May 2023 Schedule Posted, William Powell is SOTM

[jimimac71]

I looked at the Criterion Channel site.
The promo for Buster Keaton was hilarious.
Not a suitable replacement for TCM. So far, nothing is.
Cable TV/Internet is already over $200 and I don't use streaming at all.
I'm sure there's an appropriate place to mention the Murder, She Wrote Marathon today on Great American Family.
I just haven't looked yet.
It's becoming a regular thing for Saturdays.

[EP Millstone]

. . . As EP mentioned they offer thematic programming of some classic films, a lot of art house and independent films.

Actually, txfilmfan provided that description of The Criterion Channel.

[cmovieviewer]

To try to cap the Mary Astor question on a positive note, here are the upcoming Mary Astor-related films currently scheduled on TCM:

March

03-19 08:30 AM Maltese Falcon, The (1941)
03-29 11:00 AM Meet Me in St. Louis (1944)

April

04-01 06:00 AM Beau Brummel (1924)
04-01 03:00 AM Don Juan (1926)
04-03 11:00 PM Page Miss Glory (1935)
04-08 05:15 AM Across the Pacific (1942)
04-11 04:30 PM Scandal: The Trial of Mary Astor (2018) (documentary)
04-11 06:00 PM Great Lie, The (1941)
04-19 10:00 PM Maltese Falcon, The (1941)

May

05-01 10:45 PM Prisoner of Zenda, The (1937)
05-09 09:45 PM Palm Beach Story, The (1942)
05-11 08:15 AM Kennel Murder Case, The (1933)
05-12 04:00 AM Great Lie, The (1941)
05-14 06:00 AM Listen, Darling (1938)

The dates are based on a programming day starting at 6 am, times are ET. (I promise to not belabor this any further.)

[umop apisdn]

. . . As EP mentioned they offer thematic programming of some classic films, a lot of art house and independent films.

Actually, txfilmfan provided that description of The Criterion Channel.

My apologies! Props for txfilmfan for accurately describing what Criterion Channel is. The service never set out to be a direct replacement for TCM.

The only ones who can provide that is Warner Discovery and they see it as a small part of their HBO Max offerings. They shut down the Cinemax streaming and are in the process of figuring out how to add Discovery content. Apparently, the geniuses there think that HBO scares off people and want to name their service Max.

Unfortunately, the HBO classic film content consists of only the well known classics and occasionally whatever George Feltenstein's team works on for 4K restorations.

I have zero interest in Discovery Channel's programming unless it's documentary stuff they used to air in the 90s. I hate all "reality based" programming.

[EP Millstone]

To try to cap the Mary Astor question on a positive note, here are the upcoming Mary Astor-related films currently scheduled on TCM:

. . .

April . . .
04-11 04:30 PM Scandal: The Trial of Mary Astor (2018) (documentary) . . .

Scandal: The Trial of Mary Astor (2018) is the only flick on cmovieviewer's list that piqued my interest. But after reading reviews of writer-director Alexa Foreman's documentary ("one-sided," "whitewash," "overblown"), I decided to pass*.

I know zilch about Mary Astor other than her performances in the very few of her movies that I've seen, one of which was The Maltese Falcon (in which Astor sported a, to me, very unattractive and matronly hairstyle). So I briefly researched the "Mary Astor scandal" (which, I learned, was not about the reason behind her a very unattractive and matronly hairstyle).

For Mary Astor fans, an interview with Astor's daughter on the blog Self-Styled Siren might be of interest:

"You Don't Wanna Know About How Frank She Was:" A Conversation with Marylyn Roh About Her Mother, Mary Astor


* I generally ignore reviews and read them only to learn more about a movie does not grab me and to confirm my suspicion that watching it will be a waste of my time.

[jimimac71]

I go back in cable television and remember HBO being the first and most popular "Premium" service. We didn't like calling it Pay TV. HBO had Fraggle Rock, which the kids were crazy about and made for an easier sale to the parents. (I worked on commission) (1984)
Along came Showtime. The Movie Channel came and was movies 24 hours a day.
They also showed R rated films during all hours of the day.
HBO created Cinemax to compete. The Disney Channel was also a premium service.
Dare I say, EVERYTHING is completely different.
Our cable company, Storer Communications, co-created a mostly movie service called Spotlight. Nice try but it didn't last. Robert Osborne was a host before TCM.
Almost everyone had a small monthly guide.
Perhaps some of my opinions are based on the past.
I only have a cable subscription. No extras. So TCM is my sole source for movies.
Of course it is to my advantage TCM is commercial free.
Here is Robert Osborne: