skip to main |
skip to sidebar
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.)
1/4, 10 PM - Reds (1981)
Scheduled as part of an evening highlighting "quadruple threats," Reds was directed, produced, and written (with the assistance of playwright Trevor Griffiths and screenwriters Robert Towne and Elaine May) by Warren Beatty. Beatty also stars as journalist/activist/adventurer John Reed, whose best-known work Ten Days That Shook the World, chronicled the Russian Bolsheviks' rise to power in 1919. The film takes us along for Reed's many exploits, while also focusing on his romance with journalist Louise Bryant (played by Diane Keaton). Reds received 12 Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, screenplay, and acting nods for Beatty and Keaton, and ultimately won three awards for Maureen Stapleton's supporting performance as anarchist Emma Goldman, Vittorio Storaro's cinematography, and Beatty's direction. Beatty holds the distinction, shared only by Orson Welles (I believe), of earning Oscar nominations for acting, writing, producing, and directing in the same year. Of course, Welles only did that once, while Beatty managed it twice. (His first quadruple-threat effort, 1978's Heaven Can Wait, will be shown tonight at 8PM.) Because Beatty is a multi-talented filmmaker, and so indelibly associated with Hollywood, I was surprised to learn that he has acted in only seven films in the 35 years since Reds. And despite being an Oscar-winning director, he has only directed 3 more films since Reds. However, he hasn't retired -- his latest film, Rules Don't Apply, was released in late 2016.
1/20: The Saint Marathon
8 PM - The Saint in New York (1938)
9:30 PM - The Saint Strikes Back (1939)
10:45 PM - The Saint in London (1939)
12:15 AM - The Saint's Double Trouble (1940)
1:30 AM - The Saint in Palm Springs (1941)
2:45 AM - The Saint's Vacation (1941)
4 AM - The Saint Meets the Tiger (1943)
Gentleman detective/vigilante Simon Templar, aka The Saint, was born from a series of stories by Leslie Charteris. As described by the author, Templar was "a roaming adventurer who loves a fight...a dashing daredevil, imperturbable, debonair, preposterously handsome, a pirate or a philanthropist, as the occasion demands." A character like that was a natural for a film adaptation, plus his backstory as a former criminal gave the Saint a morally-gray edge and left him open to using not-necessarily-legal means for bringing down his adversaries. In this series of Saint films from the 30s and 40s, our hero's varied exploits include killing NYC crime bosses, seeking vengeance for a policeman's daughter, acting a bodyguard to a stamp collector, and unmasking a gang of gold smugglers. In the films on tonight's schedule, Templar is portrayed by Louis Hayward, George Sanders, and Hugh Sinclair. Charteris felt that the actors selected to play his creation were hopelessly miscast, preferring instead a Ronald Colman, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., or Cary Grant. But those were "A List" stars, and these were low budget "B" pictures. However, audiences didn't seem to agree with the author as the Saint films were quite popular. Sanders in particular was so popular as the Saint (though he hated the role), he was later cast in a similar series of detective pictures as "The Falcon."
1/26: Jane & Ross & Douglas & Rock
8 PM - Magnificent Obsession (1954)
10 PM - All That Heaven Allows (1955)
Star of the Month Jane Wyman had many phases to her long acting career, from chipper chorine to soap opera matriarch. In the 1950s, following her Best Actress Oscar for Johnny Belinda (1948), Jane was the queen of the dramatic tearjerker. The best films from this period were her collaborations with director Douglas Sirk and producer Ross Hunter who specialized in films which combined style, schmaltz, and social commentary. Young beefcake Rock Hudson got his breakthrough dramatic role in Magnificent Obsession. The team came back together for another winner the next year with All That Heaven Allows. Each film follows a similar formula -- Wyman is a widow who falls in love with the much younger Hudson, to the disapproval of society, and each finds redemption in their love -- though the details and plot twists change. The melodramatic stories are elevated through appealing performances from the leads and impeccable production design (shown in glorious Technicolor).
