June, 2005 - Ingrid Bergman

Wednesday, June 1 - Steve McQueen - Part One

12:15 PM Beg, Borrow Or Steal (1937) - decent B movie, with a full review!

8:00 PM & 11:30 PM Steve McQueen: The Essence of Cool (2004) - a TCM premiere!

9:30 PM Bullitt (1968)

Thursday, June 2 - Steve McQueen - Part Two

7:30 AM The Kennel Murder Case (1933) - Directed by Michael Curtiz (Casablanca (1942)), adapted by Robert Presnell (Meet John Doe (1941)), with a screenplay co-written by Robert Lee (Little Caesar (1931)), this Philo Vance mystery stars three time Best Actor nominee William Powell as the famous sleuth. The cast also includes Mary Astor (The Great Lie (1941)), Eugene Pallette, and Ralph Morgan, among others.

3:00 PM Private Detective (1939) - not good at all, but at least it’s pretty short; read my full, obscure review!

5:15 PM Vacation In Reno (1946) - pretty bad, but I have written a full, obscure review for it;-)

8:00 PM The Great Escape (1963)

11:00 PM Hell is for Heroes (1962) - full review!

4:30 AM The Endless Summer (1966) - this surfer documentary was added to the National Film Registry in 2002

Friday, June 3 - Steve McQueen - Part Three

6:00 AM The Mouthpiece (1932)

7:30 AM Modern Times (1936) - Charlie Chaplin goes against the grain by making a silent film, with sound effects, many years after the advent of "talkies". This movie is an allegory about how man has become too dependent and/or obsessed with machines and technology, in general, as the tramp struggles to survive in "modern times". Paulette Goddard plays the girl in this one. The skating scene in the department store is unforgettable. Also #33 on AFI's 100 Funniest Movies list.

10:30 AM The Women (1939)

12:45 PM The Great Dictator (1940) - Charlie Chaplin spoofs Adolf Hitler! Nominated for five Oscars including Best Picture, Best Actor (Chaplin), & Writing (also Chaplin), and Supporting Actor (Jack Oakie). Added to the National Film Registry in 1997. #37 on AFI’s 100 Funniest Movies list.

4:30 PM So Proudly We Hail (1943) - full review!

9:30 PM Steve McQueen: The Essence of Cool (2004) - this all new documentary is repeated

11:00 PM The Magnificent Seven (1960)

3:30 AM Georgy Girl (1966)

Saturday, June 4 - Starring Charles Coburn

6:00 AM White Banners (1938) - all new essential full review!

8:00 AM The Maltese Falcon (1941)

2:00 PM The Caine Mutiny (1954)

4:30 PM The Wild One (1953) - A somewhat disappointing film about a gang of men, led by Marlon Brando and Lee Marvin, with nothing better to do than put on leather and ride motorcycles every weekend with typical mob mentality outcomes. I'm guessing this had a bigger impact at the time, now it's pretty dated (even silly, at times).

6:00 PM Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956)

8:00 PM The Lady Eve (1941) - this week’s TCM Essential

10:00 PM The More the Merrier (1943) - a TCM premiere & an all new capsule review!

12:00 AM The Devil and Miss Jones (1941) - full review!

Sunday, June 5 - A Little Bit Country, A Little Bit Rock ‘n’ Roll

6:00 AM Goodbye Mr. Chips (1939)

8:00 AM The Thin Man (1934)

12:00 PM Bringing Up Baby (1938)

2:00 PM Sabrina (1954) - all new essential capsule review!

6:00 PM The Lady Eve (1941) - this week’s TCM Essential is repeated

8:00 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.

10:30 PM Go, Johnny, Go! (1959) - a TCM premiere!

Monday, June 6 - Ingrid Bergman, TCM’s Star of the Month

12:15 PM Sporting Blood (1940) - only a fair B movie, read my full, obscure review first!

8:00 PM Intermezzo (1936) - the Swedish version I’ve not seen starring Ingrid Bergman, though I have seen the English speaking version with Leslie Howard

Tuesday, June 7 - Future Shock

2:15 PM The Teahouse Of The August Moon (1956) - all new capsule review!

4:30 PM The Rose Tattoo (1955)

8:00 PM The Thing From Another World (1951)

9:30 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.

12:30 AM Village Of The Damned (1960) - pretty good horror film about a strange occurrence which causes a rash of births nine months later. The offspring are children which grow up too fast and possess special abilities which give their parents cause for worry. George Sanders plays a professor who recognizes their capabilities first, and initially educates them, until he realizes what he’s helped to create. Check out their eyes!

