February 2008
February is here and that means “31 Days of Oscar” on TCM. They even put a four page advertising supplement in the New York Times this weekend with the schedule. What apparently translates to more viewers for TCM means a departure from the rarer, more obscure films not available on DVD that inspired this weekly column. Thus, I’ve decided to spotlight only ten films for the whole month of February and will return to the weekly updates for March. There are obviously a ton of great, great films airing here this month, but most are readily available from Netflix (or on our own DVD shelves). As always, all times are EST and program days begin at 6:00 AM.
Monday February 4
8:00 PM Wings (Wellman, 1927) - BW-141 mins. - The first Best Picture Oscar winner (technically “Best Production”) is not on R1 DVD and rarely shows up on television. The film tells the story of two men (Richard Arlen and Charles “Buddy” Rogers) who become WWI pilots and compete for the attention of the same woman (played by It girl Clara Bow). Gary Cooper has a small role. Paramount made the movie, but with Universal’s acquisition of their pre-1950 library they should have the rights now. The other Oscar winner from 1927 (given a special “Unique and Artistic Picture” prize and usually not considered the true Best Picture winner), F.W. Murnau’s Sunrise follows at 10:30 PM. It’s not readily available on R1 DVD, though Fox did put out a special release in their Studio Classics Best Picture set and the Masters of Cinema R2 can easily be had.
Wednesday February 6
2:15 AM Bullfighter and the Lady (Boetticher, 1951) - BW-124 mins. - Those familiar with Budd Boetticher and his films know that he had a passion for bullfighting. Prior to helming the Randolph Scott westerns he’s best known for today, Boetticher directed Robert Stack as an American who goes to Mexico to bullfight and impress the lady of the title. Co-starring Joy Page, Gilbert Roland, and Katy Jurado, Bullfighter and the Lady earned Boetticher a Best Story Oscar nomination. It was made for Republic Pictures and remains unavailable on DVD. I believe Paramount owns the R1 rights and maybe Universal has control in the UK (though I’m not positive).
Friday February 8
7:15 AM The Sin of Madelon Claudet (Selwyn, 1931) - BW-76 mins. - I’m always up for a good pre-Code mother turned hooker story. Helen Hayes took home an Oscar for playing the title character, who takes up prostitution as a means of sending her son to medical school. I love Irving Thalberg’s quote found on IMDB and taken from Anthony Holden’s book Behind the Oscar: “Let’s face it. We win Academy Awards with crap like Madelon Claudet.” I wonder if TCM has considered using that as their February tag line. Thalberg’s studio MGM made the film and Warner Bros. controls the DVD rights.
Saturday February 9
6:15 AM The Seven Faces of Dr. Lao (Pal, 1964) - C-100 mins. - Anyone who’s read my reviews of Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? or The Odd Couple knows what I think of Tony Randall, a superb comedic actor. Here Randall plays all seven faces, everything from Merlin to the Abominable Snowman, of Dr. Lao, a Chinese circus performer with magical powers. Barbara Eden adds support. I can remember several years ago Michael Jackson wanted to remake this film, but, for better or worse, that obviously never happened. Even though director George Pal lived until 1980, he never made another movie. There is a DVD out from Warner Bros. in R1, but I’ve not seen it. Dr. Lao’s Oscar nomination was in the Visual Effects category.
Tuesday February 12
6:30 AM The Window (Tetzlaff, 1949) - BW-74 mins. - Film noir fans should make time for this, as it’s rarely shown and not on R1 DVD. I saw it at Film Forum back in the summer and enjoyed the movie very much. Young Bobby Driscoll stars as a boy who often invents wild stories to tell parents Arthur Kennedy and Barbara Hale. When he sees a real murder committed by his upstairs neighbors, no one believes him. Like most child actors, Driscoll can be grating but the role actually fits that quality and his acting is still impressive. The film was based on a Cornell Woolrich story and its Oscar nomination was for Best Editing, though BAFTA put it up against the likes of The Third Man, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre and eventual winner Bicycle Thieves for its Best Film award in 1950. Made for RKO, The Window’s DVD rights are controlled by Warner Bros. (perhaps a future spot in a Film Noir Classic Collection volume?). Theodora Goes Wild, a fine little film with Irene Dunne that I saw back in December, follows at 7:45 AM.
