September 2007
I’m starting a new weekly heads-up of ten interesting films or specials on my favorite channel, Turner Classic Movies in the U.S. This should remind me what to watch for and hopefully help someone else every now and then as well. I’m neither endorsing nor claiming I’ve seen every selection here, only that there’s something worth exploring further. It may be for a particular director, actor, or anything else. The only criteria will be relative obscurity (don’t expect me to point out the monthly Casablanca showing), which automatically qualifies most any film unreleased on DVD. TCM starts their program day at 6:00 AM EST so I’ll follow their lead there. (i.e. all times EST and a new day starts at 6:00 AM instead of midnight) I’m picking out ten things of interest each week, beginning this Saturday, the 1st of September. Every Friday (in theory) I’ll make a new post summarizing what I picked and why. So, here we go:
Saturday September 1
8:00 AM In a Lonely Place (Ray, 1950) - BW-94 mins. - Certainly not obscure, and out in a fine DVD from Sony/Columbia, but still not as well known as it deserves. My favorite film not immutably perched in the film canon.
4:00 PM One, Two, Three (Wilder, 1961) - BW-109 mins. - Wilder’s zaniest film and my favorite non-gangster Cagney performance. Again, available in a good MGM anamorphic DVD, but undervalued nonetheless.
Sunday September 2
6:00 AM The Kid from Spain (McCarey, 1932) - BW-96 mins. - This is the musical comedy Leo McCarey made just before Duck Soup (and right after Indiscreet starring Gloria Swanson). It stars Eddie Cantor as an expelled college student who somehow ends up as the getaway driver following a robbery (I think). His plan to evade the police is simple enough: go to Mexico and pretend to be a famous bullfighter. Things get hairy when the cop following him from the states gets tickets for Cantor’s bullfight. That’s about all I know as I’ve never seen it, but McCarey is one of the more neglected early comedy directors (and this was his prime era) so it’s probably worth a watch. A couple of alternatives to waking up early Sunday morning might be a scandalous Hedy Lamarr in Ecstasy at 2:15 AM, followed by Robert Aldrich’s Too Late the Hero.
Monday September 3
8:30 AM Directed by John Ford (Bogdanovich, 2006) - C-111 mins. - The TCM guide sums it up better than I could: “Newly updated and re-edited version of the 1971 documentary chronicling the career of maverick director John Ford. Narrated by Orson Welles.” Not yet available on DVD.
10:30 AM Raw Deal (Mann, 1948) - BW-79 mins. - Along with the previous year’s T-Men, this film noir established Mann as a great B-movie auteur prior to his tackling of, first, the western, and, then, the epic. Available in numerous cheap and terrible digital incarnations. None, I believe, are any better than what TCM shows.
2:00 AM The Wind (Sjöström, 1928) - BW-82 mins. - I’m fairly sure this is the last silent film directed by Sjöström, who perhaps has become just as well known for starring in Ingmar Bergman’s Wild Strawberries. It’s not been released on DVD to my knowledge, with Warner Bros. owning the R1 rights. Starring Lillian Gish, it’s a film I haven’t yet seen, but with a reputation that precedes it a mile, The Wind on television gives me no excuse to avoid the film any longer.
3:30 AM Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! (Meyer, 1965) - BW-84 mins. - Here’s a perfect example of why I love TCM so much. They follow up The Wind with this, a film where “three go-go dancers resort to murder in search of a family’s hidden treasure.” Probably exploitation king Russ Meyer’s most famous movie, it’s been shown a few times before on TCM, mostly during their Friday night “Underground” series. Another one I’ve not had the pleasure of watching. It seems that both the R1 and R2 DVD releases are no longer in print.
Tuesday September 4
12:15 PM The Sniper (Dmytryk, 1952) - BW-88 mins. - Smack dab in the middle of a nine film Edward Dmytryk marathon to start the day, this is probably the film I’d pick as the most essential (though the Connery-Bardot teaming of Shalako is hard to pass up). Adolphe Menjou and Marie Windsor, of The Killing and The Narrow Margin fame, star in the disturbing story of a man who begins shooting seemingly random people with an assault rifle. A Stanley Kramer production, the film was made by Columbia and remains unreleased on DVD. With Sony’s dismal track record of late, I wouldn’t expect that to change anytime soon.
Wednesday September 5
2:00 PM A Child Is Waiting (Cassavetes, 1963) - BW-105 mins. - Another film produced by Stanley Kramer for Columbia, about a teacher (Judy Garland) who takes an interest in an autistic boy whose parents have left the child at an institute for the mentally impaired and not visited him during his stay. Burt Lancaster also stars as a child psychologist. Kramer apparently took the reins away from Cassavetes in the editing stage so his “authorship” is somewhat questionable, but I know many regard the film fairly well, especially for its handling of mental retardation. No R1 DVD, though there is an out of print French release.
Friday September 7
12:30 PM It Happened in Brooklyn (Whorf, 1947) - BW-103 mins. - An early Frank Sinatra movie, also starring Peter Lawford and Jimmy Durante. A musical love letter to Brooklyn, the place Frank’s character has been dreaming about returning to since serving in WWII. Young and blonde Gloria Grahame the same year she was Oscar-nominated for Crossfire. Not available on DVD, but made by MGM so a Warner Bros. property and thus likely for release at some point.
Saturday September 8
11:30 PM The Picture of Dorian Gray (Lewin, 1945) - BW & C-111 mins. - Probably one of the more popular unreleased DVD titles at this point (rights controlled by Warner Bros.), Oscar Wilde’s story of the man who only ages in a painting was adapted quite well here by Albert Lewin, who also directed. I watched this several years ago so my memory is hazy but I can remember the abrupt bursts of color really stood out, as did Angela Lansbury’s Academy Award-nominated performance.
3:15 AM Lady Windemere’s Fan (Lubitsch, 1925) - BW-89 mins. - Oscar Wilde night continues with a Lubitsch silent starring Ronald Colman. Maybe not one of the director’s absolute best silent films, but probably in the upper echelon. And it’s hard to fault any silents being shown on television, much less one by Lubitsch. Available on R1 DVD in the “More Treasures from the American Film Archives” set released by Image. EDIT: TCM have apparently altered their schedule and are no longer showing Lady Windemere’s Fan as originally scheduled.
Sunday September 9
2:00 AM I, Vitelloni (Fellini, 1953) - BW-107 mins. - Criterion released a nice DVD of this so it’s easily available, but lots of people don’t want to pay twenty or thirty dollars for something they don’t know much about it and/or might be intimidated by an Italian language film directed by someone with the reputation of Fellini. The truth is that it’s a great little movie and probably Fellini’s easiest to enjoy if you’re not very familiar with his work. The film tells the story of five friends in a small coastal town and their adjustments to adulthood, for better or worse. For the night owls, Chaplin’s Modern Times follows at four.
Monday September 10
7:15 AM The Set-Up (Wise, 1949) - BW-73 mins. - This would have been Robert Wise’s 93rd birthday and I think The Set-Up, a gritty as they come boxing movie starring Robert Ryan, is his best film. The director made it to 91 before passing away two years ago this week and TCM will play nine of his films in a row to start their day. This one is on DVD, and in the first WB Film Noir set, but I think it’s good enough to still deserve a mention. It’s kind of hard to imagine that the same guy who made this also did things as diverse as The Sound of Music, The Sand Pebbles, and The Day the Earth Stood Still. A couple of his westerns, both unreleased on DVD and controlled by Warners, are playing later in the day - Blood on the Moon at 11:15 AM and Tribute to a Bad Man at 4:30 PM. The former stars Robert Mitchum and the latter has James Cagney. Both should be worth a look as well.
8:00 PM Some Came Running (Minnelli, 1958) - C-137 mins. - Two weeks in a row I’ve picked a Sinatra film. This is one of his (and Dean Martin’s) very best. It’s also the picture where Shirley MacLaine got her Rat Pack membership card. I have to think the DVD will be released soon from Warner Bros. It’s starting to look conspicuously absent with each new box set announcement from the studio.
3:30 AM The Harder They Fall (Robson, 1956) - BW-109 mins. - Based on a novel from Budd Schulberg, this was Bogart’s last film. He plays a defeated sportswriter hired by Rod Steiger’s boxing promoter to play publicist for a new fighter. Also starring Jan Sterling, the film was released on DVD by Sony, but then inexplicably taken out of print a couple of years ago when the studio discontinued several titles, including California Split and Bonjour Tristesse.
Thursday September 13
4:00 PM The Unsuspected (Curtiz, 1947) - BW-104 mins. - Claude Rains with a starring role, alongside Audrey Totter, in an interesting little noir about a radio crime series producer who commits the “perfect crime” and then uses the case on his show. Never seen it, but sounds interesting and those two actors sell it for me. Made by Warner Bros. and unreleased on DVD.
8:00 PM Private Screenings: Norman Jewison (2007) - C-60 mins. - The debut of a new entry in TCM’s original series where host Robert Osborne sits down with a notable figure of film to discuss their career. I think maybe Jewison is sometimes regarded as a lightweight director and not terribly appreciated. Still, all things considered, he’s had a pretty nice run. There’s some dreck in there (Bogus, really?), but In the Heat of the Night remains one of my favorites no matter how many times I see it. If you remove “Windmills of Your Mind” from The Thomas Crown Affair then I love that one too and I’m a big fan of The Hurricane also. Hal Ashby, a director I’m quite fond of, edited five of Jewison’s films from the ’60s and Jewison helped him out by producing Ashby’s debut The Landlord, in 1970.
Friday September 14
12:15 PM The Shining Hour (Borzage, 1938) - BW-77 mins. - Joan Crawford, Melvyn Douglas, and Margaret Sullavan star, with support from Robert Young and Hattie McDaniel. Here’s what I know: Borzage is terribly absent on DVD and this film’s screenplay was co-written by the poet Ogden Nash. Here’s what I don’t know: whether the movie is any good. The only way to find out is watch and see for yourself. EDIT: TCM has bumped this showing in favor of a tribute to the recently deceased Jane Wyman.
6:30 PM Nightfall (Tourneur, 1956) - BW-78 mins. - I’ll definitely be watching this one, a film with so many things going for it and a stellar reputation to boot. First and foremost, it’s based on a story by David Goodis, who wrote the source novels for the films Dark Passage and Truffaut’s Shoot the Piano Player. The director was Jacques Tourneur, an RKO veteran of the Val Lewton pictures and Out of the Past. Plus it features Anne Bancroft in her film debut. That’s all I need to know. I’m in. Never released on DVD or (I believe) VHS, with rights controlled by Sony, who are too busy releasing Ghost Rider and Spider-Man 1, 2, and 3 on Blu-Ray to be bothered with this kind of film. EDIT: TCM has also taken this showing off their schedule to make room for a slate of Jane Wyman films.
Saturday September 15
8:00 AM Johnny Eager (LeRoy, 1942) - BW-108 mins. - I’m really not sure why this film isn’t already available on DVD. Van Heflin’s Oscar win alone would make one think that Warner Bros. should have released it a long time ago. Robert Taylor stars as the title character, a racketeer who gets involved with the DA’s daughter, played by a very young and very pretty Lana Turner.
11:30 PM The Mystery of the Wax Museum (Curtiz, 1933) - C-78 mins. - TCM is giving Fay Wray the night to celebrate what would have been her 100th birthday. Two-strip Technicolor was used for this film, as well as the Curtiz-directed Doctor X, which precedes this showing. It was also the original version of Andre De Toth’s better-known House of Wax starring Vincent Price. Stay tuned at 2:30 AM for Frank Capra’s Dirigible, also with the lovely Ms Wray.
Monday September 17
4:00 PM Seven Women (Ford, 1966) - C-87 mins. - John Ford’s final film, about missionary women in 1930s China trying to stave off Mongol bandits and other calamities. Showing in a six-film birthday tribute to Anne Bancroft, who would have been 76. The Pumpkin Eater, at 12:15 PM, and The Slender Thread, at 2:15 PM, both not on DVD, might be worth making time for also. Ford’s film isn’t available on DVD either, with rights controlled by Warner Bros in R1.
8:00 PM Something Always Happens (Powell, 1934) - BW-69 mins. - The first of two back-to-back early Michael Powell films recently unearthed from the Teddington Studios “quickie quota” library. These English-made films were produced for Warner Bros. More detailed information can be enjoyed at John Hodson’s “From the Cheap Seats” film journal.
9:15 PM Crown Vs. Stevens (Powell, 1936) - BW-66 mins. - Another of the Teddington Powell pictures, with Night and the City’s Googie Withers in a supporting role. There are an additional four more movies debuting as part of TCM’s “Lost & Found: Teddington Studios” - one more tonight and three more the following week.
