31 Days of Oscar 2014

Discussion of programming on TCM.
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moira finnie
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Re: 31 Days of Oscar 2014

Post by moira finnie »

I'm looking forward to the new doc, And the Oscar Goes To..., which airs throughout the month, beginning on 2/1, and Closely Watched Trains, which is one I've never seen, as well as The Shop on Main Street too. I also want to see The Search again after several years and the Jeanne Eagels' version of The Letter (1929) on the 20th. I am also looking forward to The Mark (1961), a film that has very rarely been revived due to its subject matter. It features an Academy Award nominated performance by Stuart Whitman (the role almost killed his career) and the magnetic Maria Schell is in the cast.

Here's the entire schedule for February + the first three days of March to make up the complete list:

http://www.tcm.com/schedule/monthly.htm ... 2014-02-01

March 1 Saturday

7:30 AM
GRAND HOTEL (1932)

Guests at a posh Berlin hotel struggle through scandal and heartache.
Dir: Edmund Goulding Cast: Greta Garbo , John Barrymore , Joan Crawford .
BW-113 mins, TV-PG, CC,

9:45 AM
GIGI (1958)

A Parisian girl is raised to be a kept woman but dreams of love and marriage.
Dir: Vincente Minnelli Cast: Leslie Caron , Maurice Chevalier , Louis Jourdan .
C-115 mins, TV-G, CC, Letterbox Format

12:00 PM
ON THE WATERFRONT (1954)

A young stevedore takes on the mobster who rules the docks.
Dir: Elia Kazan Cast: Marlon Brando , Karl Malden , Lee J. Cobb .
BW-108 mins, TV-PG, CC, Letterbox Format

2:00 PM
GANDHI (1982)

The legendary Indian leader uses peaceful means to free his homeland from British rule.
Dir: Richard Attenborough Cast: Ben Kingsley , Candice Bergen , John Gielgud .
C-191 mins, TV-PG, CC, Letterbox Format

5:30 PM
MAN FOR ALL SEASONS, A (1966)

A devout scholar gets caught in the middle of Henry VIII's plans to break with the Catholic Church.
Dir: Fred Zinnemann Cast: Paul Scofield , Wendy Hiller , Leo McKern .
C-121 mins, TV-PG, CC, Letterbox Format

8:00 PM
IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT (1967)

A black police detective from the North forces a bigoted Southern sheriff to accept his help with a murder investigation.
Dir: Norman Jewison Cast: Sidney Poitier , Rod Steiger , Warren Oates .
C-110 mins, TV-14, CC, Letterbox Format

10:00 PM
GRADUATE, THE (1967)

A recent college graduate has an affair with his neighbor's wife, then falls for their daughter.
Dir: Mike Nichols Cast: Anne Bancroft , Dustin Hoffman , Katharine Ross .
C-106 mins, TV-MA, CC, Letterbox Format

12:00 AM
GUESS WHO'S COMING TO DINNER (1967)

An aging couple's liberal principles are tested when their daughter announces her engagement to a black doctor.
Dir: Stanley Kramer Cast: Spencer Tracy , Sidney Poitier , Katharine Hepburn .
C-108 mins, TV-PG, CC, Letterbox Format

2:00 AM
BONNIE AND CLYDE (1967)

The legendary bank robbers run riot in the South of the 1930s.
Dir: Arthur Penn Cast: Warren Beatty , Faye Dunaway , Michael J. Pollard .
C-111 mins, TV-14, CC, Letterbox Format

4:00 AM
DOCTOR DOLITTLE (1967)

A veterinarian who can communicate with animals travels abroad to search for a giant sea snail.
Dir: Richard Fleischer Cast: Rex Harrison , Samantha Eggar , Anthony Newley .
C-149 mins, TV-G, CC, Letterbox Format

2 Sunday

7:00 AM
OLIVER! (1968)

Musical version of the Dickens classic about an orphan taken in by a band of boy thieves.
Dir: Carol Reed Cast: Ron Moody , Shani Wallis , Oliver Reed .
C-154 mins, TV-PG, CC, Letterbox Format

10:00 AM
MY FAIR LADY (1964)

A phonetics instructor bets that he can pass a street urchin off as a lady.
Dir: George Cukor Cast: Audrey Hepburn , Rex Harrison , Stanley Holloway .
C-172 mins, TV-G, CC, Letterbox Format

1:00 PM
BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI, THE (1957)

The Japanese Army forces World War II POWs to build a strategic bridge in Burma.
Dir: David Lean Cast: William Holden , Alec Guinness , Jack Hawkins .
C-161 mins, TV-PG, CC, Letterbox Format

4:00 PM
LAWRENCE OF ARABIA (1962)

A British military officer enlists the Arabs for desert warfare in World War I.
Dir: David Lean Cast: Peter O'Toole , Alec Guinness , Anthony Quinn .
C-227 mins, TV-14, CC, Letterbox Format

8:00 PM
MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY (1935)

Classic adventure about the sadistic Captain Bligh, who drove his men to revolt during a South Seas expedition.
Dir: Frank Lloyd Cast: Charles Laughton , Clark Gable , Franchot Tone .
BW-133 mins, TV-PG, CC,

10:30 PM
CAPTAIN BLOOD (1935)

After being unjustly sentenced to prison, a doctor escapes and becomes a notorious pirate.
Dir: Michael Curtiz Cast: Errol Flynn , Olivia de Havilland , Lionel Atwill .
BW-119 mins, TV-G, CC,

12:45 AM
RUGGLES OF RED GAP (1935)

A Western rancher wins a British valet in a poker game.
Dir: Leo McCarey Cast: Charles Laughton , Mary Boland , Charlie Ruggles .
BW-91 mins, TV-G, CC,

2:30 AM
TOP HAT (1935)

A woman thinks the man who loves her is her best friend's husband.
Dir: Mark Sandrich Cast: Fred Astaire , Ginger Rogers , Edward Everett Horton .
BW-100 mins, TV-G, CC,

4:30 AM
DAVID COPPERFIELD (1935)

Charles Dickens' classic tale of an orphaned boy's fight for happiness and the colorful characters who help and hinder him.
Dir: George Cukor Cast: W. C. Fields , Lionel Barrymore , Maureen O'Sullivan .
BW-130 mins, TV-G, CC,

3 Monday

6:45 AM
INFORMER, THE (1935)

An Irish rebel turns in his best friend to earn passage money to America, then has to dodge the suspicions of his cohorts.
Dir: John Ford Cast: Victor McLaglen , Heather Angel , Preston Foster .
BW-92 mins, TV-PG, CC,

8:30 AM
BROADWAY MELODY OF 1936 (1936)

A Broadway columnist tries to use an innocent dancer to frame a producer.
Dir: Roy Del Ruth Cast: Jack Benny , Eleanor Powell , Robert Taylor .
BW-101 mins, TV-G, CC,

10:15 AM
NAUGHTY MARIETTA (1935)

A French princess in Colonial America gets involved with an Indian scout.
Dir: W. S. Van Dyke Cast: Jeanette MacDonald , Nelson Eddy , Frank Morgan .
BW-104 mins, TV-G, CC,

12:00 PM
LES MISERABLES (1935)

An obsessed policeman relentlessly pursues an escaped convict.
Dir: Richard Boleslawski Cast: Fredric March , Charles Laughton , Sir Cedric Hardwicke .
BW-109 mins, TV-PG, CC,

2:00 PM
ALICE ADAMS (1935)

A small-town girl with social ambitions falls in love with a local playboy.
Dir: George Stevens Cast: Katharine Hepburn , Fred MacMurray , Fred Stone .
BW-99 mins, TV-G, CC,

3:45 PM
MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM, A (1935)

Shakespeare's classic about two pairs of lovers and an amateur actor who get mixed up with fairies.
Dir: Max Reinhardt Cast: Ian Hunter , Verree Teasdale , Hobart Cavanaugh .
BW-143 mins, TV-PG, CC,

6:00 PM
LIVES OF A BENGAL LANCER, THE (1935)

Three British soldiers in India fight invaders when not fighting each other.
Dir: Henry Hathaway Cast: Gary Cooper , Franchot Tone , Richard Cromwell .
BW-109 mins, TV-PG,

8:00 PM
TOM THUMB (1958)

A six-inch-tall boy takes on a pair of comical crooks.
Dir: George Pal Cast: Russ Tamblyn , Alan Young , June Thorburn .
C-92 mins, TV-G, CC, Letterbox Format

10:00 PM
TORPEDO RUN (1958)

A submarine commander is forced to blow up a Japanese prison ship carrying his family.
Dir: Joseph Pevney Cast: Glenn Ford , Ernest Borgnine , Diane Brewster .
C-95 mins, TV-PG, CC, Letterbox Format

12:00 AM
TIME MACHINE, THE (1960)

A turn-of-the-century inventor sends himself into the future to save humanity.
Dir: George Pal Cast: Rod Taylor , Alan Young , Yvette Mimieux .
C-103 mins, TV-G, CC, Letterbox Format

2:00 AM
LAST VOYAGE, THE (1960)

Passengers and crew fight to escape a sinking ocean liner.
Dir: Andrew L. Stone Cast: Robert Stack , Dorothy Malone , George Sanders .
C-91 mins, TV-PG, CC, Letterbox Format