Wednesday, June 8 - The African Scene

1:30 PM San Antonio (1945) - slightly above average, but with Errol Flynn!  Read my full review!

8:00 PM King Solomon's Mines (1950)

10:00 PM Tarzan, The Ape Man (1932) - the original, the classic, featuring Johnny Weissmuller in the title role, Maureen O'Sullivan as Jane, C. Aubrey Smith as her father & Neil Hamilton as her boyfriend. Directed by W.S. Van Dyke, and based on the Edgar Rice Burroughs novel.

11:45 PM Born Free (1966) - a great movie to see with preteen children who love animals, with an unforgettable score. It’s about a game warden and his wife in Africa who befriend a lion cub which grows to big to keep as a pet. So, they then have to teach it to be able to survive on its own. The titled song and John Barry’s score won Oscars (his first of four!).

1:30 AM Trader Horn (1931) - full review!

Thursday, June 9 - Guest Programmer: Buck Henry

7:00 AM A Slight Case Of Murder (1938)

8:30 AM Arsenic And Old Lace (1944)

10:30 AM Monsieur Verdoux (1947) - a most unusual film directed, written, and starring Charles Chaplin who received a Best Writing, Original Screenplay Oscar nomination for his work. In it, he plays a Bluebeard, a man who murders women for their money. Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award winner Martha Raye plays the one that got away. Orson Welles is credited for giving Chaplin the idea. A black comedy of the first degree and decidedly better than Hitchcock’s The Trouble With Harry (1955) eight years later.

12:30 PM The Trouble With Harry (1955)

2:30 PM Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949)

4:30 PM The Lavender Hill Mob (1951)

6:00 PM The Ladykillers (1955)

8:00 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.

9:15 PM Duck Soup (1933) - Perhaps the best of the Marx Brothers films, and the last one with Zeppo. It was added to the National Film Registry in 1990. It was directed by Leo McCarey and also features Louis Calhern, Margaret Dumont, and Raquel Torres (who looks remarkably similar to Dolores del Rio). Many of the gags are classics which have survived and become part of our culture.

10:30 PM Touch Of Evil (1958)

12:30 AM The Asphalt Jungle (1950)

2:30 AM The Killing (1956)

Friday, June 10

8:00 AM Girl Crazy (1943) - average Judy Garland-Mickey Rooney musical (but I have written a full review for it;-)

10:00 AM Meet Me In St. Louis (1944)

2:00 PM Easter Parade (1948)

8:00 PM Mr. and Mrs. Smith (1941) - a comedy by Hitchcock?  Predictably not very good.  It's being shown on the same night that a new, completely unrelated film (starring Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie) by the same name is being released!

2:15 AM Seven Samurai (1954) - this Akira Kurosawa directed classic was used by John Sturges as the basis for The Magnificent Seven (1960) and is a classic in its own right, though fairly long;-)

Saturday, June 11 - Featuring Philip Marlowe

6:00 AM Idiot's Delight (1939) - not very good, but have written a full review for it!

8:00 AM Act Of Violence (1949) - all new full review!

12:00 PM The Naked Spur (1953)

4:15 PM Operation Crossbow (1965) - Fairly compelling "spies during war" film, set near the end of World War II, with George Peppard, Sophia Loren, Trevor Howard, and John Mills. About the Allies’ efforts to destroy the V2 rocket, after the V1 had done so much damage to London.

8:00 PM The Big Sleep (1946) - this week's TCM Essential

10:00 PM The Big Sleep (1946) - the original, non-release version which includes a "making of" documentary at the end

12:45 AM Murder, My Sweet (1944) - From director Edward Dmytryk & John Paxton (Crossfire (1947)), who wrote the screenplay for this Raymond Chandler novel named "Farewell, My Lovely", this above average murder mystery follows detective Philip Marlowe (Dick Powell) as he's hired by two clients for different, yet intertwined purposes. It also stars Claire Trevor (Key Largo (1948)), the lovely Anne Shirley (Stella Dallas (1937)), Otto Kruger, and that "big lug" Mike Mazurki, among others. Worth a look.