Tuesday September 18
1:00 PM Susan Lenox: Her Fall and Rise (Leonard, 1931) - BW-77 mins. - The star teaming of Greta Garbo and Clark Gable is enough to make this interesting. I’ve never seen a Garbo picture that I unequivocally loved (even Ninotchka), but she was such a dynamic presence that I’d watch her in anything. Made for MGM and not yet released on DVD by Warner Bros.
Wednesday September 19
2:00 AM The 400 Blows (Truffaut, 1959) - BW-100 mins. - Not obscure and not in need of another DVD release (I think it’s the only movie Criterion has released three separate versions of on DVD), Truffaut’s debut film still deserves a mention because it’s something that I think will appeal to those unfamiliar with the French New Wave or Truffaut or Criterion. If you love film, this is an extraordinary experience that requires little contextualizing to enjoy.
Thursday September 20
8:00 PM The Killer That Stalked New York (McEvoy, 1950) - BW-79 mins. - The TCM guide says this will be the channel’s debut showing of this noirish crime drama about jewel thieves and smallpox. It sounds interesting, a little like Fox’s Kazan film Panic in the Streets, and I’ve never seen it. Director Earl McEvoy only helmed three pictures and died at the age of 49. The film stars Evelyn Keyes and features Dorothy Malone. It seems to be unavailable officially on DVD or VHS. IMDB says Columbia distributed the film theatrically so I suppose Sony controls R1 DVD rights?
Friday September 21
6:00 AM The Bamboo Blonde (Mann, 1946) - BW-68 mins. - Anthony Mann again. TCM programmers always seem to show as much of Mann’s work as they can, a welcome choice since he’s still underrepresented on DVD. This one is set during WWII and involves a nightclub singer and a pilot. Frances Langford stars with “This Is Your Life” creator Ralph Edwards and Jane Greer in a supporting part. Made for RKO so presumably Warner Bros. has R1 control.
12:45 AM Mask of the Avenger (Karlson, 1951) - C-83 mins. - I’m afraid I can’t be of much help here, other than pointing out that this film is supposed to air at this time. Director Phil Karlson made some interesting pictures, including Kansas City Confidential and Scandal Sheet, which was adapted from Samuel Fuller’s novel. IMDB only has 14 votes for this particular movie, but the TCM synopsis (Italian nobleman becomes an outlaw to avenge his father’s murder) sounds intriguing and Anthony Quinn stars.
Saturday September 22
6:00 AM T-Men (Mann, 1947) - BW-93 mins. - More Mann noir, this time the John Alton-lensed companion to Raw Deal. Like that film, this is released on DVD in numerous crappy editions and TCM’s print probably trumps them all.
5:15 PM Anatomy of a Murder (Preminger, 1959) - BW-161 mins. - One of Preminger’s best, one of Jimmy Stewart’s finest performances and truly one of the best courtroom dramas ever. It’s a tad lengthy (this is Preminger though), but such an astounding piece of cinema that you’ll hardly notice. George C. Scott, Ben Gazzara, and Lee Remick provide fine support. Released on R1 and R2 DVD by Sony/Columbia, but the R1 is full frame and this was shot 1.85:1. TCM should be showing the correct letterbox version.
Sunday September 23
12:00 AM The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg (Lubitsch, 1927) - BW-107 mins. - Lubitsch silent, hopefully TCM will actually show this one instead of bumping it like they did Lady Windemere’s Fan a couple of weeks ago. I don’t think this is available on DVD yet. IMDB lists John M. Stahl, who’d go on to direct Gene Tierney in Leave Her to Heaven, as an uncredited director. Not sure what the story is there, but the film stars Ramon Novarro and Norma Shearer. One of the Lubitsch silents Warner Bros. owns, I believe, as it was made for MGM. WB is so good about releasing classic movies but seems almost completely uninterested in putting out their silents.
2:00 AM Westfront 1918 (Pabst, 1930) - BW-93 mins. - A Janus Films property, meaning Criterion is likely to release at some point. Set during World War I, this German silent was made by G.W. Pabst, director of three films released on DVD in the past year - Pandora’s Box, The Threepenny Opera (both Criterion), and Diary of a Lost Girl (Masters of Cinema). TCM has shown this before, but it’s been several months so I’d advise anyone interested to watch or record this showing if they want to see the film in the next six months or so.
