April 2006 – Deborah Kerr
April 2006 – Deborah Kerr
Saturday April 1 – April Fools
6:00 AM Watch On The Rhine (1943)
8:00 AM Odds Against Tomorrow (1959) – full review!
4:00 PM Operation Petticoat (1959) – an above average comedy (nominated for a Best Writing Story & Screenplay Oscar) from director Blake Edwards starring Cary Grant as the Captain of a submarine Tony Curtis as his first officer that can get him anything he needs and Dina Merrill as the head nurse of a group which Grant & Co. must transport in close quarters;-) Also features four future television stars: Dick Sargent (Bewitched) Gavin MacLeod (The Love Boat) Marion Ross (Happy Days) and Arthur O’Connell (various).
6:15 PM The Producers (1968) – see the original! This hilarious Mel Brooks directed comedy earned writer Brooks his only Oscar (for his Story and Screenplay – Written Directly for the Screen) and Gene Wilder his only acting nomination (Supporting). Accountant Wilder devises a way for womanizing producer Zero Mostel to make money by producing a play that flops! But their casting of a flamboyant lead (Dick Shawn) inadvertently makes their attempt a shockingly bad taste effort titled "Springtime for Hitler" a smash hit. Recently remade into a musical on Broadway AND a new film this one was added to the National Film Registry in 1996.
8:00 PM Duck Soup (1933) – this week’s TCM Essential. A Marx Brothers classic (the last one with Zeppo) perhaps their best has Groucho playing Rufus T. Firefly the new president of Freedonia so appointed by the richest woman (played by Margaret Dumont of course) in the small country. He declares war on a large neighboring country that of Louis Calhern and spy Raquel Torres (looking an awful lot like Dolores del Rio). Many of the gags and/or lines are classics which have survived and become part of our culture. Directed by Leo McCarey the film was added to the National Film Registry in 1990. Also #5 on AFI’s 100 Funniest Movies list.
9:15 PM The Bank Dick (1940) – a W.C. Fields classic! Fields plays a self unemployed family man whose family: wife – Cora Witherspoon Mother in Law – Jessie Ralph daughter – Una Merkel barely tolerate his presence. He literally falls into a job at a bank as a security guard where he quickly gets his prospective son-in-law (Grady Sutton) to embezzle some money to buy a seemingly worthless investment. Enter the bank examiner (Franklin Pangborn) who must be distracted before the money can be returned. Directed by Edward Cline.
12:00 AM The Time Of Their Lives (1946) – if you like Abbott & Costello; full review!
1:30 AM Road to Utopia (1946) – if you like Crosby & Hope
3:15 AM The Caddy (1953) – if you like Martin & Lewis; an all new full review!
Sunday April 2 – Tales of the Titanic
6:00 AM The Cowboy And The Lady (1938) – average; an all new full review!
8:00 AM Little Women (1949) – full review!
12:00 PM Monkey Business (1952) – Howard Hawks directed this comedy starring Cary Grant as a scientist searching for a fountain of youth formula. Unfortunately the product he doesn’t realize he’s invented and administered makes him act like a child in lieu of changing his physical appearance etc.. Ginger Rogers plays his wife; Marilyn Monroe his boss’s (Charles Coburn) non-typing secretary; Hugh Marlowe a friend of the family. Oh yeah and there’s a chimpanzee too! A little too silly and too late to be classified as a screwball comedy. No relation to the 1931 Marx Brothers comedy of the same name.
2:00 PM Born Yesterday (1950)
4:00 PM Yours Mine And Ours (1968) – O.K.
6:00 PM Duck Soup (1933) – TCM Essential repeat; see my 4/1 comments
7:15 PM The Unsinkable Molly Brown (1964) – pretty good
9:30 PM A Night to Remember (1958)
Monday April 3 – International Relations
Doris Day’s birthday
8:00 AM Love Me Or Leave Me (1955) – this true story of singer Ruth Etting & her relationship with the gangster who made her a star gives you an opportunity to see two special (and different) performances by Doris Day & James Cagney. Cagney’s performance was Oscar nominated and the film received a total of six nominations winning one for Motion Picture Story Writing.
10:15 AM Julie (1956) – not so good; an all new full review!
3:45 PM Billy Rose’s Jumbo (1962) – below average; full review!
8:00 PM Sayonara (1957)
10:30 PM The King and I (1956) – a TCM premiere and an all new essential capsule review!
3:00 AM South Pacific (1958) – Worth watching if you haven’t seen it. The beach scenes with Mitzi Gaynor "washing that man right out of her hair" and the guys led by Ray Walston are hilarious. Some scenes are filtered with different colors which I personally find distracting. Lead Rossano Brazzi John Kerr and Juanita Hall as "Bloody Mary" are also noteworthy. Won the Oscar for Sound was nominated for its Color Cinematography & Score.
Tuesday April 4 – James Wong Howe
7:30 AM Have A Heart (1934) – lightweight fluff that’s easy to watch; an all new full review!
8:00 PM The Prisoner Of Zenda (1937)
10:00 PM Viva Villa! (1934) – works because of Beery’s performance
12:00 AM The Thin Man (1934)
1:45 AM Manhattan Melodrama (1934) – full review!
3:30 AM Laugh Clown Laugh (1928) – excellent Lon Chaney silent the original "man behind the mask" (e.g. his motivations feelings) drama with an unforgettable ending – a tragedy. Bernard Siegel Loretta Young and Nils Asther also play significant roles. Directed by Herbert Brenon (Sorrell and Son (1927)).
5:00 AM The Unknown (1927) – an all new capsule review!
Wednesday April 5 – Temporary Blindness Night
10:00 AM The Yearling (1946)
12:15 PM All This And Heaven Too (1940)
2:45 PM Of Human Bondage (1934)
4:15 PM Boom Town (1940) – entertaining
8:00 PM St. Louis Blues (1958) – a TCM premiere!
10:00 PM The Invisible Ray (1936) – a TCM premiere!
11:30 PM The Thief of Bagdad (1940)
4:15 AM The Sea Wolf (1941)
Thursday April 6 – Deborah Kerr TCM’s Star of the Month
Walter Huston’s birthday
6:00 AM Star Witness (1931) – better than average; an all new full review!
8:45 AM Gabriel Over The White House (1933) – unique; an all new capsule review!
10:30 AM The Prizefighter And The Lady (1933) – average
12:30 PM Dodsworth (1936)
2:15 PM Of Human Hearts (1938) – O.K.; full review!
5:45 PM The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
8:00 PM From Here To Eternity (1953)
12:00 AM The Night Of The Iguana (1964) – this cult classic won an Academy Award for its B&W Costume Design; its Art Direction-Set Decoration & Cinematography were also Oscar nominated as was supporting actress Grayson Hall receiving her only recognition from the Academy. Richard Burton Ava Gardner and Deborah Kerr star in this John Huston directed film and adaptation of the Tennessee Williams play.
2:00 AM Tea And Sympathy (1956) – interesting; an all new capsule review!
4:15 AM If Winter Comes (1947) – so so; an all new full review!
Friday April 7 – Robot Night
James Garner’s birthday
6:00 AM The Children’s Hour (1961) – though not quite as good as These Three (1936) this remake does restore the Lillian Hellman’s original plot-line and features great acting by Audrey Hepburn Shirley MacLaine James Garner Miriam Hopkins and Fay Bainter. Directed by William Wyler.
8:00 AM Boys’ Night Out (1962) – dated fun; full review!
12:00 PM The Wheeler Dealers (1963) – if you like James Garner; full review!
2:00 PM The Americanization of Emily (1964)
8:00 PM Westworld (1973) – popular sci-fi writer Michael Crichton wrote and directed this average sci-fi film about a futuristic theme park populated with robot workers who fulfill its guests’ every fantasy until something goes wrong. Richard Benjamin and James Brolin play tourists who pay to realize their dream of entering a fictional Western town of the movies; Yul Brynner plays the robot villain whose wires get crossed.