Sunday, June 12

6:00 AM Midnight (1939)

11:30 AM All That Heaven Allows (1955) - only including it here because it was added to the National Film Registry in 1999, for some unknown reason.  It's a horribly dated May-December romance (Douglas Sirk soap opera) between a 40 something widow (Jane Wyman) and a 30 year old independent (Rock Hudson).  The highlights are the supporting cast which includes Agnes Moorehead, Conrad Nagel, and Virginia Grey.  Otherwise, skip it!

3:30 PM Rebecca (1940)

6:00 PM The Big Sleep (1946) - this week's TCM Essential is repeated

10:00 PM Destry Rides Again (1939)

1:00 AM Captain Newman, M.D. (1964) - full review! 

Monday, June 13 - Ingrid Bergman - TCM’s Star of the Month

7:15 AM Jimmy The Gent (1934) - only above average, but an all new capsule review!

8:30 AM The Petrified Forest (1936)

12:00 PM Clash By Night (1952) - not so good, despite the talented actors involved, but an all new capsule review!

4:00 PM The Night Of The Hunter (1955)

6:00 PM Cape Fear (1962) - I haven't seen the updated version of this one yet, but I did really enjoy this original which stars Gregory Peck & Robert Mitchum (though it is hard to watch at times). Also with Polly Bergen, Martin Balsam, even Telly Savalas. #61 on AFI’s 100 Most Heart-Pounding Movies list. Mitchum’s Max Cady was voted #28 villain by AFI.

8:00 PM Intermezzo: A Love Story (1939)

5:00 AM Something New (1920) - a unique automobile commercial?  Read my full, obscure review!

Tuesday, June 14

7:15 AM Alice Adams (1935) - full review!

9:00 AM Becky Sharp (1935) - an historical film, else skip it, but read my all new capsule review!

10:30 AM The Heiress (1949)

12:30 PM The Secret Garden (1949) - full review!

6:00 PM Pride And Prejudice (1940)

8:00 PM Forbidden Planet (1956)

4:00 AM Blackboard Jungle (1955)

Wednesday, June 15 - Bette vs. Joan

7:30 AM The Roaring Twenties (1939)

9:30 AM Little Caesar (1931)

12:30 PM Scarface (1932)

2:30 PM Rope! (1948) - a technical achievement by Hitchcock, nothing much else though others may disagree

4:00 PM Citizen Kane (1941)

6:00 PM The Bad and the Beautiful (1952)

8:00 PM Mr. Skeffington (1944)

10:30 PM Humoresque (1946)

1:00 AM The Man Who Came To Dinner (1941)

3:00 AM Possessed (1947) - all new full review!

Thursday, June 16 - Cinematography by Boris Kaufman

6:30 AM Bette Davis: The Benevolent Volcano (1984) - excellent documentary about the greatest actress ever

8:00 PM 12 Angry Men (1957)

10:00 PM Long Day's Journey into Night (1962) - an all new essential capsule review!

1:00 AM Baby Doll (1956)

3:00 AM The World Of Henry Orient (1964) - all new capsule review!

5:00 AM Mad Love (1935) - Peter Lorre is a masterful surgeon who's so obsessed with a married stage actress (Frances Drake), he has a full size wax statue made of her. When her concert pianist husband (Colin Clive) ruins his hands in an accident, Lorre's character surgically replaces them with the hands of a knife throwing murderer (Edward Brophy) that's just been executed. Ted Healy plays a reporter who learns of it; Keye Luke plays the doctor's assistant. The last of eight films directed by Oscar winning cinematographer Karl Freund (The Good Earth (1937)).

Friday, June 17 - Nicholas Ray Noir

4:30 PM Flight Angels (1940) - really awful, but I’ve written a full review for it!

6:00 PM His Girl Friday (1940)

8:00 PM They Live by Night (1949)

9:45 PM In a Lonely Place (1950)

11:30 PM On Dangerous Ground (1951) - Directed and adapted by Nicholas Ray (Rebel Without a Cause (1955)), this drama features Ida Lupino as a blind woman who’s brother (Sumner Williams) is a murder suspect being hunted by too rough street cop Robert Ryan. Ward Bond, Ed Begley, and Ian Wolfe, among others, also appear.

2:00 AM Anna Christie (1931) - German language version of the film which marks Greta Garbo's first words on film!

