http://www.tcm.com/schedule/monthly.html
I’m sure there’s a slew of films everyone wants to see ( again. ) What do you guys want to see? I’ve got to slosh through some favorites and bide my time until the Morlocks come to town. THE MORLOCKS ARE COMING!!! THE MORLOCKS ARE COMING!!! which I can’t wait to see. But until that time comes, I have to make do with some of these films. Well, they say patience is a virtue.
TCM throws a nod to one of my favorite actresses on November 4th:
CAPUCINE.
Among the days and films I'm looking forward to are:
NOV. 3rd - MON.
MERLE OBERON
One of the most unusually beautiful women in Hollywood, she hasn’t had the “A” list career of Crawford, Stanwyck, Hepburn and my other ‘go to’ girls; but Oberon ensures her place in cinema history with the towering “Wuthering Heights.” I’m glad she’s being spotlighted and shown some love by TCM.
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NOV. 4th - SUN.
“STAGEDOOR”
This movie is the perfect barometer to see who your real friends are and if their sense of humor is in tact.
Kate, Ginger, Lucy, Eve, Gail and a good supporting cast sharpen their tongues and lash, slash and gash in this great ensemble movie.
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NOV. 5th - MON.
VIVIEN LEIGH
TCM honors Vivling on her 99th birthday. Among her chameleon appearances on the 5th, she’s a mistress, a ballerina, a delusional Southern Belle and a cougar this day.
She’s got the prettiest smile and the most expressive eyes in Movies. In fact she can do more with her eyes, than some actresses can do with their whole body. You can see her go from ingenue to older woman in the slew of films TCM airs for Leigh’s birthday. Even at the end, ( "...Mrs. Stone" ) she’s still got it. She is intense.
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NOV. 8th - SUN.
“NETWORK”
Paddy Chayefsky looked into his crystal ball and said, "I'm mad as Hell...and I'm gonna WRITE about it!!" What he came up with, was this prescious prescient gem.
What looked far-fetched back then, is NOW a reality of television and corporations. It is a black comedy and the more serious they play it...the funnier it is. My favorite scene is during the Black Revolutionaries’ meeting going over their contracts. When the Big Black Kahuna Grand Pubah shoots off his gun, I fell off my chair. ( And so did some of the characters sitting in the scene; one is on the floor...papers, flying. ) Watch this movie! That’s an order!!
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NOV. 9th - SUN.
Naaaaawwww, not that Hedley...
It’s the other Lamarr; ...the drop dead gorgeous, jaw droppingly beautiful one. Her looks often overwhelm her talent. But I think she pulled out a couple of good performances in her career, “H.M. Pulham, Esq.” for one.
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NOV. 12th - SUN.
“LOLITA”
EEeeeew!! It’s always been a discomforting watch for me, ever since I was teenager. ( “Go away you creepy old man!” )
TCM aired this movie a few scant months ago. I haven't seen it in its entirety in forever! So I watched just a little bit. Then a little bit more. Next thing I knew, I watched the whole thing. What the haaaaaay...Once again another movie creeped up on me and changed. (
) This movie is really a very black comedy. Now a little bit of Peter Sellers does go a long way for me. But that notwithstanding, the cross-purpose of motives between James Mason and Shelley Winters ( poor Shell...on the losing end of love once again 
) is sadly hilarious. And Sue Lyon does a helluva job. I think the actress was fourteen at the time. Don't think little Lolita doesn't know what she's doing. Oh Humbert Humbert...you silly goose. Can't you see she's got you wrapped around her like a hoola hoop? The scene where the cot is delivered into the hotel room cracks me up. That was the last thing he wanted. The screenplay walks a razor thin line between comedy and tragedy. I cut myself laughing.Creme de la Grace.
She didn’t make a lot of movies, but what she made was cherce. Spend the morning with Grace Kelly, especially with “Mogambo” and “Dial M for Murder.” She glistens like a diamond.
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NOV. 14th - WED.
"...But lord help the sister, who comes between me and my man."
The theme this morning is sisters. And probably not a one of them look like they share the same gene pool. I’m lovin’ Margaret Lindsay in “Fog Over Frisco” (with her "Jezebel" co-star" ) but my big focus will be with that big league blonde with the distinctive voice.
“BORN TO KILL”
He’s Just Not That Into You. She gets herself into a little noir trouble, falling for rough trade Lawrence Tierney. He looks like he was born in a trench coat, fedora...and a gun in your back. Yeah, he’s got a couple of screws loose. All sorts of drama ensues. It’s put together nicely. And Esther Howard is outstanding as the old lady. "Tall In The Saddle" actress, Audrey Long is in it too.
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NOV. 18th - SUN.
“HISTORY IS MADE AT NIGHT”
Children of the night. What great chemistry they ( Boyer and Jean Arthur ) make.
And what a romantic tale Borzage wraps around them. They meet cute, but it goes much deeper...and more sinister. For you Colin Clive fans...well, he takes the cake. If you haven’t seen it, you ought to. I didn't want to see it at first, but I did. And now...I want to see it again. I want to wrap my mind around Borzage. And I want to wrap Borzage around my heart.
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NOV. 20th - TUES.