10:00 PM Forbidden Planet (1956)
Saturday April 8 – Starring Stephen McNally
9:30 AM Midnight Lace (1960) – O.K. thriller
2:00 PM The Misfits (1961) – Clark Gable’s and Marilyn Monroe’s last film; Gable’s exhausting effort on-screen wrestling with horses and off (putting up with Monroe’s "antics") probably contributed to Gable’s fatal heart attack. John Huston directs this story written by one of Monroe’s husbands (Arthur Miller). A modern Western about this dying way of life really also features a post-"auto accident" Montgomery Clift a terrifically cynical (as always) Thelma Ritter and Eli Wallach.
6:00 PM Hang ‘Em High (1968)
8:00 PM Winchester ’73 (1950) – this week’s TCM Essential
1:45 AM Johnny Belinda (1948)
Sunday April 9 – Model Behavior
8:00 AM The Secret Garden (1949) – full review!
10:00 AM Strike Me Pink (1936) – a TCM premiere!
12:00 PM Bright Victory (1951) – full review!
2:00 PM Coal Miner’s Daughter (1980) – one of those "Only in America" true stories about an ignorant girl from the sticks who makes it big as a country & western singer. A biography of Loretta Lynn featuring Sissy Spacek’s (only to date) Oscar winning Best Actress performance in which she sings all the songs herself! Tommy Lee Jones plays ‘Doo’ her #1 fan & supporter husband who strays when her limelight and newfound independence overshadows his contributions to her success. Beverly D’Angelo plays fellow singer and Lynn friend Patsy Cline. Six other Oscar nominations including Best Picture and Screenplay. #70 on AFI’s 100 Most Inspiring Movies list.
4:15 PM Fear Strikes Out (1957) – A terrific drama starring Anthony Perkins as Major League baseball player Jimmy Piersall about his mental struggles. Also with Karl Malden.
6:00 PM Winchester ’73 (1950) – TCM Essential repeat
8:00 PM Funny Face (1957) – Fred Astaire plays a much older photographer than Audrey Hepburn’s character but that doesn’t keep a romance between them from blossoming when Astaire’s character "discovers" Hepburn’s making her a famous model the world over. Directed by Stanley Donen this average musical features several George & Ira Gershwin tunes as well as one of Kay Thompson’s three on-screen roles. It received four secondary Academy Award nominations for: Art Direction-Set Decoration Cinematography (Ray June’s last of three unrewarded) one of Edith Head’s many & Hubert de Givenchy’s only for Costume Design and Leonard Gershe’s only for his Story and Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen.
10:00 PM How to Marry a Millionaire (1953) – a TCM premiere! Perhaps the first Marilyn Monroe film I ever saw this romantic comedy drama received an Academy Award nomination for its Color Costume Design and also stars Betty Grable (top billed) and Lauren Bacall as three models who must choose love or money.
12:00 AM Piccadilly (1929) – a TCM premiere!
Monday April 10 – Laurel & Hardy
6:00 AM Gentle Annie (1944) – pretty good B movie; full review!
9:00 AM The Teahouse Of The August Moon (1956) – O.K. comedy
11:15 AM Cimarron (1960) – long remake; an all new full review!
2:00 AM The Music Box (1932) – full review!
3:30 AM Sons of the Desert (1933) – full review!
4:45 AM Way Out West (1938) – full review!
Tuesday April 11 – James Wong Howe
2:00 PM City For Conquest (1940) – full review!
4:00 PM Dr. Ehrlich’s Magic Bullet (1940)
6:00 PM Saturday’s Children (1940) – great cast average film; an all new full review!
8:00 PM Algiers (1938) – a TCM premiere and an all new full review!
