The September 2014 Schedule for TCM

[moira finnie]

The Sept. 2014 Schedule can be seen in full here: http://www.tcm.com/schedule/september2014.html

TCM kicks off the Fall with a month's worth of interesting programming, including:



The Projected Image: The Jewish Experience on Film, on Tuesdays this month. There are a plethora of good films related to this, with 19 movies showcased, from The Jazz Singer (1927) to the delightful Hearts of the West (1975) and more recent and little known movies, such as Focus (2001), based on the only novel by Arthur Miller. More about this spotlight this month can be seen here.

A separate website is also available with considerably more content at TCM Presents - The Projected Image:
http://www.tcm.com/projectedimage/

A brief clip of Dr. Eric Goldman, who helped curate this month's theme:

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Star of the Month: Melvyn Douglas:



He made Garbo laugh, was nearly strangled by Boris Karloff, fixed Joan Crawford's scars, was a spare hubby for Jean Arthur, and worked with directors as diverse as James Whale, Ernst Lubitsch, George Cukor, Elia Kazan, Martin Ritt, Hal Ashby and John Guillermin (who directed him in the captivating but little known 1965 movie, Rapture). All this was accomplished while being politically active (his wife was actress and Congresswoman Helen Gahagan Douglas), and continuing to appear on stage for many years. Why isn't he better remembered?

On Wednesdays in September, TCM focuses on actor Melvyn Douglas, a rather under-appreciated actor who went from sophisticated romantic comedy player (Ninotchka, Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House, Theodora Goes Wild) to versatile supporting player (Sea of Grass, Captains Courageous, A Woman's Secret) to become one of the best older actors on screen, giving moving reality to his many mature roles (Hud, The Americanization of Emily, One is a Lonely Number, I Never Sang for My Father, Being There). You can see more about the actor and the films being shown here:
http://www.tcm.com/this-month/article/1 ... Sept-.html



This month's Friday Night Spotlight expands to 24 hour binges of Pre-Code films on TCM, hosted in the evenings by Robert Osborne & Alec Baldwin, relishing the 67 movies from the period being screened! Warm up the DVR and read more here, if you like:
http://www.tcm.com/this-month/article/1 ... -Code.html

[Rita Hayworth]

I will be using my DVR very heavily on Friday Nights and I'm looking forward seeing films regarding Pre-Codes and that's one area that I'm very weak on.

[moira finnie]

A late career Michael Curtiz film featured a favorite actor of mine whose excellent work in an unexpected role really surprised me. That movie, THE JAZZ SINGER (1953) happens to be on TCM this evening at 9:45 PM (ET).



Before you say "Oh, NO, how could they?" take a look at this movie if you have time. Danny Thomas plays the role created by Al Jolson, but the story is updated to be about a guy wanting to pursue a different career after his military service in a different America than Jolson and his family experienced. There is assimilation to a degree, but also a bit more acceptance (or so it seems) in his own religious community for people who want to expand their horizons. The movie, typical of Curtiz at times throughout his career, focused on individual immigrants and what the process of becoming a "success" really entails spiritually. The movie is good when revealing the conflict, the pain and the anger in his character's desire to express his talent. It also helps that Curtiz cast his parents with two fine actors, Eduard Franz and Mildred Dunnock--and tossed in the jazz great Peggy Lee as Thomas' romantic interest.

Rounding it all out is a great score that includes Rodgers & Hart's "Lover,", "The Birth of the Blues," "I'll String Along With You" and "Living the Life I Love" all delivered with considerable show biz savvy and some (not all) schmaltz. Really worth a look. More about this movie, including clips and a feature article here: http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/79698/Jazz-Singer-The/

More about Peggy Lee in this movie can be seen here:
http://peggylee.com/new-cd-dvd-releases ... zz-singer/

[kingrat]

So the poster boy for the Jewish Experience is . . . Paul Newman? Yes, I know it's because of that bloated snoozefest masterpiece Exodus, but casting Newman in the lead is one of that film's many problems.

