Here is a link to December's lineup:
http://www.tcm.com/schedule/month/?cid=&oid=12/1/2008
Joseph Cotten is apparently SOTM.
Dec 3rd lineup has some nifty British movies. I've seen the adaptation of the D.H. Lawrence story, The Rocking Horse Winner before & it's very good. The others are new to me, but sound promising:
10:15 PM
The Rocking Horse Winner (1949)
A young boy's talent for picking winning race horses threatens his life. Cast: Valerie Hobson, John Howard Davies, John Mills. Dir: Anthony Pelissier. BW-91 mins,
3:15 AM
Meet Me Tonight (1952)
Three Noel Coward stories deal with a temperamental song and dance team, a squabbling family and a broke society couple. Cast: Valerie Hobson, Kay Walsh, Stanley Holloway. Dir: Anthony Pelissier. C-81 mins,
4:45 AM
August Week-End (1936)
A socialite finds herself torn between a wealthy older man and a poor young suitor. Cast: Valerie Hobson, G.P. Huntley, Paul Harvey. Dir: Charles Lamont. BW-62 mins,
Christmas Eve looks particularly promising:
8:00 PM
The Cheaters (1945)
An unemployed actor tries to save a young innocent from greedy relations. Cast: Joseph Schildkraut, Billie Burke, Eugene Pallette. Dir: Joseph Kane. BW-87 mins,
9:30 PM
Cluny Brown (1946)
A servant girl's passion for plumbing shocks London society. Cast: Jennifer Jones, Charles Boyer, Peter Lawford. Dir: Ernst Lubitsch. BW-100 mins
Great, late Lubitsch fun about class, love, and Mitteleuropean encounters with an English speaking people. Boyer & Jones never better in comedy. Yes, Jennifer Jones does comedy. And she does it well.
11:15 PM
Remember the Night (1940)
An assistant D.A. takes a shoplifter home with him for Christmas. Cast: Barbara Stanwyck, Fred MacMurray, Beulah Bondi. Dir: Mitchell Leisen. BW-94 mins, TV-G
The above is one of my favorite Mitchell Leisen-Preston Sturges collaborations & Fred & Babs are great in this darker Xmas story.
TCM Schedule for December, 2008
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moira finnie
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jdb1
There are, indeed, some interesting listings for December, and Moira's picks look like movies worth investigating. I have a few to point out:
Dec 2 - Silents and soundies about the Roaring 20s and the girls who loved them, most featuring the recently departed Anita Page.
Dec 3 - At 2:15 PM, The Thief of Baghdad (1940), directed in part by Michael Powell. A very nice family fantasy movie (in color, or "colour," if you like) with the endearing Sabu.
Dec 4 - Looks like a morning and afternoon of adventure, with westerns and sea captains and such.
Dec 6 - No Way Out (1950) at 6:00 PM. Racists, lowlifes and noble doctors. Richard Widmark and Sidney Poitier are well-matched and terrific.
Later, an evening with Ginger Rogers.
Dec. 7 - The Parent Trap (1961) at 8:00 PM and Pollyanna (1960) at 10:15 PM. Why so late for movies well-suited to kids? In any event, I think the earlier version of The Parent Trap is far superior to the Lohan one. Hard to believe Mills was 17 when she made this -- she's a very convincing tween.
Dec 8 - I think they have it wrong -- Brooklyn Day is always the first Thursday in June. Oh, well - from 10:45 AM through 8:00 PM, you can see such Brooklyn-themed gems as Cowboy From Brooklyn (1938), Brooklyn Orchid (1942) and Two Knights from Brooklyn (1949). I don't see a single cast member listed in any one of these who was actually from Brooklyn, not even William Bendix, who was a Manhattan native. But it's the thought that counts.
At 8:00 PM, another Korda/Sabu teaming -- The Jungle Book (1942), also very nice for kids. At 12:00 AM, yet another good family film, Kim (1950), starring the remarkable young Dean Stockwell. (Remember when "Kim" was a man's name?)