Monday September 24
6:00 PM None But the Lonely Heart (Odets, 1944) - BW-114 mins. - In the annals of Hollywood award history, the two big-time star actors who seem least recognized are Henry Fonda (nominated for two Academy Awards, but forty years apart) and Cary Grant, who only received two Oscar nominations including one for his performance here. Director, playwright, and screenwriter Clifford Odets helmed just two films and his other was the even less-heralded The Story on Page One. I think this is certainly worth watching, for Grant and Odets at least, and it’s surprisingly unavailable on DVD. Made for RKO, and with Warner Bros. controlling the bulk of their library, they presumably own the home video rights in R1.
Tuesday September 25
11:45 PM Champion (Robson, 1949) - BW-100 mins. - Sort of a Kirk Douglas-themed week here. This was his star-making role, for which he received his first of three Oscar nominations. A low-budget grind of a picture, Lewton veteran Mark Robson’s film about a mostly unlikeable boxer’s struggle to succeed was released by United Artists and then wound up with Republic Pictures. The R1 DVD released by Artisan is no longer in print. The Republic library is a mess, but I think Paramount Lion’s Gate controls it in R1.
Wednesday September 26
11:00 AM The Male Animal (Nugent, 1942) - BW-101 mins. - Henry Fonda may be a little under appreciated for his comedic roles. Here he stars as a professor dealing with trustees concerned with a piece of literature Fonda wants to read to his class. Further complications arise when his wife’s ex-boyfriend comes to town for homecoming. Olivia de Havilland co-stars as the wife, Jack Carson is the former football star ex, and Joan Leslie plays de Havilland’s sister. Made for Warner Bros. and not yet on DVD.
Thursday September 27
1:15 PM Ace in the Hole (Wilder, 1951) - BW-111 mins. - After writing about this at length twice, not much else to say. I would recommend that anyone put off by a first viewing try to give it another chance a bit afterwards. Those unwilling to pony up the $40 MSRP for the Criterion DVD can see it for the price of their monthly cable subscription here.
3:15 PM The Juggler (Dmytryk, 1953) -BW-84 mins. - Probably the most anticipated film of the week for me. I’m not sure how rare this or how often TCM shows it, but I’ve been looking out for it since seeing Kirk Douglas in conversation last March and Annette Insdorf mentioned not being familiar with the film and having a hard time finding a copy. Douglas plays a Jewish refugee in Israel having difficulty with the psychological effects of World War II. Not released anywhere on VHS or DVD to my knowledge, Sony currently owns the rights and most likely have no plans to put it out. Orson Welles’ version of Othello airs directly afterwards.
6:30 PM The Bigamist (Lupino, 1953) - BW-79 mins. - Edmond O’Brien is the man of the title, married to both Joan Fontaine and (secretly) Ida Lupino. Off the screen, the man credited with this screenplay, Collier Young, married Fontaine in 1952, only one year after his divorce from Lupino. Is it any surprise that Fontaine was unhappy with her role in the finished film? Lesson: don’t mess with Ida Lupino. The Bigamist was independently made by Lupino’s production company and appears to be in the public domain. Alpha released a DVD in R1, but I’ve not seen it. It can also be watched (or legally downloaded) for free online here.
Saturday September 29
2:15 AM They Won’t Forget (LeRoy, 1937) - BW-96 mins. - Working from a screenplay co-written by Robert Rossen, who’d go on to make several notable films including Body and Soul and The Hustler, Claude Rains stars as a southern district attorney hellbent on prosecuting a man for the murder of a young woman (played by Lana Turner). Similar ground as in the Fritz Lang film Fury, made the year before, and Lang apparently turned down the chance to direct this film. Made for Warner Bros. and currently not available on DVD.
Sunday September 30
2:00 AM Diabolique (Clouzot, 1955) - BW-116 mins. - Clouzot’s films are favorites of mine and this is probably at the top. A man’s wife and mistress team up for murder - or do they? This is as watchable as they come. Forty years later, Hollywood tried to remake it and unsurprisingly screwed up. In R1, a DVD is available from Criterion, but it was one of their early ones and the disc is bare. Many expect a re-issue somewhere down the line.
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