Anyway, I'm excited about the lesser known Edward Dmytryk films to be shown tomorrow. I want to see So Well Remembered again, having enjoyed it the first time--Martha Scott as an English noir dame! who knew?--and I've never seen Obsession or The Sniper. Just recently I re-watched Cornered and liked it much better the second time. The plot's complicated, the mostly unfamiliar (to me) character actors are good, and Dick Powell does a fine job. I particularly admired his opening scenes, where he conveys a complex tangle of grief, anger, and determination. This is mostly done through subtext and body language.

[Western Guy]

kingrat, DEFINITELY tune into THE SNIPER. A "must-see" with strong performances by Arthur Franz (his best role), Marie Windsor, Adolph Menjou and Richard Kiley.

[moira finnie]

So the poster boy for the Jewish Experience is . . . Paul Newman? Yes, I know it's because of that bloated snoozefest masterpiece Exodus, but casting Newman in the lead is one of that film's many problems.

Yeah, ain't it the truth. I was surprised to read that Paul didn't want to do the role, and man, does it show! That said there are some things I love about Exodus (1960). First, that Ernest Gold music is so lushly heroic in scale and tone. Even if the film fails to grasp the bar set by its ambitions successfully and completely, I just fall for the score every time. Other good things are the all too brief glimpses of George Maharis on a motorcycle (but I am shallow). There's also a brilliantly done set piece centered on the escape from prison, which was very well edited too.

Not to mention the two actors who steal the show:

David Opatoshu (right) as a not entirely fictional version of Menacham Begin with Sal Mineo (left) as the Jewish refugee, Dov Landau.

Anyway, I'm excited about the lesser known Edward Dmytryk films to be shown tomorrow. I want to see So Well Remembered again, having enjoyed it the first time--Martha Scott as an English noir dame! who knew?--and I've never seen Obsession or The Sniper. Just recently I re-watched Cornered and liked it much better the second time. The plot's complicated, the mostly unfamiliar (to me) character actors are good, and Dick Powell does a fine job. I particularly admired his opening scenes, where he conveys a complex tangle of grief, anger, and determination. This is mostly done through subtext and body language.

The Sniper is excellent, but if you watch Obsession, I don't think you will think of Robert Newton as that guy who played a cuddly Long John Silver ever again. Dmytryk created a small, very dark gem filled with dramatic tension intensified by the story's unbearably claustrophobic feel.

[Western Guy]

Thanks for the heads-up on OBSESSION, Moira. Confess that's a new one to me, but you just said the two magic words that will have me tuning in: ROBERT NEWTON.

[Mr. Arkadin]

Obsession & The Sniper are great--don't miss them. Another feature not mentioned is The Devil Commands (1941), which rarely plays on TCM. I think it's one of Karloff's finest performances.

[JackFavell]

Jut for the record, Paul Newman, while technically not jewish, had a jewish father and felt himself to be a jew. Yeah, it surprised me too.

Is there a cuter pooch in cinema than that nice little doggie in OBSESSION? Man's best friend indeed, and worth ten of Sally Gray's character.

I really enjoyed SO WELL REMEMBERED, which I had never seen before, maybe because I am not too fond of precious Martha Scott in any of her good girl roles. I find her sometimes too concerned with enunciation for my liking, and her big eyes seem a bit empty to me... she was probably a better stage actress than screen. Here as the phoney Olivia, she was just perfect. Mills and Howard were terrific with Howard exceptional in a throwaway role as the doctor and best friend to poor love struck, put-upon Mills. I loved his delivery and demeanor here, and the way his thinning hair was always swept off in spirals of disarray... denoting his concern with medicine rather than his appearance.