11:30 PM Abe Lincoln In Illinois (1940)
3:15 AM The Oklahoma Kid (1939) – not great but entertaining
Wednesday April 12 – Directed by Norman Z. McLeod
3:15 PM Room Service (1938) – an all new capsule review!
8:00 PM Horse Feathers (1932) – very funny Marx Brothers film in which Groucho as the newly appointed president of a college tries to improve the school’s reputation by trying to build a winning football team. Naturally Chico Harpo and Zeppo (playing Groucho’s son) assist while Thelma Todd & David Landau work at cross purposes; Nat Pendleton appears as a football recruit that’s also a hindrance for the brothers. #65 on AFI’s 100 Funniest Movies list.
9:15 PM My Favorite Spy (1951) – a TCM premiere!
11:00 PM Topper (1937)
Thursday April 13 – Deborah Kerr TCM’s Star of the Month
Stanley Donen’s birthday
6:00 AM On the Town (1949)
8:00 AM Royal Wedding (1951) – average except for a couple of notable scenes; an all new capsule review!
10:00 AM Singin’ In The Rain (1952)
12:00 PM Seven Brides For Seven Brothers (1954)
2:00 PM It’s Always Fair Weather (1955) – average; full review!
4:00 PM Charade (1963) – an entertaining romp pairing Audrey Hepburn with Cary Grant in a comedy mystery that includes some other named actors in humorous roles: Walter Matthau James Coburn & George Kennedy. Directed by Stanley Donen.
8:00 PM Black Narcissus (1947) – Deborah Kerr plays a nun sent to a remote hilltop in the Himalayas to establish a convent on the site of an "ancient" brothel. She is assisted by a local Prince (Sabu) who craves an education and a handsome English government official (David Ferrer) while she struggles against the jealousy of a local beauty (Jean Simmons!) and a straying nun (Kathleen Byron). Breathtaking cinematography and color despite the dull plodding story; won Oscars for its Color Art Direction-Set Decoration and Cinematography. Flora Robson Jenny Laird and Judith Furse also appear.
10:00 PM The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943) – a remarkable accomplishment from writer/directors Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger about the titled British gentleman idealist come military officer aka Clive Candy (Roger Livesey) through many years wars & exploits his friendship with a German named Theo (Anton Walbrook) and relationships with three women (each played by Deborah Kerr).
1:00 AM Vacation From Marriage (1945) aka Perfect Strangers (1945) – full review!
Friday April 14 – Sly Dogs
Lee Tracy’s birthday
12:15 PM Criminal Lawyer (1937) – for Lee Tracy fans only? An all new full review!
10:00 PM Benji (1974) – Cute family movie about the titled dog whose theme song was nominated for an Oscar.
11:30 PM Lassie Come Home (1943) – a family classic featuring the famous titled collie who returns home against all odds after an incredible journey to her family which includes Donald Crisp Elsa Lanchester and child actor Roddy McDowall. Dame May Whitty Elizabeth Taylor (in only her second film) Edmund Gwenn and Nigel Bruce (to whom with Taylor Lassie had been sold by the impoverished family) also appear. Nominated for a Best Color Cinematography Oscar it was added to the National Film Registry in 1993. Hugo Butler (Edison the Man (1940)) adapted Eric Knight’s novel of the same name.
1:30 AM A Boy and his Dog (1946) – a promising short that won Gordon Hollingshead an Academy Award for Best Short Subject Two-reel. Features Harry Davenport & Russell Simpson (among others) and was directed by LeRoy Prinz.
Saturday April 15 – Starring Sandra Dee
10:00 AM House Of Usher (1960) – added to the National Film Registry this Roger Corman directed horror film based on Edgar Allen Poe’s story stars Vincent Price Mark Damon Myrna Fahey and Harry Ellerbe. Skip it unless you’re a fan of the genre.
1:30 PM The Big Sky (1952) – full review!