1/27: TCM Remembers Debbie Reynolds
6 AM - It Started with a Kiss (1959)
7:45 AM - Bundle of Joy (1956)
9:30 AM - How The West Was Won (1962)
12:30 PM - The Tender Trap (1955)
2:30 PM - Hit the Deck (1955)
4:30 PM - I Love Melvin (1953)
6 PM - Singin' in the Rain (1952)
8 PM - The Unsinkable Molly Brown (1964)
10:30 PM - The Mating Game (1959)
12:30 AM - The Catered Affair (1956)
2:15 AM - The Singing Nun (1966)
4 AM - How Sweet It Is! (1968)
In tribute to the late Debbie Reynolds, TCM has pre-empted its original schedule to devote the day to her films. I intend to watch every single one.
Reynolds was America's Sweetheart in the 1950s, and considering her pretty looks, appealing alto voice, and spunky energy it is easy to see why. Not all her films are masterpieces, but she brought vivacity and spirit to each role, which, for me at least, makes any Debbie Reynolds film worth watching.
Today's line-up includes several films which were important to Reynolds' career and to cinema history, starting in the morning with Bundle of Joy. A musical remake of the Ginger Rogers film Bachelor Mother, the film was designed to capitalize on the publicity surrounding the marriage of Reynolds and co-star Eddie Fisher. Though the marriage didn't last, it did produce Reynolds' beloved children Carrie and Todd Fisher. In fact, Reynolds was pregnant with their daughter during filming -- a bit of trivia which seems more amazing as you watch Reynolds fly through high energy dance numbers while seven months pregnant!
Reynolds was part of the all-star cast of How the West Was Won, the first film shot in Cinerama -- a widescreen process which required three cameras placed side-by-side to film, and three projectors to screen it on a special wide, curved screen. The complications of filming and projecting Cinerama prevented it from taking off, but I imagine it was dazzling in its day, a predecessor of today's IMAX experience. (See if you can spot the lines separating the three images in the finished film.)
Her breakout role came in Singin' in the Rain, as Debbie proved that despite no professional dance experience she could keep up with veteran hoofers Gene Kelly and Donald O'Connor. She worked tirelessly to get the steps, a work ethic which would be a hallmark of her long career, and in the film she makes it look effortless.
Reynolds would continue to star in musicals through the 50s and 60s, the most successful being The Unsinkable Molly Brown. Her performance in the title role garnered an Oscar nomination, and perhaps more impressively, inspired astronauts Gus Grissom and John Young to name their Gemini 3 spacecraft "Molly Brown." The lively and ultimately "unsinkable" Brown would come to be synonymous with Reynolds herself -- weathering life's triumphs and tragedies with an indomitable spirit.
Read TCM's tribute to Reynolds here
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.)
7/7, 8 PM - All the President's Men (1976)
This film is showing as part of a series on Thursday nights: America in the 70s - The Films that Defined a Decade. All the President's Men certainly fits the bill since it deals with the Watergate scandal, one of the defining events of the 70s which led to the first and only time in history that a sitting President resigned from office. The plot follows Washington Post journalists Bob Woodward (Robert Redford) and Carl Bernstein (Dustin Hoffman) as they look into the Watergate break-in and uncover the shocking details -- shocking not only because it went to the highest levels of the executive branch, but also because of the unbelievable stupidity and ineptitude of some of the players. Dramatic and suspenseful, but also surprisingly funny, I think it's pretty close to perfect. The film received Academy Awards for art direction, sound, screenplay, and supporting actor Jason Robards. What beat it out for best picture? Another decade-defining film: Rocky.
7/15: Starring Olivia de Havilland
8 PM - The Snake Pit (1948)
10 PM - The Heiress (1949)
12:15 AM - To Each His Own (1946)
Olivia de Havilland, one of the last surviving stars of the Golden Age of Hollywood, is the Star of the Month for July in honor of her 100th birthday this year. As an ingenue in the 30s, her beauty was undeniable and she was paired with the equally attractive Errol Flynn in nine films. But she wanted to be more than a pretty love interest and desired to gain respect for her acting ability by taking on more challenging roles. Eventually de Havilland received five Oscar nominations, winning Best Actress twice, and three of those performances are featured tonight.