I also liked Richard Carlson as Scott's son, even though I laughed when he first came on the scene...his un-Britishness brought me out of the movie for a minute. Carlson actually had some acting chops, and lately he's been standing out of the pack for me, at least in the category of young, well groomed actors with good voices - you know, the Hugh Marlowe, Phil Carey school of players.

I'm terribly excited about the Bea Lillie night...I've never seen any of her films except for THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE, and she scared the bejesus out of me in that one when I first saw it.... at age six. But now it's time to investigate her early screen appearances... I hope she's good! I've always been fond of British comediennes - Anna Russell, Joyce Grenfell, etc. I'm hoping to add Lillie to the list of eccentric British dames that I like.

I found Melvyn Douglas strangely comforting on his first night and day of films. Plus, with young Douglas you also get more Felix Bressart.

I haven't seen BEING THERE since it came out, and Hal Ashby didn't disappoint. The movie is quite odd and interestingly paced, slow as the character of Chance the Gardener himself. If you find that slow build funny, as I did, then the movie is for you. The scene where Chance's friend the maid talks about his rise to fame is priceless. Still left wondering about the ending, but I've created my own interpretation of it that works for me. Melvyn Douglas was excellent. He and Betty Grable should be two great inspirations for actors - examples of tenacious learners who stuck to it despite lackluster roles and developed until finally the payback of stardom/critical excellence was achieved.

[kingrat]

JF, I think you're going to like On Approval . It was a hit at this year's festival, selling out twice, and there's a piece about it in the Kingrat's Festival Notebook thread.

Being There was a film I liked a lot when it first came out. Glad to hear it holds up well.

I'm rewatching So Well Remembered and thoroughly enjoying it. Obsession will be up next. The Sniper is a surprising film for its time: very grim, though not bloody, then with a long talky preachy middle procedural section, then with a shorter resolution. There are resemblances to The Mark in its sympathy for a criminal who would ordinarily be considered beyond the pale. The views of 1950s San Francisco are a huge plus. For instance, toward the end there's a spectacular shot which begins with a view of the upper-floor windows where the sniper lives, then the camera pans down to show the whole building and moves back to show the entire neighborhood. This was so great that I quickly paused and rewound the tape to see it again.

There are so many films I haven't had a chance to post about. I Wake Up Screaming was as great as advertised, and I now have a new noir nightmare: to wake up like Victor Mature and find Laird Cregar sitting by the bed. The three and a half Betty Grable films I saw were so entertaining I wanted more. The Dolly Sisters (I'm joining the John Payne fan club) and Down Argentine Way--the Nicholas Brothers, Charlotte Greenwood and Carmen Miranda--were lots of fun, and the dance numbers in Meet Me After the Show were too much, in a good way. Gwen Verdon, no less, and why am I not surprised that the homoerotic "No Talent Joe" number was choreographed by Jack Cole. The "hot in Alaska" number with the polar bear was something else, too.

[JackFavell]

I LOVED the "No Talent Joe" number, kr! I actually went to look it up on youtube afterwards, it cracked me up so much. "What he lacks....he doesn't need." Great number.

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[Bronxgirl48]

I loved SAFE IN HELL but have a question: why does every early thirties movie involving a "bad" woman have them playing and dancing to a record of St. Louis Blues?

Wish they were showing GOODBYE, COLUMBUS and CROSSING DELANCEY as part of The Jewish Experience.

[JackFavell]

Oh god, I love Crossing Delancey. It's the best known of the two movie appearances of Yiddish theatre great Reizl Bozyk, who plays Amy Irving's grandmother, Bubbie Kantor.

[CineMaven]

LOL! WHATTA NUMBER.



Water water everywhere...and not a drop to drink: Makes me think of Jane Russell in "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes."

[Rita Hayworth]

I'm looking forward seeing tonight ...

http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/93019/Thoroughly-Modern-Millie/

Is this charming musical starring Julie Andrews, Mary Tyler Moore, and Carol Channing back in 1967 tonight ... I haven't seen this movie in years and I'm going to watch it later on today.