3:45 AM
ROMANCE ON THE HIGH SEAS (1948)

A singer on a Caribbean cruise gets mixed up in a series of romantic problems.
Dir: Michael Curtiz Cast: Jack Carson , Janis Paige , Don DeFore .
C-99 mins, TV-PG, CC,

5:30 AM
NOW PLAYING MARCH (2014) (2014)

Features highlights of the month's programming on TCM, including festivals and stars.
C-22 mins,
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Re: 31 Days of Oscar 2014

Post by JackFavell »

Sounds great kingrat! I can't wait to see the two films I haven't seen yet of the bunch, The Burmese Harp and Closely Watched Trains. Though I may jump the gun and watch the latter on Hulu since I had it bookmarked there already. I would love to get a copy of Babette's Feast of my own. It's just a great movie, so warm by the end (pardon the pun), and so wonderful if you like good food. It would make a fun double feature with Tampopo, though the films couldn't be more different.

You know, it's a good month to get some dvd watching in...but I always find something on TCM to watch during February. They really do their best to mix it up.

I too would like to see Tess again and see if it stands the test of time.

Clarence Brown's Romance is on the morning of the 6th (ugh, my ex's birthday as well as Ronald Reagan's), which I missed last time it was on.I've been dying to see it since I was a kid. Morgan is on late that night, which I think you like very much, kingrat. The Shop on Main Street is also on in the wee hours of the night, with A Man and a Woman in between. I'd like to catch those two, having never seen either one.

My favorite Fred Zinnemann film The Search is on the next day, with a stunning performance by Ivan Jandl, who disappeared into obscurity some time afterward.

The Great McGinty is on at a perfect time on the 10th so I will finally get a copy of it to watch. Several other Sturges films show up this month.

Disraeli and the 1933 State Fair make an appearance on the 16th.

And finally, the highlight of the month for me, though it seems strange after all these classy foreign films, THREE SMART GIRLS, with Deanna Durbin, is on February 10th. I've been waiting to see this one, Three Smart Girls Grow Up and 100 Men and a Girl for years. I remember liking them beyond any reason when I was young. They showed up on my PBS station once in a while. Such good-natured movies.

There are more that I want to see, but I won't bore you with them until later in the month. :D
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Re: 31 Days of Oscar 2014

Post by JackFavell »

Wow, Moira, you and I are going to be watching the same movies I guess. :D
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Re: 31 Days of Oscar 2014

Post by moira finnie »

King--
A Man and a Woman (1966) is beautifully made and I am interested in your reaction to it. Lelouch really captured how falling in love again interweaves with a person's bittersweet memories of past intimacy. While it has been much-imitated since it came along, I don't think anything has quite surpassed its unique quality.

Wen--
Your impressions of Romance (1930) should be interesting. The beautifully rendered atmosphere achieved by Clarence Brown always seemed to belong to the silent era more than a talkie. I really liked Lewis Stone in this one too. He's not his usual pensive self. As ever, the 25 year old Garbo played a woman of mystery, eons older than the object of her affection, Gavin Gordon, whose eccentric casting is a puzzlement. Maybe he was someone's idea of a spiritual sort. I guess your pal Ricardo Cortez wasn't available for the role. Of course, Gavin Gordon might have been seen as the "new" Conrad Nagel around that time. :wink: :shock:
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Re: 31 Days of Oscar 2014

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Moira, I had to look up Gavin Gordon! At first I thought you meant Gale Gordon. :D

Seriously, I knew the name, but it took me a while to recognize him or really to get a sense of who he was. I've seen so many of his films and TV appearances, but I just didn't get any sense of personality from the man. Is that a good thing in a character actor? I couldn't quite figure him as the romantic lead in Romance. After a while I remembered him as Lord Byron in The Bride of Frankenstein, and as Orloff in The Scarlet Empress. The only roles I really get a strong image of him in are weird ones, like in Suspicion.

I really like Clarence Brown's films, which is why I'm so interested in seeing this one. I have to admit that some of the first photos I can remember going gaga over as a budding classic film fan were portraits of Greta Garbo in full dress for this film. One photo of her in an Empress Eugenie hat with full skirt captivated me for quite a long time.

Image

The costumes are to die for and Garbo's hair is very very flattering here, plus the lighting of the various photos was incredible, giving the feeling of aged photographs from an earlier era. These are the kind of photos that make you a classic film fan for life!

Image
Image
Image

There's one where she's wearing a karakul or astrakhan hat, or maybe it's a ushanka or a papakha, or a ubanka (help me out Masha!) that is the most compelling photo of Garbo that I've ever seen.