4:00 PM Cactus Flower (1969) – Dizzy Goldie Hawn earned a Best Supporting Actress Oscar opposite Walter Matthau and Ingrid Bergman in this silly 1960’s sex comedy. Single swinging dentist Matthau pretends he’s married to avoid complications. When he decides to propose to Hawn he has his assistant Bergman pretend to be the wife he’s leaving to satisfy his girlfriend.
8:00 PM Imitation Of Life (1959) – this week’s TCM Essential though vastly inferior to the 1934 version with Claudette Colbert & Louise Beavers this film is still probably worth your time. This one stars Lana Turner and Juanita Moore’s Oscar nominated performance. Susan Kohner who plays Moore’s daughter was also nominated; syrupy Sandra Dee plays Turner’s. John Gavin Robert Alda and Troy Donahue also appear in this Douglas Sirk directed soap opera.
Sunday April 16 – Easter
6:00 AM Cabin In The Sky (1943)
8:00 AM Boys’ Town (1938)
12:00 PM Angels In The Outfield (1951) – this original version of the divine assisted baseball team is an enjoyable comedy worth seeing if you haven’t. The lead cast includes Paul Douglas Janet Leigh (miscast too young!) Keenan Wynn Lewis Stone and Spring Byington. The supporting players include Hall of Fame ballplayers Ty Cobb & Joe DiMaggio as well as Bing Crosby (as himself) and Barbara Billingsley!
2:00 PM The Bishop’s Wife (1947) – another great Samuel Goldwyn produced film with Cary Grant playing an angel who helps a church bishop (David Niven) and his wife played by Loretta Young. Initially Grant was signed to play the bishop Niven the angel. And Billy Wilder was asked to improve the script. The film and its director Henry Koster were Oscar nominated; it won for Sound Recording.
4:00 PM Heaven Can Wait (1978) – This remake of the classic Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941) won an Oscar for Art Direction-Set Decoration. The film’s producer co-director (with Buck Henry) & co-screenwriter (with Elaine May) Warren Beatty stars as football quarterback Joe Pendleton who’s mistakenly taken early to the afterlife by an escort (Henry). So he’s put back on Earth (by James Mason) in the person of a billionaire named Farnsworth whose wife (Diane Cannon) and lover (Charles Grodin) have just murdered him as a placeholder until a more appropriate body can be found. After surprising the co-conspirators by still being alive Farnsworth meets a pretty Brit (Julie Christie) who’s protesting against the billionaire’s anti-environment plans. When Pendleton as Farnsworth changes these she falls in love with him. Only Pendleton’s friend Max (Jack Warden) knows his true identity; Farnsworth asks Max to help him get into football playing shape. Vincent Gardenia appears as the police officer investigating the strange goings-on. Nominated for Best Picture Director Screenplay Cinematography and Score. Actors Beatty Cannon and Warden also received nominations.
6:00 PM Imitation Of Life (1959) – TCM Essential repeat; see my 4/15 comments
8:15 PM King Of Kings (1961) – the story of Jesus Christ with Jeffrey Hunter in the title role as told by director Nicholas Ray (Rebel Without a Cause (1955)) and screenwriter Philip Yordan (Broken Lance (1954)). Robert Ryan plays John the Baptist Hurd Hatfield is Pontius Pilate Harry Guardino plays Barabbas Rip Torn is Judas and Royal Dano plays Peter. Orson Welles is the uncredited narrator. Leonard Maltin gives this one three and a half stars; the film runs nearly 3 hours.
11:15 PM Easter Parade (1948) – O.K.
1:00 AM Ben-Hur (1925) – full review!
3:30 AM Going My Way (1944)
Monday April 17 – Starring Laurence Olivier
William Holden’s birthday
9:30 AM Each Dawn I Die (1939) – good for a while; full review!
11:15 AM They Drive by Night (1940) – Ida Lupino is oh so sexy in this remake of Bordertown (1935). George Raft Ann Sheridan and Humphrey Bogart also star in this Raoul Walsh directed film about a couple of truck driving brothers who are framed for murder by a lady psycho.