Dec 10 - Horror and fantasy in the morning: Cat People (1942) and The Curse of the Cat People (1944), followed by King Kong (1933) and Son of Kong (also '33). The endings of both monkey movies have become just to painful for me to watch, especially the little guy's.
Dec. 12 - I've mentioned Higher and Higher (1944) before; a very nice musical starring the French Michele Morgan, with Jack Haley, and Frank Sinatra in a minor role.
------- Continued --------------
Dec 2 - Silents and soundies about the Roaring 20s and the girls who loved them, most featuring the recently departed Anita Page.
Dec 3 - At 2:15 PM, The Thief of Baghdad (1940), directed in part by Michael Powell. A very nice family fantasy movie (in color, or "colour," if you like) with the endearing Sabu.
Dec 4 - Looks like a morning and afternoon of adventure, with westerns and sea captains and such.
Dec 6 - No Way Out (1950) at 6:00 PM. Racists, lowlifes and noble doctors. Richard Widmark and Sidney Poitier are well-matched and terrific.
Later, an evening with Ginger Rogers.
Dec. 7 - The Parent Trap (1961) at 8:00 PM and Pollyanna (1960) at 10:15 PM. Why so late for movies well-suited to kids? In any event, I think the earlier version of The Parent Trap is far superior to the Lohan one. Hard to believe Mills was 17 when she made this -- she's a very convincing tween.
Dec 8 - I think they have it wrong -- Brooklyn Day is always the first Thursday in June. Oh, well - from 10:45 AM through 8:00 PM, you can see such Brooklyn-themed gems as Cowboy From Brooklyn (1938), Brooklyn Orchid (1942) and Two Knights from Brooklyn (1949). I don't see a single cast member listed in any one of these who was actually from Brooklyn, not even William Bendix, who was a Manhattan native. But it's the thought that counts.
At 8:00 PM, another Korda/Sabu teaming -- The Jungle Book (1942), also very nice for kids. At 12:00 AM, yet another good family film, Kim (1950), starring the remarkable young Dean Stockwell. (Remember when "Kim" was a man's name?)
Dec 10 - Horror and fantasy in the morning: Cat People (1942) and The Curse of the Cat People (1944), followed by King Kong (1933) and Son of Kong (also '33). The endings of both monkey movies have become just to painful for me to watch, especially the little guy's.
Dec. 12 - I've mentioned Higher and Higher (1944) before; a very nice musical starring the French Michele Morgan, with Jack Haley, and Frank Sinatra in a minor role.
------- Continued --------------
Last edited by jdb1 on November 4th, 2008, 1:45 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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jdb1
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jdb1
I'm trying again -- barring any more mishaps, here are more of my December notes:
Dec 14 -At 8:30 PM TCM is showing The Apple Dumpling Gang (1975). This is a minor, typically schlocky-looking Disney, but I kind of like it. First, there's Bill Bixby as the sane character, and supporting him with various degrees of silliness, are Don Knotts, Tim Conway, Harry Morgan, David Wayne and Slim Pickens. I've always liked Bixby, who had a very appealing screen presence but never got beyond sitcoms and B pictures. This movie is a sort of Disney-fied, low-level Support Your Local Sheriff in tone.
Dec 16 - More fanciful programming from TCM: a morning and afternoon of movies that have the word "Kid" in the title. Among them are Billy the Kid (1941), The Kid From Broken Gun (1952), Kid Galahad (1962) and The Cincinnati Kid (1965). The latter two have Elvis and Steve McQueen, respectively.
Dec 18 - A morning and afternoon of films directed by Jules Dassin, including Reunion in France (1942) with Joan Crawford paired with John Wayne, Brute Force (1947), Naked City (1949) and Phaedra (1962). I'd forgotten the last one, which stars Dassin's wife, Greek actress Melina Mercouri, and Tony Perkins. I wonder what I'll think of it now that I'm several decades older. I don't think I understood it the first time.