In The Snake Pit, a "social issues" picture about the state of mental hospitals, Olivia plays a young woman who is institutionalized. With greasy hair and no makeup, this character is a far cry from her more glamorous roles, but she does a good job portraying someone whose sense of reality is at odds with the world around her. As the title character in The Heiress, Olivia is once again de-glamorized to play a plain, lonely woman who longs to escape from her overbearing father and falls for a handsome fortune-hunter (as played by Montgomery Clift one can hardly blame the girl). In To Each His Own, our leading lady finally gets to wear some lipstick to play an unwed mother who must give up her son, then encounters him later in life. The combination of her natural beauty, expressive face, and ethereal manner make de Havilland a wonderful screen presence. I'm looking forward to seeing many more of her films on Friday nights this month.
Walter Matthau: Man of Action
7/16, 10 PM - Charley Varrick (1973)
7/21, 8 PM - The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974)
Walter Matthau's most familiar roles tend to be in comedies as an irascible slob, seedy fast-talker, or grumpy old man. However, in his long and varied career Matthau was also an unlikely romantic lead several times, as well as the star of several crime/caper films in which he played both the heavy and the hero.
As the title character in Charley Varrick, Matthau is an anti-hero, "the last of the independents." After his gang of small time bank robbers accidentally steals the mob's money, Matthau must use all his wits to outrun a mob hit man (played with hammy glee by Joe Don Baker) and get away clean. Though he won a Best Actor BAFTA (the British Academy Award equivalent) for this role, Matthau was very vocal about not liking the film because he thought it wasn't understandable. There are definitely some twists, but whether you can anticipate the plot or not, it is still a fun ride.
In Pelham, Matthau is on the right side of the law as a NYC transit police lieutenant up against Robert Shaw as the leader of a criminal gang who holds a subway train hostage. As the hilariously over-the-top poster tells us, the gang will kill a passenger a minute until they get the $1 million ransom -- but even if they get the money, how will they possibly get away? This one also has it's share of surprises and sets the bar for clever crime thrillers.
These two picks are great examples of a type of crime film which had a bit of a renaissance in the mid-70s. These films featured intelligent criminals and, though violent, kept the action on a human scale. They are filled with the mundane locations of everyday life - subways, trailer parks, modest apartments - and everyone, from cop to criminal, looks like a regular guy off the street. Just contrast this with a film in the same genre from the 1980s, Die Hard (which is also great, by the way). Instead of the likes of Matthau, Robert Shaw, and Martin Balsam, you have the dapper Alan Rickman and his crew of body builders pulling off a heist in a fancy LA high-rise. It's still a good movie, but one with an entirely different aesthetic which favors spectacle over realism.
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.)
5/9, 10 PM - Two Guys from Milwaukee (1946)
Blustery comic Jack Carson and handsome crooner Dennis Morgan were Warner Brothers' version of Paramount's popular screen duo Bing Crosby and Bob Hope. Carson and Morgan made 11 films together, though not all were starring vehicles for them as a team. Reportedly friends in real life, the two have an easy chemistry which makes their films fun to watch.
In Milwaukee, Morgan is a Balkan prince who slips away from his security detail while in New York City in order to see how the common folk live (and possibly meet his favorite starlet, Lauren Bacall). Carson is the streetwise cabbie who takes the prince under his wing after Morgan claims to be from Carson's hometown of Milwaukee. The rest of the cast is full of solid Warners contract players like Joan Leslie and Janis Paige providing romantic intrigue and S.Z. Sakall bringing his inimitable brand of comic relief. Luckily Lauren Bacall was also under contract at Warners, so she shows up for a cameo, too, alongside new husband Humphrey Bogart.