1:00 PM Invisible Stripes (1939)
2:30 PM Rachel And The Stranger (1948) – full review!
4:00 PM Escape From Fort Bravo (1953) – average; full review!
6:00 PM Executive Suite (1954)
8:00 PM The Entertainer (1960) – a TCM premiere!
10:00 PM The Devil’s Disciple (1959) – different
11:30 PM 49th Parallel (1941)
1:45 AM Hamlet (1948)
Tuesday April 18 – James Wong Howe
7:00 AM Torrid Zone (1940) – comedy adventure at a banana plantation in Central America that probably wouldn’t be worth watching if it weren’t for its three stars James Cagney & Pat O’Brien with Ann Sheridan who make it fun. Andy Devine Helen Vinson Jerome Cowan and George Tobias are also featured. George Reeves Frank Puglia John Ridgely and Grady Sutton are among those who also appear. William Keighley directed; Richard Macaulay & Jerry Wald scripted.
10:30 AM Out Of The Fog (1941) – full review!
1:30 PM Air Force (1943) – O.K. full review!
8:00 PM Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948) – a terrific comedy with Cary Grant and Myrna Loy poorly remake in the 80’s as The Money Pit about a businessman who dreams about having a house in the country. It includes an unforgettable sequence with Ms. Loy and the local painters. Support provided by Melvyn Douglas. #72 on AFI’s 100 Funniest Movies list.
9:45 PM Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)
12:00 AM The Hard Way (1942)
2:00 AM Kings Row (1942)
4:15 AM The Strawberry Blonde (1941) – slightly better than average; an all new capsule review!
Wednesday April 19 – Robert Osborne’s Picks
10:30 AM A Patch Of Blue (1965) – full review!
4:30 PM The Haunting (1963) – This horror classic earned the director (producer) Robert Wise a Golden Globe nomination. It stars Julie Harris Clair Bloom Richard Johnson and Russ Tamblyn among others.
8:00 PM Importance Of Being Earnest The (1952) – a TCM premiere!
10:00 PM Hope and Glory (1987) – a TCM premiere! Producer Director Screenplay writer John Boorman (Deliverance (1972)) received the last of his three Academy Award nominations for this semi-autobiographical drama about a boy growing up in London during World War II and the Germans’ bombings; the film was also nominated for its Art Direction-Set Decoration & Cinematography.
12:00 AM My Son My Son! (1940) – long melodrama has its moments; an all new full review!
2:00 AM Raffles (1939) – a TCM premiere!
3:15 AM Sweet Charity (1969)
Thursday April 20 – Deborah Kerr TCM’s Star of the Month
Harold Lloyd’s birthday
6:00 AM Safety Last! (1923) – Comedian Harold Lloyd’s most famous silent comedy featuring the classic scene where he climbs a skyscraper and ends up clinging to a clock as he hangs out stories above the ground over traffic. Added to the National Film Registry in 1994.
7:30 AM The Freshman (1925)
9:00 AM Welcome Danger (1929) – not one of the comedian’s best; an all new full review!
11:00 AM The Milky Way (1936) – an all new full review!
12:30 PM Harold Lloyd’s World of Comedy (1962) – pretty good compilation documentary
2:30 PM Between Two Worlds (1944) – full review!
4:30 PM It’s A Wonderful World (1939) – could have been (so much) better
6:00 PM The World Of Henry Orient (1964)
8:00 PM The King and I (1956)
10:30 PM Young Bess (1953) – interesting; full review!
12:30 AM Julius Caesar (1953)
2:45 AM Quo Vadis (1951)
5:45 AM Dream Wife (1953) – great cast wasted; an all new full review!
Friday April 21 – Starring Claire Bloom
Norman Panama’s birthday
9:45 AM Road to Utopia (1946) – if you like Hope & Crosby
11:30 AM Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948) – a terrific comedy with Cary Grant and Myrna Loy poorly remake in the 80’s as The Money Pit about a businessman who dreams about having a house in the country. It includes an unforgettable sequence with Ms. Loy and the local painters. Support provided by Melvyn Douglas. #72 on AFI’s 100 Funniest Movies list.