Saturday, June 18 - Phobias

6:00 AM Boom Town (1940)

8:00 AM Phantom Lady (1944)

10:00 AM 3 Godfathers (1948) - A most unusual film, and a remake of William Wyler’s Hell’s Heroes (1930) with Charles Bickford, about three outlaws trying to get away from the law and find water that happen upon a dying about-to-be mother and then, inspired, make it their job to care for the newborn in the spirit of the Three Wise Men. John Wayne stars in this version by director John Ford. Harry Carey Jr., Ward Bond, Jane Darwell, Ben Johnson, and Guy Kibbee also appear.

12:00 PM How the West Was Won (1962)

4:30 PM The Time Machine (1960) - a sci fi classic which won the Best Effects, Special Effects Oscar, I actually think the film suffers in the final third with Yvette Mimieux. Rod Taylor plays H.G. Wells in his often copied or adapted story about time travel.

6:30 PM Road to Morocco (1942) - one of the better Bing Crosby-Bob Hope "Road" films, Best Writing Oscar nomination, with Dorothy Lamour & Anthony Quinn. Added to the National Film Registry in 1996.

8:00 PM Vertigo (1958) - this week’s TCM Essential

10:15 PM Arachnophobia (1990) - a TCM premiere!

12:15 AM Cat People (1942) - this above average horror flick stars Simone Simon as a beautiful foreigner with a mysterious past that marries a New Yorker, played by Kent Smith. But there’s something strange about her, she’s afraid of consummating their marriage for fear of reviving an ancient curse that will turn her into a leopard! Tom Conway plays a psychiatrist Smith’s character hopes can cure her of her fear. Directed by Jacques Tourneur, this film was added to the National Film Registry in 1993.

Sunday, June 19 - Fathers and Sons - Happy Father's Day < click to read my essay!

6:00 AM Our Vines Have Tender Grapes (1945) - full review!

2:00 PM Father Of The Bride (1950)

6:00 PM Vertigo (1958) - this week’s TCM Essential is repeated

10:30 PM I Never Sang for My Father (1970) - all new full review!

12:15 AM The Rag Man (1925) - decent Jackie Coogan soaper with an all new score by Linda Martinez, who tragically took her own life in May, 2005; read my full review of this film.

Monday, June 20

6:30 AM The Barretts of Wimpole Street (1934) - all new capsule review!

8:30 AM Imitation Of Life (1934)

10:30 AM Madame Du Barry (1934) - a pleasant surprise, read my full review!

12:00 PM David Copperfield (1935)

2:30 PM Captains Courageous (1937)

6:00 PM To Hell And Back (1955) - incredible true story of the most decorated soldier in U.S. history, starring the man himself, Audie Murphy. Pretty good film too, a faithful to his own autobiography (which I’ve read).

8:00 PM The Bells Of St. Mary's (1945) - all new capsule review!

10:15 PM Casablanca (1942)

12:00 AM Gaslight (1944)

Tuesday, June 21 - Future Shock

NOTE:  Also airing @ 8 PM ET on CBS tonight, AFI's 100 Years ... 100 Movie Quotes special!

8:00 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).

9:45 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.

11:30 PM 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

2:15 AM Logan's Run (1976) - Another sci-fi thriller concerned with overpopulation, this one’s population of genetically altered test-tube babies must reside in agriculturally enhanced bubble cities because the outside world is clouded in the aftermath of nuclear (?) destruction. Each person’s hand sports an indicator of their age which changes from white to red when they’ve lived their 30 years. Those that run, refusing to "renew" in a floating chamber, are hunted down and shot by "sandmen" (police enforcers) like Michael York. When York’s time is up, and he discovers an underworld through Jenny Agutter, he runs and is chased relentlessly by former friend & fellow sandman Richard Jordan. Farrah Fawcett-Majors has a brief role as a blonde (in every sense of the word) "nurse"; Peter Ustinov plays an old man York & Agutter find on "the outside". Nominated for Art Direction & Cinematography Oscars, the film did receive a Special Achievement Award for visual effects from the Academy.

Wednesday, June 22 - Starring Cicely Tyson

12:00 PM Stella Dallas (1937)

2:00 PM In Name Only (1939) - all new capsule review!

8:00 PM Sounder (1972)

10:00 PM Fried Green Tomatoes (1991) - a TCM premiere!

12:30 AM A Hero Ain't Nothin' But A Sandwich (1977) - a TCM premiere!

2:30 AM Odds Against Tomorrow (1959) - an all new full review!

Thursday, June 23 - Photo Finishes

6:00 PM All Through The Night (1942) - all new capsule review!