Dec 20 - At 4:30 AM, The Time of Your Life (1948). Based on a work by William Saroyan, this stars James Cagney, who I think produced it as well, as a philosophizing barfly who urges his listeners to live, live, live. I remember it as being rather talky, but nice.
Dec 21 - The great silent version of Ben-Hur (1925) at 1:15 AM.
Dec 22 - It's the first day of Chanukah (or Hannukah, or various other spellings), and TCM is marking it with several Jewish-themed movies, including Exodus (1960), Yentl (1983) and Fiddler on the Roof (1971). IMO, yes to Exodus, which at least gives us the benefit of seeing Paul Newman and Sal Mineo. As for the others ---- feh.
Dec 23 - Once upon a time, long, long ago, I went to a kiddie matinee at my local movie house, and saw a nice movie from a strange place called Australia. It was called Bush Christmas (1947), and TCM is showing it today at 2:30 PM. I don't remember much about it now --- horses, kids, men with those funny turned-up hats. But I do remember liking it. It stars the ubiquitous Ozzie actor of the past, Chips Rafferty.
Dec 25 - Merry Christmas. Today TCM is showing several movies with a Christian theme. At 9:20 AM The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965)(Swedish actor in the lead part); at 1:00 PM King of Kings (1961) (All-American hunk actor in the lead part); and at 4:00 PM Ben-Hur (1959) (compassionate stranger seen only from the back). Actually, I would have thought the first two movies more suitable for Easter viewing. There are so many, many Christmas movies, some secular and some more religious-themed - why these? Not complaining; only puzzled.
Dec 29 - Another surprise selection at 1:00 AM - A Beautiful Mind (2001). Not what I'd expect to see on TCM. In any event, I liked this one; I thought Crowe and Ed Harris excellent, but I couldn't believe the dull and uninspiring performance of Jennifer Connelly, who won an Oscar for it. Why????
Dec 14 -At 8:30 PM TCM is showing The Apple Dumpling Gang (1975). This is a minor, typically schlocky-looking Disney, but I kind of like it. First, there's Bill Bixby as the sane character, and supporting him with various degrees of silliness, are Don Knotts, Tim Conway, Harry Morgan, David Wayne and Slim Pickens. I've always liked Bixby, who had a very appealing screen presence but never got beyond sitcoms and B pictures. This movie is a sort of Disney-fied, low-level Support Your Local Sheriff in tone.
Dec 16 - More fanciful programming from TCM: a morning and afternoon of movies that have the word "Kid" in the title. Among them are Billy the Kid (1941), The Kid From Broken Gun (1952), Kid Galahad (1962) and The Cincinnati Kid (1965). The latter two have Elvis and Steve McQueen, respectively.
Dec 18 - A morning and afternoon of films directed by Jules Dassin, including Reunion in France (1942) with Joan Crawford paired with John Wayne, Brute Force (1947), Naked City (1949) and Phaedra (1962). I'd forgotten the last one, which stars Dassin's wife, Greek actress Melina Mercouri, and Tony Perkins. I wonder what I'll think of it now that I'm several decades older. I don't think I understood it the first time.
Dec 20 - At 4:30 AM, The Time of Your Life (1948). Based on a work by William Saroyan, this stars James Cagney, who I think produced it as well, as a philosophizing barfly who urges his listeners to live, live, live. I remember it as being rather talky, but nice.
Dec 21 - The great silent version of Ben-Hur (1925) at 1:15 AM.
Dec 22 - It's the first day of Chanukah (or Hannukah, or various other spellings), and TCM is marking it with several Jewish-themed movies, including Exodus (1960), Yentl (1983) and Fiddler on the Roof (1971). IMO, yes to Exodus, which at least gives us the benefit of seeing Paul Newman and Sal Mineo. As for the others ---- feh.
