Monday, May 3, 2010

Carter Stevens' Guide to TCM This Week (May 4-11)


Kind of missed some time there, thanks to a bit of a stay in the hospital. Funny thing is I didn't miss any films as my hospital room got TCM on the TV. Now that's what I call a top notch medical facility. Now I'm back home with a good excuse to stay in bed and keep watching TCM.


MAY 4

3:30am Oklahoma!(1955)
Pride and a lecherous ranch hand stand between an amorous cowboy and his farm girl sweetheart.
Cast: Gordon MacRae, Gloria Grahame, Gene Nelson, Charlotte Greenwood Dir: Fred Zinnemann C-140 mins, TV-PG

Rodgers and Hammerstein Musical. Nothing more need be said.


MAY 5

12:00pm Hucksters, The (1947)
A war veteran fights for honesty in the advertising game.
Cast: Clark Gable, Deborah Kerr, Sydney Greenstreet, Adolphe Menjou Dir: Jack Conway BW-116 mins, TV-PG

Long before Mad Men there was The Hucksters.

8:00pm Shadow Of The Thin Man (1941)
High society sleuths Nick and Nora Charles run into a variety of shady characters while investigating a race-track murder.
Cast: William Powell, Myrna Loy, Barry Nelson, Donna Reed Dir: Major W. S. Van Dyke II BW-97 mins, TV-G

Not the best of the Thin Man series but any Thin Man is better than none.


MAY 6

5:45pm Citizen Kane (1941)
The investigation of a publishing tycoon's dying words reveals conflicting stories about his scandalous life.
Cast: Joseph Cotten, Dorothy Comingore, Agnes Moorehead, Ruth Warrick Dir: Orson Welles BW-120 mins, TV-PG

It's not often a film this hyped lives up to the hype but this one does. No one who calls themselves a film buff can miss a re-showing of the best film ever made.


MAY 7

7:15am It's A Big Country(1951)
Seven stories celebrate the glorious diversity of American life.
Cast: Ethel Barrymore, Keefe Brasselle, Gary Cooper, Nancy Davis Dir: Richard Thorpe, Don Weis, John Sturges, Don Hartman, William A. Wellman, BW-89 mins, TV-PG

9:00am Man Of The West(1958)
A reformed outlaw is among the hostages when his former colleagues rob a train.
Cast: Gary Cooper, Julie London, Lee J. Cobb, Arthur O'Connell Dir: Anthony Mann C-99 mins, TV-PG

10:45am Meet John Doe (1941)
A reporter's fraudulent story turns a tramp into a national hero and makes him a pawn of big business.
Cast: Gary Cooper, Barbara Stanwyck, Edward Arnold, Walter Brennan Dir: Frank Capra BW-122 mins, TV-G

1:00pm Sergeant York (1941)
True story of the farm boy who made the transition from religious pacifist to World War I hero.
Cast: Gary Cooper, Walter Brennan, Joan Leslie, George Tobias Dir: Howard Hawks BW-134 mins, TV-G

3:30pm Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936)
When he inherits a fortune, a small-town poet has to deal with the corruption of city life.
Cast: Gary Cooper, Jean Arthur, George Bancroft, Lionel Stander Dir: Frank Capra BW-116 mins, TV-G

5:30pm Fountainhead, The(1949)
An idealistic architect battles corrupt business interests and his love for a married woman.
Cast: Gary Cooper, Patricia Neal, Raymond Massey, Kent Smith Dir: King Vidor BW-113 mins, TV-PG


It's Gary Cooper day at TCM. They are all worth watching. Sergeant York is my favorite of these but I really think TCM missed a great chance to play HIGH NOON at High Noon.


MAY 8

9:00am Lady From Shanghai, The (1948)
A romantic drifter gets caught between a corrupt tycoon and his voluptuous wife.
Cast: Rita Hayworth, Orson Welles, Everett Sloane, Glenn Anders Dir: Orson Welles BW-87 mins, TV-PG

The shoot out in the hall of mirrors is worth sitting through the whole film alone.


12:00pm King Kong (1933)
A film crew discovers the "eighth wonder of the world," a giant prehistoric ape, and brings him back to New York, where he wreaks havoc.
Cast: Fay Wray, Robert Armstrong, Bruce Cabot, Frank Reicher Dir: Ernest B. Schoedsack BW-105 mins, TV-PG

It wasn't the airplanes, twas beauty killed the beast... Greatest tag line in film history! Screw CGI, this monkey still captures the imagination.

8:00pm Lion In Winter, The (1968)
England's Henry II and his estranged queen battle over the choice of an heir.
Cast: Peter O'Toole, Katharine Hepburn, Jane Merrow, John Castle Dir: Anthony Harvey C-134 mins, TV-14

2:30am Becket (1964)
England's King Henry II appoints his best friend Archbishop of Canterbury then turns on him.
Cast: Richard Burton, Peter O'Toole, John Gielgud, Donald Wolfit Dir: Peter Glenville C-148 mins, TV-PG

Note to TCM: Come on guys Becket first THEN The Lion in Winter.


MAY 9

10:00pm Gypsy (1962)
A domineering mother pushes her two daughters to burlesque stardom.
Cast: Rosalind Russell, Natalie Wood, Karl Malden, Paul Wallace Dir: Mervyn LeRoy C-143 mins, TV-PG

"If you're gonna bump it, bump it with a trumpet." Rose, you can entertain me any time you like.


MAY 10

8:00pm Elmer Gantry (1960)
A young drifter finds success as a traveling preacher until his past catches up with him.
Cast: Burt Lancaster, Jean Simmons, Arthur Kennedy, Dean Jagger Dir: Richard Brooks C-147 mins, TV-PG

Burt Lancaster shows what it means to really have charisma. So much in fact that it actually spills over into the character. And that smile. That's what I call a mouth full of teeth.


MAY 11

8:30am 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

10:00am Murder Ahoy (1964)
Elderly sleuth Miss Marple takes to the seas to investigate murder on a naval training ship.
Cast: Margaret Rutherford, Lionel Jeffries, Charles Tingwell, William Mervyn Dir: George Pollock BW-93 mins, TV-G

11:45am Murder Most Foul (1964)
Elderly sleuth Miss Marple joins a small-town theatre to investigate a murder.
Cast: Margaret Rutherford, Ron Moody, Charles Tingwell, Andrew Cruickshank Dir: George Pollock BW-91 mins, TV-G

A morning full of Margaret Rutherford as Miss Marple. I may not even make it out of bed before lunch.

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