Wednesday February 20
7:30 AM The Red Danube (Sidney, 1949) - BW-119 mins. - After the end of WWII, British Colonel Walter Pidgeon is assigned to help the Soviet Union return its citizens from Vienna. While in a convent run by Mother Superior Ethel Barrymore, Pidgeon and a major played by Peter Lawford are forced to deal with the plight of a young Russian ballerina (Janet Leigh, more than a decade before Psycho) who does not want to return to the Soviet Union. I’ve never seen this or, I believe, anything else George Sidney directed, but it certainly sounds interesting. Nominated for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration (B&W), the film is unavailable on DVD, with Warner Bros. controlling the rights from MGM.
Thursday February 21
9:15 AM Strategic Air Command (Mann, 1955) - C-114 mins. - Currently the only Anthony Mann-James Stewart picture not available on DVD, Strategic Air Command tells the story of a baseball player who becomes an Air Force bomber pilot. Stewart, a WWII veteran who flew several bombing missions himself, refused to capitalize on his “war hero” status in Hollywood and this was his first military-type role. The film was made for Paramount and shot in its VistaVision process. It was nominated for a Best Motion Picture Story Oscar.
Friday February 22
5:45 AM Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams (Cates, 1973) - C-89 mins. - Gil Cates has probably become better known for producing the Academy Awards than for directing films like this one and I Never Sang for My Father. Those movies maybe haven’t aged particularly well, but they were popular with Oscar during their initial release. Joanne Woodward and Sylvia Sidney picked up acting nominations here. Woodward is a housewife in a midlife crisis with a gay son and Sidney is her mother. IMDB says Bergman’s Wild Strawberries is shown in one scene so that might give you an idea of what this picture was going for. Still, it’s not on DVD and, since it’s a Sony-owned title, the chances aren’t great for a release. The 93 minutes given as the running time on IMDB versus the 89 TCM lists in their guide and 95 on their website concerns me a little, but the channel does brag about being “uncut and commercial-free.”
Sunday February 24
9:00 AM Bachelor Mother (Kanin, 1939) - BW-83 mins. - Shop girl Ginger Rogers gets mistaken as being the mother of an abandoned baby. Laughs ensue. David Niven is her boss and romantic interest. Ginger in a screwball comedy about a lost child and an illegitimate mother just promotes itself, right. Garson Kanin never had as much luck as a director as he had as a writer, but I enjoy the film he made after this, My Favorite Wife. I was a little surprised to see Bachelor Mother sits at #41 on TCM’s Not-On-Home Video fan vote list. It was made for RKO and rights should sit with WB. A DVD is out in the UK’s Ginger Rogers set from Universal (70% off at Amazon UK at the time of this writing) and as a single release in France. The film’s Oscar nomination was in the Best Original Story category.
Thursday February 28
4:oo AM Summer and Smoke (Glenville, 1961) - C-119 mins. - Spinster (Geraldine Page) is in love with doctor (Laurence Harvey) who instead has eyes for a girl from the wrong side of the tracks (Rita Moreno). It’s based on a Tennessee Williams play so my interest level isn’t terribly high, but Page and Una Merkel picked up nominations, as did Elmer Bernstein’s score and the art direction-set decoration. Plus there’s no DVD release. Becket director Peter Glenville also got a DGA nod for his work here. It looks to be a Paramount title.
Comments»
The Window is actually available on DVD - I know because I have a copy. While it’s not out in R1, you can get it in R2 from France.
Thanks for catching that, keeping me on my multi-region toes livius. (10 Euros from Amazon France)
Mind you, I should add that it’s not the greatest transfer. Not awful, by any means, it’s certainly watchable - but, like many of those Montparnasse releases, it could be a whole lot better.