Dec 23 - Once upon a time, long, long ago, I went to a kiddie matinee at my local movie house, and saw a nice movie from a strange place called Australia. It was called Bush Christmas (1947), and TCM is showing it today at 2:30 PM. I don't remember much about it now --- horses, kids, men with those funny turned-up hats. But I do remember liking it. It stars the ubiquitous Ozzie actor of the past, Chips Rafferty.
Dec 25 - Merry Christmas. Today TCM is showing several movies with a Christian theme. At 9:20 AM The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965)(Swedish actor in the lead part); at 1:00 PM King of Kings (1961) (All-American hunk actor in the lead part); and at 4:00 PM Ben-Hur (1959) (compassionate stranger seen only from the back). Actually, I would have thought the first two movies more suitable for Easter viewing. There are so many, many Christmas movies, some secular and some more religious-themed - why these? Not complaining; only puzzled.
Dec 29 - Another surprise selection at 1:00 AM - A Beautiful Mind (2001). Not what I'd expect to see on TCM. In any event, I liked this one; I thought Crowe and Ed Harris excellent, but I couldn't believe the dull and uninspiring performance of Jennifer Connelly, who won an Oscar for it. Why????
Last edited by jdb1 on September 13th, 2008, 10:55 am, edited 1 time in total.
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moira finnie
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John,
TCM does this almost every Christmas.
Since most of us are involved in Christmas celebrations, and are not watching tv, they usually devote a block of programming on the 25th to the roots of Christian faith, not necessarily to traditional Christmas movies. I suspect that there are those who cherish them, especially those who practice one of the branches of that faith that downplays Christmas and emphasizes Easter.
There are many holiday movies scheduled throughout the month on TCM, such as A Christmas Carol, Christmas in Connecticut, Holiday Affair, The Bishop's Wife. I'm sure that NBC will be broadcasting It's a Wonderful Life once again, and that AMC might come up with an oddball Christmas movie or three too.
I'm looking forward to two little gems from long ago, called The Holly and the Ivy (1952) with Ralph Richardson, which is scheduled for 12/12 on TCM and Beyond Tomorrow(1940) with a great cast led by C. Aubrey Smith, Charles Winninger, and Harry Carey, Sr., which doesn't appear to be scheduled. These used to be shown around the holidays on tv years ago, but hardly ever now.
TCM does this almost every Christmas.
Since most of us are involved in Christmas celebrations, and are not watching tv, they usually devote a block of programming on the 25th to the roots of Christian faith, not necessarily to traditional Christmas movies. I suspect that there are those who cherish them, especially those who practice one of the branches of that faith that downplays Christmas and emphasizes Easter.
There are many holiday movies scheduled throughout the month on TCM, such as A Christmas Carol, Christmas in Connecticut, Holiday Affair, The Bishop's Wife. I'm sure that NBC will be broadcasting It's a Wonderful Life once again, and that AMC might come up with an oddball Christmas movie or three too.
I'm looking forward to two little gems from long ago, called The Holly and the Ivy (1952) with Ralph Richardson, which is scheduled for 12/12 on TCM and Beyond Tomorrow(1940) with a great cast led by C. Aubrey Smith, Charles Winninger, and Harry Carey, Sr., which doesn't appear to be scheduled. These used to be shown around the holidays on tv years ago, but hardly ever now.
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klondike
Re: TCM Schedule for December, 2008
Stanwyck and MacMurray?!! Gads, tell me there's no insurance policy involved, please!moirafinnie wrote:
11:15 PM
Remember the Night (1940)
An assistant D.A. takes a shoplifter home with him for Christmas. Cast: Barbara Stanwyck, Fred MacMurray, Beulah Bondi. Dir: Mitchell Leisen. BW-94 mins, TV-G
The above is one of my favorite Mitchell Leisen-Preston Sturges collaborations & Fred & Babs are great in this darker Xmas story.
