Thursday, August 21, 2014

Viewing guide for the last 10 days of TCM’s Summer Under the Stars.

Hi, boys and girls! It’s the crack of 5 a.m., and as long as I’m parked at my desk with another round of hypoglycemia I might as well share my picks for the final 10 days of TCM’s SUMMER UNDER THE STARS hoo-hah.

AUGUST 22: AUDREY HEPBURN. Audrey only has a bit part in The Lavender Hill Mob (1951) but this one’s worth watching for its primary stars, Alec Guinness and Stanley Holloway; Love in the Afternoon (1957) with Gary Cooper and Maurice Chevalier; The Children’s Hour (1961) with James Garner and Shirley MacLaine; Wait Until Dark (1967) with Richard Crenna and Alan Arkin; Roman Holiday (1953) with Gregory Peck; and My Fair Lady (1964) with Rex Harrison.
AUGUST 23: ERNEST BORGNINE. Sorry, people, but I’ve never been a huge Ernest Borgnine fan — not counting “McHale’s Navy” — although I do have three excellent films you probably shouldn’t miss: Bad Day at Black Rock (1955) with Spencer Tracy, Robert Ryan and Anne Francis; Ice Station Zebra (1968) with Rock Hudson; and Marty (1955) with Betsy Blair.
AUGUST 24: GLADYS GEORGE. Gladys was a supporting player in most of these movies: Marie Antoinette (1938) with Norma Shearer and Tyrone Power; The Roaring Twenties (1939) with James Cagney and Humphrey Bogart; The Maltese Falcon (1941) with Humphrey Bogart and Mary Astor; Madame X (1937) with Warren William; and Love Is a Headache (1938) with Franchot Tone.

AUGUST 25: DICK POWELL. Colleen (1936) with Ruby Keeler and Joan Blondell; Station West (1948), a bizarre FILM NOIR WESTERN (no kidding) with Jane Greer and Agnes Moorehead; 42nd Street (1933) with Ruby Keeler and Warner Baxter; Murder, My Sweet (1944) with Claire Trevor and Anne Shirley; Dames (1934) with Ruby Keeler and Joan Blondell; The Bad and the Beautiful (1952) with Gloria Grahame, Lana Turner and Kirk Douglas at his scenery-chewing best; and Going Places (1938), a stupid comedy with Ronald Reagan and Anita Louise that cast jazz great Louie Armstrong as a stable boy in rags. He gets to sing “Jeepers Creepers” to a HORSE.
AUGUST 26: SOPHIA LOREN. I can only recommend two: Two Women (1960) with Jean-Paul Belmondo; and Arabesque (1966) with Gregory Peck.

AUGUST 27: EDMOND O’BRIEN. The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939) with Charles Laughton and Maureen O’Hara; Up Periscope (1959) with James Garner; Backfire (1950) with Gordon MacRae and Virginia Mayo; White Heat (1949) with James Cagney; D.O.A. (1950) with Pamela Britton; and Seven Days in May (1964) with Kirk Douglas and Burt Lancaster.

AUGUST 28: ARLENE DAHL. Poor Arlene made a lot of stupid films but here are a few I don’t think you should miss: Scene of the Crime (1949) with Van Johnson; Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959) with James Mason and Pat Boone; and Three Little Words (1950) with Fred Astaire and Red Skelton.

AUGUST 29: JOSEPH COTTEN. Under Capricorn (1949) with Ingrid Bergman; The Steel Trap (1952) with Teresa Wright; Gaslight (1944) with Ingrid Bergman and Charles Boyer; The Magnificent Ambersons (1942) with Tim Holt and Agnes Moorehead; and The Third Man (1949) and Citizen Kane (1941), both with Orson Welles.
AUGUST 30: BETTY GRABLE. The Gay Divorcee (1934) with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers; Old Man Rhythm (1935) with Buddy Rogers and George Barbier; The Dolly Sisters (1945) with June Haver; Mother Wore Tights (1947) with Dan Dailey; and How to Marry a Millionaire (1953) with Marilyn Monroe and Lauren Bacall.
AUGUST 31: ALAN LADD. I personally believe that Alan Ladd was a crappy actor — also a really short one — but I’ll go ahead and recommend this movie because Sam likes it: Shane (1952) with Jean Arthur.

I’ll be back later, okay? I think I should try going back to bed.

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