1:15 PM A Southern Yankee (1948) – if you like Red Skelton; full review!
6:00 PM The Facts of Life (1960) – O.K.; full review!
10:00 PM Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989) – another gem from actor/writer/director Woody Allen; this comedy drama earned him two Academy Award nominations (Director & Screenplay). Martin Landau picked up his second Supporting Actor nomination; Angelica Huston Mia Farrow Claire Bloom Alan Alda Joanna Gleason Sam Waterson and Jerry Orbach are among those who also appear.
12:00 AM Charly (1968)
Saturday April 22 – 4 x 4
10:00 AM The Spoilers (1942) – entertaining Western remake
2:00 PM Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) – this is a sci-fi film which holds up today who can forget the ending with Kevin McCarthy! Directed by Don Siegel it was added to the National Film Registry in 1994.
3:30 PM The 7th Voyage Of Sinbad (1958) – while it’s easy to believe that this film’s special effects may have been impressive in their day it’s not unlike the movies which are made today that rely completely on their special effects to entertain. Yes there is a story but the acting is laughable and the painstakingly made Ray Harryhausen effects are less credible than those in the much earlier film The Thief of Bagdad (1940). In fact the whole experience is rather cheesy and second rate.
8:00 PM The Four Feathers (1939) – this week’s TCM Essential
2:30 AM Four Girls In White (1939) – not so good; an all new full review!
Sunday April 23 – Greece is the Word
8:00 AM Battleground (1949) – full review!
10:00 AM Footlight Parade (1933) – an all new full review!
2:00 PM The African Queen (1951)
4:00 PM Gunga Din (1939)
6:00 PM The Four Feathers (1939) – TCM Essential repeat
8:00 PM Zorba The Greek (1964) aka Alexis Zorbas (1964) – a TCM premiere and an all new capsule review!
5:00 AM Bette Davis: The Benevolent Volcano (1984) – pretty good documentary
Monday April 24 – Same Director Remakes
Shirley MacLaine’s birthday
6:00 AM A Stolen Life (1946) – average; full review!
8:00 AM Interrupted Melody (1955) – pretty good biopic; an all new full review!
10:00 AM Fastest Gun Alive (1956) – better than average
3:00 PM The Sheepman (1958) – an all new full review!
4:30 PM Some Came Running (1958) – O.K. but overlong; full review!
7:00 PM Private Screenings: Shirley MacLaine (2003) – excellent documentary with film clips
8:00 PM Five Came Back (1939) – an all new full review!
11:30 PM Ball Of Fire (1941) – full review!
1:30 AM A Song Is Born (1948) – not as good as the original
Tuesday April 25 – James Wong Howe
7:00 AM Confidential Agent (1945) – not very good; full review!
10:30 AM Objective Burma! (1945)
1:00 PM My Reputation (1946) – dated but good (as always) Barbara Stanwyck; full review!
8:00 PM Picnic (1955)
10:00 PM Bell Book and Candle (1959) – an inspiration for TV’s Bewitched series? A publisher played by James Stewart is attracted to a witch (Kim Novak) whose brother (Jack Lemmon) and aunt (Elsa Lanchester) can also conjure up spells as can "rival" a witch (Hermione Gingold). Like Stewart’s character Ernie Kovacs plays a writer who is also a mere mortal but unlike him he believes in them (e.g. witches and warlocks).
4:15 AM The Cincinnati Kid (1965) – good characters make this worth watching; full review!
Wednesday April 26 – Guest Programmer: Illeana Douglas
6:00 PM The Pirate (1948) – nothing special; an all new capsule review!