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jdb1
Sorry, Moira, but that reasoning just doesn't wash. I agree with JohnM on this: as a Jew, I understand that Christmas is considered by most to be a celebration of the Nativity story (and like Chanukah, it also marks the Winter Solstice) and I think there are many, many more appropriately themed movies that could be shown.moirafinnie wrote:John,
TCM does this almost every Christmas.
Since most of us are involved in Christmas celebrations, and are not watching tv, they usually devote a block of programming on the 25th to the roots of Christian faith, not necessarily to traditional Christmas movies. I suspect that there are those who cherish them, especially those who practice one of the branches of that faith that downplays Christmas and emphasizes Easter.
One could argue that the Jewish-themed movies being shown on Dec. 22 deal more with culture and politics than with matters of faith. Christmas Day is a Federal holiday in this country, after all, and not many people seem to mind that. In my multicultural household we observe both Chanukah and Christmas, in our own way. I don't think it would be TCM's place to determine that a holiday celebrated world-wide, and marked even by those who are not Christians, has any less significance than any other putatively Christian holiday.
And -- I think more people will have their TVs turned on on Christmas Day than TCM realizes, even if they are not giving it their full attention.
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moira finnie
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I agree, Judith. Many people do watch tv on Christmas, but many do not. There are a ton of football bowl games as well as those burning yule logs that delight many of us while a loop of carols plays endlessly in the background.
My conjecture on the programming logic is based on the fact that TCM does tend to do this sort of programming on Christmas every year. I didn't say it was what most of us would want to see. I just don't think that the largely adult crowd who would like to watch TCM is likely to be in control of the remote in their home that day.
My conjecture on the programming logic is based on the fact that TCM does tend to do this sort of programming on Christmas every year. I didn't say it was what most of us would want to see. I just don't think that the largely adult crowd who would like to watch TCM is likely to be in control of the remote in their home that day.
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jdb1
No, Moira, I didn't really think that you were advocating any one tenet over another, and if TCM is doing so, they are doing a disservice to all their viewers. Of course this is a matter I should be taking up with them -- I think they can do better than what they are offering us, not that there's anything wrong with the films on their Dec. 25 schedul;, it's that many of us would prefer to see something geared more toward a merry holiday mood. However . . . . I never say no to a good story, nor to Max von Sydow, nor to Jeffrey Hunter.
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Moraldo Rubini
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I found it heartening to see that TCM will be featuring a blush of Anita Page films on December 2. [I'm fairly sure "blush" is the correct collective noun when referring to Anita Page movies.]
Curious to see a set of Valerie Hobsons on the following day. She did a bunch of 1930's horror work before her more prestigious later works that they'll be showing here. Didn't she play Mrs. Frankenstein in The Bride of Frankenstein? Did she tie and gag [orginal Mrs. Frankenstein] Mae Clark to get the role? I'm embarrassed to say I still haven't seen Kind Hearts and Coronets (and I wish TCM had included it).
December 14 brings the excellent German submarine flick Das Boot which made me feel delightfully claustrophobic in San Francisco's Vogue theatre back in 1981.
December 21 reminds me that Jean Arthur was one of the screens most stealthy sex goddesses. You see, I always thought of her as the "girl next door" (we should be so lucky); the "everywoman". But in The More the Merrier she brings us a sexual tension that makes my lid buble over.
I'm happy to see The Shop Around the Corner will be shown on Christmas Eve, as I've only seen Judy Garland's musical version. The latter didn't have the Lubitsch touch, and I'll be interested to see this touch on Margaret Sullavan. It'll be novel to see her alive at the end of a movie (unless there's some surprise tragic ending that I don't know about in this version).
And finally, I expect I'm the only one happy to see the Hardy's are coming. It's a curse, I know, but I'm a completist and just have to see them once and then I can join the rest of you in loathing them.
