this one's for you.
On the other hand, I feel like anyone would enjoy Thoroughly Modern Millie. It's a zany comedy set in the Roaring Twenties with Julie as an independent flapper, guiding her more innocent friend (played by Mary Tyler Moore) through the most up-to-date fashion and dance trends, while also trying to seduce her handsome, but clueless, boss. This one is another gateway drug into musical fandom. You've been warned.

3/24, 9 PM - The In-Laws (1979)
"Serpentine! Serpentine!"
This classic buddy comedy stars Alan Arkin as a father-of-the-bride dragged along on a series of crazy adventures by father-of-the-groom Peter Falk, who claims to be a CIA agent. Arkin's mild-mannered dentist finds himself thrown into an espionage plot complete with shoot outs and shady dictators, causing him to question whether his daughter should be marrying into Falk's family.
BONUS PICK: 3/24, 4:15 AM, Hearts of the West (1975)
I'm intrigued by this comedy starring Jeff Bridges as an aspiring novelist who, through a series of misadventures, ends up in 1930s Hollywood making low-budget Westerns. The cast includes Alan Arkin as a temperamental director, as well as Andy Griffith and Blythe Danner.

You may know her from...

In a recent post I wrote about some of my favorite roles for Anthony Perkins, Sterling Hayden, and Walter Matthau, three actors whose most well-known roles defined their on-screen personas. Now, since I am an equal opportunity blogger, I've chosen some lesser-known, but memorable, performances by three actresses.

Julie Andrews is known to any movie fan as a lovely songbird/nanny/governess/nun, or for the younger generation, a secretly-wished-for grandmother. However, in the musical biography Star! (1968), she plays legendary stage actress Gertrude Lawrence, not a woman to whom you would entrust your children. Her acrobatic musical routine "Jenny," done in a jewel-encrusted jumpsuit (those can't be mere sequins!) on a circus-themed set, is a true highlight. This film is one of the last big-budget studio musical extravaganzas. Unfortunately, it was not a hit at the time of its release and is often cited as one of the expensive failures which bankrupted the Twentieth Century Fox studio. Nevertheless, Julie Andrews will blow you away with her tour de force performance! At nearly three hours, Star! isn't shown on television very often, but it is available on DVD and worth renting (or owning).

In recent years, Shirley MacLaine has specialized in acerbic grandmother roles (Rumor Has It, In Her Shoes). But as a young actress, MacLaine played women who were plucky, yet vulnerable, and often someone who had suffered her share of hard knocks (The Apartment, Some Came Running, Sweet Charity). Her role in the caper comedy Gambit (1966) wasn't really a departure from this type of character, but I'm mentioning it here because I think it's a film that's been largely forgotten. I discovered this film, which also stars Michael Caine, late one night on TCM. I love a good heist film, and this one has a great twist right at the beginning. According to IMDB.com, this film might get remade by the Coen Brothers; hopefully the remake will spur a DVD release of the original.

Sometimes fate is cruel and the role for which you remember an actress isn't exactly her best work. Therefore, I suspect the reason I've never warmed toward Faye Dunaway is that my first memory of her is as the wicked Selena in Supergirl (1984). She was a frightening sorceress who lured men to her lair inside a haunted house in order to have them do her bidding - it was all too scandalous for my young self! So, it is hard for me to be objective no matter what role Dunaway plays. The Thomas Crown Affair? Scary - possibly due to her bizarre late-60s hair and nails. Bonnie and Clyde? She got what she deserved. Network? No surprise, actually sort of evil. Despite a reputation as one of the worst entries in the Superman franchise, Supergirl does have some fans (if the IMDB.com message boards are to be believed) and a double disc DVD was released a few years ago.

Classic Movie Picks: February

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.)

This month TCM begins their annual "31 Days of Oscar" programming in honor of the Academy Awards. If you enjoy the Academy Awards and their history, as I do, this is a fun time of year. All the films scheduled for the next 31 days will be Oscar winners or nominees. This year, as an added twist, the schedule also incorporates a variation on "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon" by linking each film through a common performer. So, the first film of the month is Only When I Laugh with Bacon and James Coco, followed by Man of La Mancha featuring Coco and Harry Andrews, followed by the Harry Andrews film 55 Days at Peking, and so on...ending March 3 with Diner starring Kevin Bacon. No connections or films will be repeated throughout the entire month!
Obviously, each film during 31 Days of Oscar has something to recommend it, whether it be a lead performance, score, or costume design. So, to narrow down the field I've selected films which feature some of my favorite leading ladies.

2/7, 5:30 AM: The Actress (1953)
This is a biopic starring the lovely Jean Simmons as Ruth Gordon - yes, the Ruth Gordon. Though she's probably best known today as the kooky old lady from Harold and Maude, her career as an actress began decades earlier. The screenplay for The Actress was adapted by Gordon from her autobiographical play and it covers her early career in the theater. Spencer Tracy and Teresa Wright (such a favorite actress of mine, I made her my profile picture on this site!) lead an impressive cast as Gordon's parents; however, I must admit my real interest lies in Gordon's story. She began acting on the stage in 1915; fifty-three years later, at the age of 74, she won the Best Supporting Actress Academy Award for her role in Rosemary's Baby. Her acceptance speech began, "I can't tell you how encouragin' this is..." In between those milestones she and her husband, writer-director Garson Kanin, collaborated on the screenplays for the Katharine Hepburn-Spencer Tracy classics Adam's Rib and Pat and Mike. In fact, the onscreen relationship between Hepburn and Tracy was modeled on the Kanin marriage. Unfortunately, The Actress only deals with a small portion of Gordon's interesting life, but I am eager to see it just the same.

2/14: A Jean Arthur Triple Feature!
10 AM - A Foreign Affair (1948)
12 PM - The More the Merrier (1943)
2 PM - The Devil and Miss Jones (1941)
One of Hollywood's most unique leading ladies of the 30s and 40s, Jean Arthur was particularly adept at screwball comedy whether she was playing the baby-faced innocent or the worldly wiseacre. In a nod to the quality of Ms. Arthur's films, TCM is playing at least four more throughout this month of award winners: 2/8, 9:15 AM - Mr. Smith Goes to Washington; 2/9, 8:45 AM - Too Many Husbands; 2/9, 2 PM - The Talk of the Town; 2/28, 10:15 AM - You Can't Take it With You.

2/26, 8 PM: Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967)
Julie Andrews has to be one of the most likeable screen presences there is. I've never seen her be anything less than delightful on film and her turn here as Millie is no exception. In my opinion, this film would be worth a watch just for Julie; however, Thoroughly Modern Millie happens to be one of the funniest movie musicals ever made, blending elements of slapstick and farce with plenty of memorable tunes. This film was recently adapted into a popular Broadway musical, so it's not inconceivable that it could be remade into a film in the not-too-distant-future. Watch the original now! Then, when the new version comes out you can act superior and say you've long been a fan and, in all honesty, prefer the original. (Isn't that the secret delight of all classic movie geeks?)

Of course, these aren't the only films I'll be watching! With 31 days of award-winning cinema to take in, I'm afraid I'll barely be leaving the couch!