8:00 PM The Americanization of Emily (1964)
10:00 PM Sullivan’s Travels (1941)
12:00 AM Ninotchka (1939)
2:00 AM Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948) – a terrific comedy with Cary Grant and Myrna Loy poorly remake in the 80’s as The Money Pit about a businessman who dreams about having a house in the country. It includes an unforgettable sequence with Ms. Loy and the local painters. Support provided by Melvyn Douglas. #72 on AFI’s 100 Funniest Movies list.
4:00 AM The Bachelor And The Bobby-Soxer (1947) – Sydney Sheldon (TV’s I Dream of Jeannie‘s creator) won a Best Original Screenplay Oscar on his only nomination for this love triangle comedy between a high schooler (Shirley Temple) her older sister (a judge played by Myrna Loy) and Cary Grant.
Thursday April 27 – Deborah Kerr TCM’s Star of the Month
6:30 AM Forbidden Planet (1956)
12:00 PM The Thing From Another World (1951)
1:30 PM Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) – this is a sci-fi film which holds up today who can forget the ending with Kevin McCarthy! Directed by Don Siegel it was added to the National Film Registry in 1994.
4:30 PM The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957) – a more introspective philosophical film than most sci-fi movies with Grant Williams in the title role.
6:00 PM Soylent Green (1973) – though there is no great mystery or intrigue about what the titled substance is made of in this futuristic film focused on the problems of overpopulation this Charlton Heston film is noteworthy in that it features the great Edward G. Robinson’s last performance on film that of a man who would give his life to see the beauty of our unspoiled country once again (even if it’s only a virtual reality).
10:00 PM King Solomon’s Mines (1950)
12:00 AM The Journey (1959) – O.K.; an all new full review!
Friday April 28 – Coming of Age
Lionel Barrymore’s birthday
8:00 PM Cinema Paradiso (1990) – a TCM premiere! Won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language film. Though the story is rather simple it’s visually beautiful and fun for cinema fans who enjoy trying to identify film clips which are edited into this feature. Thankfully the original and not the overlong (& not recommended) director’s cut is being aired.
10:15 PM The Graduate (1967)
12:15 AM Diner (1982) – an above average coming of age film with a cast of "soon to be" stars including Kevin Bacon Mickey Rourke Ellen Barkin Paul Reiser Steve Guttenberg Daniel Stern Timothy Daly and Michael Tucker. Directed by Barry Levinson (Rain Man (1988)).
2:15 AM Kapo (1959) – full review!
Saturday April 29 – Starring Montgomery Clift
9:30 AM The Ladykillers (1955)
3:30 PM The Hustler (1961) – full review!
6:00 PM The Spy Who Came in From the Cold (1965)
8:00 PM A Place in the Sun (1951) – this week’s TCM Essential
10:15 PM The Heiress (1949)
12:15 AM The Search (1948)
2:15 AM The Misfits (1961) – Clark Gable’s and Marilyn Monroe’s last film; Gable’s exhausting effort on-screen wrestling with horses and off (putting up with Monroe’s "antics") probably contributed to Gable’s fatal heart attack. John Huston directs this story written by one of Monroe’s husbands (Arthur Miller). A modern western about this dying way of life really also features a post-"auto accident" Montgomery Clift a terrifically cynical (as always) Thelma Ritter and Eli Wallach.
Sunday April 30 – Seabees
6:15 AM To Be or Not to Be (1942)
8:00 AM Bringing Up Baby (1938)
10:00 AM The King and I (1956)
2:00 PM Come Blow Your Horn (1963) – pretty good; an all new full review!
4:00 PM In The Heat Of The Night (1967)
6:00 PM A Place in the Sun (1951) – TCM Essential repeat
8:15 PM Wake Island (1942)
10:00 PM The Fighting Seabees (1944) – average; an all new full review!
12:00 AM Sunrise (1927) – full review!
2:00 AM Charley Varrick (1973) – An entertaining film by director Don Siegel featuring Walter Matthau getting the best of the mob after his slimy partner in crime (Andy Robinson) skips. Joe Don Baker is the hit man who tracks him down; Norman Fell plays a police detective also on their trail. Sheree North plays a woman in the mix.