Image

Gosh, I hope this movie isn't really stupid or bad. I've waited so long for it.
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Re: 31 Days of Oscar 2014

Post by moira finnie »

I don't regard Romance as a bad movie, though Gordon seems a bit overwhelmed sometimes.The chemistry of Brown + Garbo resulted in a shimmering beauty on screen. GG rarely conveyed some secret sadness more eloquently in any of her films than she did here. She is the beautiful center, the others, like male dancers in classical ballet in the 19th century period of this film, are there to frame her.
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Re: 31 Days of Oscar 2014

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I'm OK with that. :wink:
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Re: 31 Days of Oscar 2014

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Don't forget that TCM's Original Productions has new documentary airing tonight about the history of the Academy Awards. This documentary was produced with the cooperation of the Academy and they opened their vaults so there should be some good clips shown!

Tonight on TCM: And the Oscar Goes To airs tonight at 8:00 pm EST/5:00 pm PST.

It also airs throughout the month so don't miss it!
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Re: 31 Days of Oscar 2014

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kingrat wrote: The recent showing of It Started With Eve is the first Deanna Durbin movie I've ever seen, and it's easy to see why she was so popular.
Whoa - seriously Kingrat?? Not even Three Smart Girls? OK - I have to admit that up until last year I had only seen 3SG and 100 Men and a Girl; so I can agree and vouch that when one gets to see her other films, such as It Started With Eve, it is quite easy to see why she was so popular. So TCM is giving you, and all its viewers another chance to see Deanna on 4/30/14 when they will show It's A Date! where her co-stars are Kay Francis and Walter Pidgeon. I'll wager you will find it delightful!
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Re: 31 Days of Oscar 2014

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Thanks Masha, I did at least know that karakul and astrakhan were fur that the hats were made of, but I never knew there was a hat called a Gogol! Is it named after the writer I wonder?

A ubanka, at least from what I read on one website, is a hat made of karakul that stands up on the head, no flaps, with a circular top that stands high over the cap that rests inside. So it is very similar to the Gogol, except that instead of pointed front and back, it's completely round on top. I only was able to come up with this from one website though, and I am not even sure that the ubanka is Russian, it might be Turkish or some other nationality.

Whatever it is, it's very stylish, and I very much would like to look like Garbo wearing it.
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Re: 31 Days of Oscar 2014

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I watched The Wizard of Oz last night, and one thing I noted especially this 180th time through was that the sound engineering was incredible. I certainly hope that there was an academy award for sound design back then, and that this film won it - the twister sequence was phenomenal. The layering of the storm winds added depth and resonance, so heavy and full seeming. There was such power and thickness of the air implied in that aural storm. The last thump of the house dropping you can really feel. I always thought it was the effects, the odd camera angles, etc, but I must say, the sound has a great deal to do with the greatness of that scene, and with the rest of the movie feeling very real and scary.

I also thought that one could make a case for The Wizard of Oz being a noir film. There's an awful lot of darkness to it, and it fits certain criteria that folks have come up with over the years.

I must be crazy, because this time I tried to watch as someone who lived in the dust bowl, they really got the feel of the plains so well in that first sepia section of the film. It was actually pretty accurate rendition of the dusty flat fields and roads of my childhood in Oklahoma. The color of the sepia tone they used was very reminiscent of the red dirt we had back in Norman.

Also watched the very beginning of Gone With the Wind, and as always was gobsmacked by the luscious Technicolor.... what is in about this movie that makes it so gorgeous? No other film has such incredible color - it's like no other movie. The tone of it reminds me of the light just at sunset in certain areas of our country.
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Re: 31 Days of Oscar 2014

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JackFavell wrote:I watched The Wizard of Oz last night, and one thing I noted especially this 180th time through was that the sound engineering was incredible. I certainly hope that there was an academy award for sound design back then, and that this film won it - the twister sequence was phenomenal. The layering of the storm winds added depth and resonance, so heavy and full seeming. There was such power and thickness of the air implied in that aural storm. The last thump of the house dropping you can really feel. I always thought it was the effects, the odd camera angles, etc, but I must say, the sound has a great deal to do with the greatness of that scene, and with the rest of the movie feeling very real and scary.


I must be crazy, because this time I tried to watch as someone who lived in the dust bowl, they really got the feel of the plains so well in that first sepia section of the film. It was actually pretty accurate rendition of the dusty flat fields and roads of my childhood in Oklahoma. The color of the sepia tone they used was very reminiscent of the red dirt we had back in Norman.

Very true Jack Favell and you won't get an argument out of me too. I watched that movie - I recorded it on my DVR and I was deeply impressed by your description here and I just wanted to let you know that.


You are not crazy at all about the dust bowl segment of Wizard Of Oz section and matter of fact - its pretty darn close to perfection here and I humbly agree with you 100%.
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