9:30 PM Rear Window (1954)

1:00 AM Blow-Up (1966) - seldom shown, this film about the casual life of a photographer (David Hemmings) and a mystery woman (Vanessa Redgrave) is considered a classic, but I found it somewhat disappointing when I first saw it last summer.  Dated to the 60's, I guess, and doesn't hold up as well as others, like Alfie (1966).  Oscar nomination for director Michelangelo Antonioni as well as its Writing.

Friday, June 24 - Witness Stand Breakdowns

8:00 PM Bordertown (1935) - full review!

9:45 PM The Caine Mutiny (1954)

12:00 AM A Few Good Men (1992) - a TCM premiere!

4:30 AM Rope! (1948) -not one of Hitchcock's best, though a technical marvel

Saturday, June 25 - Riverboat Ramblers

6:00 AM On Borrowed Time (1939) - all new capsule review!

8:00 AM Double Indemnity (1944)

4:00 PM Steve McQueen: The Essence of Cool (2004) - an all new documentary!

5:30 PM The Magnificent Seven (1960)

8:00 PM Steamboat Bill Jr. (1928) - this week’s TCM Essential; classic Buster Keaton silent featuring the famous cyclone scenes, including the building front which falls over him as he stands unawares.

1:00 AM Show Boat (1951) - Although "Ol’ Man River" (#24 on AFI’s 100 Top Movie Songs of All Time) is not sung by the great Paul Robeson in this one, the other songs may be done better than in the 1936 version of this famous musical, especially "Make Believe". Starring Howard Keel as Gaylord Ravenal and Kathryn Grayson as Magnolia, the scene at the end (including Ava Gardner) should make you cry. And don’t overlook Joe E. Brown and Agnes Morehead as the parents of Ms. Grayson’s character. Directed by George Sidney, this film’s Score and Color Cinematography were nominated for Oscars.

4:15 AM Intruder In The Dust (1949)

Sunday, June 26 

6:00 AM In Name Only (1939)

8:00 AM Key Largo (1948)

12:00 PM The Farmer's Daughter (1947)

2:00 PM After The Thin Man (1936)

6:00 PM Steamboat Bill Jr. (1928) - this week’s TCM Essential is repeated; see my 6/25 comments

7:15 PM Sherlock Jr. (1924) - highly rated, added to the National Film Registry in 1991. Buster Keaton is a projectionist in a movie theater who "enters" the film he's showing to solve a crime in which he is the accused. Some stunning cinematography and stunt-work, including a scene (water tower) in which the comedian unknowingly broke his own neck!

10:15 PM The Front (1976) - highly rated Woody Allen-Martin Ritt collaboration about Hollywood's blacklisted writers

12:00 AM The Patsy (1928) - highly rated King Vidor directed silent starring Marion Davies & Marie Dressler

4:00 AM Citizen Kane (1941)

Monday, June 27 - Ingrid Bergman - TCM’s Star of the Month

7:00 AM Manhattan Melodrama (1934)

8:00 PM Spellbound (1945)

10:00 PM Notorious (1946)

12:00 AM Europa '51 (1952) - a TCM premiere!

Tuesday, June 28 - Future Shock

12:30 PM Sweet Bird Of Youth (1962) - all new capsule review!

2:45 PM Cat On A Hot Tin Roof (1958)

9:30 PM Close Encounters Of The Third Kind (1977)

2:00 AM Mars Attacks! (1996) - a TCM premiere!

Wednesday, June 29 - Ray Harryhausen’s Birthday

6:00 AM  Nelson and Jeanette: America's Singing Sweethearts (1993) - a documentary about the Eddy-MacDonald singing duo that made several films together

7:00 AM Rose Marie (1936)

9:30 PM Mother Goose Stories - a TCM premiere!

• Little Miss Muffett
• Old Mother Hubbard
• The Queen of Hearts
• Humpty Dumpty

9:45 PM Fairy Tales - a TCM premiere!

• Little Red Riding Hood
• Hansel and Gretel
• Rapunzel
• King Midas
• The Tortoise and the Hare

10:45 PM Early Films - a TCM premiere!

• How to Build a Gorge
• Guadalcanal

Thursday, June 30 

7:15 AM The Bamboo Blonde (1946) - only so so, but read my full, obscure review!

3:45 PM The Naked Spur (1953)

3:15 AM Min And Bill (1930) - a classic starring Marie Dressler & Wallace Beery that I’ve been dying to see ever since a friend recommended it!

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