“JULES et JIM” / “BONJOUR TRISTESSE”
Ahhh the French. More specifically, French girls. They sure know how to live, don't they? We American & British girls could take a lesson from them. See, I think we would be content to choose one from a menage-a-Tom, Dick and Harry or Peter, Paul and Mary or Spanky, Alfafa or Wheezer. But not the French. You doubt this? Why look at Jeanne Moreau:
Not only does she have two men in “Jules and Jim”; she could simultaneously juggle a Belmondo, Trintignant, Montand, Delon, Aumont, Gabin, Boyer, Chevalier, Jourdan and they’d all be happy. ( I'm not suggesting she made movies with all these guys...I was just trying to think of every French actor I know, off the top of my head. )
The French Riviera...where a young girl’s Oedipal fancy lightly turns to deadly mischief. I like this movie, the stars ( Seberg, Niven & Kerr ) I like seeing the Beautiful People. Lalalalalala...Champagne, STAT! BRILLIANT!
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NOV. 21st - WED.
Yes, Rita was sensual with her swing and sway, and Cyd was elegance & grace; yes Ann was athletic and could spin like ZZ Top! But for my money...there was no dancer like Eleanor Powell.
She had a million-watt smile ( always kind of reminds me of Irene Dunne ) and she could do anything, dance any style in gowns or tux. Powell twirls and spins and taps in the early part of Wednesday in a couple of Broadway Melodies, on gigantic soundstages. What Esther could do with water, and Sonja could do with ice... Eleanor could do on a black lacquered dance floor with competence and flair. My money's on the Terpsichorean talent of Eleanor Powell. I love to watch her dance.
“GONE WITH THE WIND”
Simply a masterpiece of filmmaking. It really is just enough to watch the machinations of Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh, the most perfect casting of leads I’ve seen. They’re stunning and they give one of the two or three best performances of their career. It’s a sweeping epic, covering lots of territory. But you can really boil it down to just these mere two people:
But I've got to tell you Miss Katie Scarlett O’Hara, there’s headstrong...and then there’s downright crazy! I declare you gave Cap'n Butler a hard way to go. I swear on a stack of DVDs...I don’t know HOW our mothers and grandmothers slept peacefully after seeing a Gable film. ((Sigh! )) And how do YOU sleep?
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NOV. 23rd - SUN.
HITCHCOCK
Yeth, Mathter.
No doubt Vera Miles, Eva Marie Saint, Joan Fontaine, Grace Kelly, Ingrid Bergman and the mighty Roman ( Ruth ) could each tell us a different story about the Master of Suspense. But there are those films he's left us with...
Yeah yeah, we've ALL seen 'em ALL before. But I'll betcha there's one of them today where you'll discover something you hadn't noticed before: "Strangers On A Train" "The Wrong Man" "North by Northwest" "Suspicion" and "Dial M for Murder." Watch "Under Capricorn" at your own risk. ( Yikes! Okay...alright...I know some of you like it.
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NOV. 25th - SUN.
“THE WOMEN”
The sheen, the polish, the timing. Man oh man...what a way to end the thirties! Estrogen Power!!
Here is where you give your friend one...last...chance. If he or she does not laugh at the high-tone shenanigans of this M-G-M classic with its all - star cast...there is no hope. I say dump ‘em!!
“THE MORTAL STORM”
Okay, if I have to take my medecine ( Margaret Sullavan ) like a big girl, what better way to wash it down but with Frank Borzage.
I’m going to really give this a serious shot. No distractions. No computer on. Just Maggie and Jimmy and Robert. My friend Bob promised me I would like her...but was it for this film?
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NOV. 26th - MON.
“THE NARROW MARGIN”
See...now we’re talkin’! Try to get a witness to trial. On a train. Where the killers are after you. And there's no where to go. Taut. Tense. And then there is...Marie.
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NOV. 28th - WED.
GLORIA GRAHAME
Oh the days of waxing on with some of the boys at TCM City ( Molo and Grimesy and Lafitte ) extolling the tarnished virtues of Glo-lo. But alas and alack I am in the here and now, and if you don't know Gloria...now's your chance! I can't teach you everything. Here:
TCM is showing the glorious Gloria Grahame in all her incarnations in seven movies: "BLONDE FEVER" "CROSSFIRE" "MERTON OF THE MOVIES" "ROUGHSHOD" ( which stars another blonde worth watching: Claude Jarman Jr...Oh, and Myrna Dell ), "A WOMAN'S SECRET" ( where I may test out how strong my new-found love for Melvyn Douglas is ) "MACAO" ( the only time a guy's attention might be pulled from Jane Russell, but then there's always rough, rugged and burly Robert Mitchum to feast on ) and "THE BIG HEAT" where my avatar comes from. Most of these films might be variations of her "...heart of gold" persona.
What? Uhmmm...no "IN A LONELY PLACE" TCM? I would've switched out "Merton..." for Gloria with Bogie. But that's okay I guess. We wouldn't want anyone o.d.'ing on Glo-lo. And if you can wait until sometime in 2013, I have a "MovieCHAT" episode where we discuss "In A Lonely Place." One point up for discussion in that episode: "Could Gloria be a Hitchcock Blonde."
Did I hear you say you wanted to see a two-minute sneak preview? Well your wish is my command...here: "MovieCHAT."
What will you enjoy about November?