Curious to see a set of Valerie Hobsons on the following day. She did a bunch of 1930's horror work before her more prestigious later works that they'll be showing here. Didn't she play Mrs. Frankenstein in The Bride of Frankenstein? Did she tie and gag [orginal Mrs. Frankenstein] Mae Clark to get the role? I'm embarrassed to say I still haven't seen Kind Hearts and Coronets (and I wish TCM had included it).
December 14 brings the excellent German submarine flick Das Boot which made me feel delightfully claustrophobic in San Francisco's Vogue theatre back in 1981.
December 21 reminds me that Jean Arthur was one of the screens most stealthy sex goddesses. You see, I always thought of her as the "girl next door" (we should be so lucky); the "everywoman". But in The More the Merrier she brings us a sexual tension that makes my lid buble over.
I'm happy to see The Shop Around the Corner will be shown on Christmas Eve, as I've only seen Judy Garland's musical version. The latter didn't have the Lubitsch touch, and I'll be interested to see this touch on Margaret Sullavan. It'll be novel to see her alive at the end of a movie (unless there's some surprise tragic ending that I don't know about in this version).
And finally, I expect I'm the only one happy to see the Hardy's are coming. It's a curse, I know, but I'm a completist and just have to see them once and then I can join the rest of you in loathing them.
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moira finnie
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John, that's your opinion. Others may not agree. That doesn't make them wrong, it just means that others find the original Lubitsch version of this story more entertaining for them. Judy Garland was a good actress, but Margaret Sullavan had talent as well. People's taste differs, but it doesn't make one bad and one good. Just different.JohnM wrote:You've only seen the Judy Garland version, so you've seen the best version of this story. Garland's line delivery is superior, in every possible way, to Sullavan's.
Each of the versions has wonderful aspects to it. The Sullavan/Stewart is warm and fuzzy, the Garland/Johnson version is exuberant, in color, and added bonus,with music.
Margaret Sullavan was never lovelier than she is here, and Jimmy is, as usual, a doll. Theirs' is much more a love story.
Van Johnson said in an interview that he made Judy laugh, and this was a happy film to make. It shows.
Margaret Sullavan was never lovelier than she is here, and Jimmy is, as usual, a doll. Theirs' is much more a love story.
Van Johnson said in an interview that he made Judy laugh, and this was a happy film to make. It shows.
"Life is not the way it's supposed to be.. It's the way it is..
The way we cope with it, is what makes the difference." ~ Virginia Satir
""Most people pursue pleasure with such breathless haste that they hurry past it." ~ Soren Kierkegaard
The way we cope with it, is what makes the difference." ~ Virginia Satir
""Most people pursue pleasure with such breathless haste that they hurry past it." ~ Soren Kierkegaard
Re: TCM Schedule for December, 2008
I'm elated to see this one scheduled again. Since it's a Paramount/Universal title, I'd given up hope of it ever being rebroadcast in my lifetime. My older DVD copy needs an upgrade, and I'll be sure to redub it since it's not available commercially.klondike wrote:Stanwyck and MacMurray?!! Gads, tell me there's no insurance policy involved, please!moirafinnie wrote:
11:15 PM
Remember the Night (1940)
An assistant D.A. takes a shoplifter home with him for Christmas. Cast: Barbara Stanwyck, Fred MacMurray, Beulah Bondi. Dir: Mitchell Leisen. BW-94 mins, TV-G
The above is one of my favorite Mitchell Leisen-Preston Sturges collaborations & Fred & Babs are great in this darker Xmas story.
And I'm always glad to see Lubitsch on the schedule. Shop Around the Corner and Cluny Brown are both gems. I just re-watched my DVD of To Be or Not to Be last week and I honestly could've cried. We will never see the like of Lubitsch again, at least not in Hollywood. His movies are the smooth, charming antithesis to the manic, noisy, headache-inducing films of today's Hollywood.
-Stephen