5/23: Peabody Award Winners
8 PM - Green Eyes (1977)
10 PM - Hoop Dreams (1994)
1 AM - Promise (1986)
3 AM - George Wallace (1997)
This year marks the 75th anniversary of the Peabody Awards, which honor outstanding achievement in media. TCM is showing four Peabody-winning films, three of which were originally made for TV. Green Eyes stars the great Paul Winfield as a Vietnam vet who returns to southeast Asia to find the son he left behind. Made in 1977, this film was one of the first to show the effects of the Vietnam war on veterans. In Promise, James Garner stars as a man who must assume custody of his schizophrenic younger brother, played by James Woods, after the death of their mother. Woods received an Emmy and Golden Globe for his performance. George Wallace is a biopic about the four term governor of Alabama who was a proponent of racial segregation, then changed his views late in life. In award-winning performances all around, Gary Sinise stars as Wallace and Mare Winningham and Angelina Jolie play his first and second wives Lurleen and Cornelia.
The fourth film of the night is the watershed documentary Hoop Dreams. The film by noted documentarian Steve James follows two Chicago teens with dreams of playing in the NBA. Their lives don't follow the predictable path of a Hollywood plot; watching these two families confront numerous obstacles and how it affects their pursuit of the American dream will keep you riveted. Despite winning a Peabody, and being one of the most critically acclaimed documentaries of all time, Hoop Dreams was not even nominated for an Academy Award. The public outcry at the time resulted in the Academy changing its nomination process for documentaries, making it impossible for a small group of voters to skew the results in favor of their favorites, as had been the case before.
5/26, 8 PM - The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971)
On Thursdays this month, TCM is spotlighting the movies of American International Pictures. AIP was an independent production company in the 50s, 60s, and 70s known for low budget movies aimed at teenagers, ranging from the kooky antics of Beach Party antics to biker gang delinquents to goofy horror movies starring Vincent Price, like tonight's feature in which Price plays the titular Dr. Phibes.
The mysterious Phibes is killing off a string of doctors whom he blames for the untimely death of Mrs. Phibes. The deaths, arbitrarily based the Old Testament plagues, just get more and more gruesome and improbable. However, the film is self-aware enough to have fun with the over-the-top story and sprinkles in moments of black comedy, such when a detective arriving at a murder scene remarks, "A brass unicorn has been catapulted across a London street and impaled an eminent surgeon...words fail me, gentlemen."
It is no surprise that director Robert Fuest was also an art director; the "Edwardian England meets Swinging London" sets are a feast for the eyes, particularly Phibes' bizarre lair where he lives and with his equally enigmatic female assistant Vulnavia. (Yes, Vulnavia.) The plot is almost secondary to the unexpected and creative visuals - I would describe them in more detail, but don't want to ruin the surprise of seeing everything for the first time.
This is a thoroughly weird little movie and probably not for everyone, but if you have an appreciation for camp and creativity, you'll find plenty to like about Phibes.
5/27, 7:15 AM - Chang (1927)
Chang is a silent pseudo-documentary from filmmaker-adventurers Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack made six years before their best-known creation, King Kong. The film follows a family of Lao tribesman living in the jungles of northern Siam. The film sought to portray the day-to-day life of the Lao and the dangers they faced in the untamed jungle. Though the people are not actors, most of the scenes were staged reenactments -- a common practice of "documentary" film of the time, but one which makes the film seem less than authentic today. Much of the film concerns the wild animals encountered by the tribe -- including tigers, leopards, and elephants -- and these scenes are all extremely exciting. While the situation may have been staged for the benefit of the film, the tiger charging at the cameraman is still very real and very dangerous. These scenes give the film the feeling of a rip-roaring adventure tale.
Chang was nominated in the first Academy Awards in the category of "Unique and Artistic Picture," a separate category from Best Picture, but one which was considered of equal prestige. It is a truly unique film and if you're interested in learning more about it, my co-blogger A.J. reviewed Chang for his best pictures series.
