Carter Steven's Guide To TCM This Week (1/25-1/31)

Jan 25

12:15am (To be technical Jan 26^th) Diary of Anne Frank, The (1959)
A young girl comes of age while hiding from the Nazis.
Cast: Millie Perkins, Joseph Schildkraut, Shelley Winters, Richard Beymer Dir: George Stevens BW-171 mins, TV-PG

A nice little film. But it wasn't till I stood in the attic of the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam that it's power hit me hard and I cried like a baby. The film just can't make that room small and claustrophobic enough to match the reality.

Jan 26

9:30am Outrage, The (1964)
A Mexican bandit's crimes receive wildly different interpretations from four witnesses.
Cast: Paul Newman, Laurence Harvey, Claire Bloom, Edward G. Robinson Dir: Martin Ritt BW-96 mins, TV-PG

I love Paul Newman and Martin Ritt's work but Rashomon was still a whole lot better.

1:00pm Prize, The (1963)
An American Nobel Prize-winner mixes it up with spies when he travels to Stockholm to collect his award.
Cast: Paul Newman, Edward G. Robinson, Elke Sommer, Diane Baker Dir: Mark Robson C-135 mins, TV-PG

Shlock, Pure Shlock, Pure enjoyable escapist shlock. And Elke Sommer never looked better.

5:15pm Cat On A Hot Tin Roof(1958)
A dying plantation owner tries to help his alcoholic son solve his problems.
Cast: Elizabeth Taylor, Paul Newman, Burl Ives, Jack Carson Dir: Richard Brooks C-108 mins, TV-PG

Am I the only person who does NOT like Paul Newman in this film? He's pretty enough to be a closet “homo” but he just doesn't carry it off.

Jan 27

12:00am (again in reality the 28^th) Manchurian Candidate, The (1962)
A Korean War hero doesn't realize he's been programmed to kill by the enemy.
Cast: Frank Sinatra, Laurence Harvey, Janet Leigh, Angela Lansbury Dir: John Frankenheimer BW-127 mins, TV-PG

A good film made great by Angela Lansbury's bone chilling performance of the Mommy from Hell.

Jan 28

11:45am Only Angels Have Wings (1939)
A team of flyers risks their lives to deliver the mail in a mountainous South American country.
Cast: Cary Grant, Jean Arthur, Richard Barthelmess, Rita Hayworth Dir: Howard Hawks BW-121 mins, TV-PG

See what made Cary Grant, CARY (fuckin') GRANT. Directed by the great Howard Hawks.

8:00pm Road to Singapore (1940)

9:30pm Road to Zanzibar (1941)

11:15pm Road to Morocco (1942)

12:45am Road to Utopia, The (1946)

2:30am Road to Bali (1952)

See why the movie going public kept Hope and Crosby on the road for so many years.

Jan 29

6:30pm Cariboo Trail, The (1950)
A cattleman fights to establish a ranch in the middle of gold country.
Cast: Randolph Scott, George "Gabby" Hayes, Bill Williams, Karin Booth Dir: Edwin L. Marin C-81 mins, TV-G

Old Stone face rides again. And I'm not talking about Gabby Hayes.

Jan 30

12:00pm Operation Petticoat(1959)
During World War II, the crew of a decrepit submarine takes on a team of Navy nurses.
Cast: Cary Grant, Tony Curtis, Joan O'Brien, Dina Merrill Dir: Blake Edwards C-121 mins, TV-G

See what Tony Curtis later channeled in Some Like It Hot.

10:00pm Murder At The Gallop (1963)
Elderly sleuth Miss Marple suspects foul play when an old friend is supposedly scared to death by a cat.
Cast: Margaret Rutherford, Robert Morley, Flora Robson, Charles Tingwell Dir: George Pollock BW-81 mins, TV-G

Margaret Rutherford, Miss Marple...enough said.

Jan 31

11:30am South Pacific (1958)
A Navy nurse must choose between love and prejudice during World War II.
Cast: Rossano Brazzi, Mitzi Gaynor, John Kerr, Ray Walston Dir: Joshua Logan C-157 mins, TV-G

A terrible version of this musical with “tinted” scenes to evoke the feeling of the songs (that doesn't work at all) but when all is said and done it's still Rogers and Hammerstein and Some Enchanted Evening.

4:00pm Alfie(1966)
A British womanizer refuses to grow up until tragedy strikes.
Cast: Michael Caine, Shelley Winters, Millicent Martin, Julia Foster Dir: Lewis Gilbert C-114 mins, TV-14

See why Michael Caine is not just a great actor but a Movie Star as well.

10:00pm Annie Get Your Gun (1950)
Fanciful musical biography of wild West sharpshooter Annie Oakley.
Cast: Betty Hutton, Howard Keel, Louis Calhern, J. Carrol Naish Dir: George Sidney C-107 mins, TV-G

Double duty musical day at TCM. Again not a great film (J. Carrol Nash as an Indian chief...please) but great music. (have you noticed I'm a sucker for musicals, unusual in a straight guy.)

3:45am Ordinary People (1980)
When a young man drowns, his family fights to recover from the trauma.
Cast: Donald Sutherland, Mary Tyler Moore, Timothy Hutton, Judd Hirsch Dir: Robert Redford C-124 mins, TV-MA

A depressing film, artfully directed by Robert Redford on his first time out and beautifully acted by a somber Mary Tyler Moore.